— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s baseball team spent the first two weeks of the season on an extended road trip.
Following eight consecutive away games to start the 2025 season, the Thundering Herd (2-6) begins its second season at Jack Cook Field by hosting Fairleigh Dickinson at 3 p.m. Friday for the first of a scheduled three-game set.
Marshall opened its new on-campus home venue March 1 of last year, and it proved popular, with the Herd drawing near 2,000 fans on average last season.
Marshall has already facred Hawaii and Georgia Tech thus fae this season.
The Herd dropped all four games of the series at Hawaii, but split four games in Atlanta last week against the Yellow Jackets, including a 12-8 victory in the series finale, a result accomplished in a comeback that wiped out a 7-3 fifth-inning deficit.
“Really happy for our guys to end this tough road stand with a win,” Marshall head coach Greg Beals said. “I love our desire and willingness to compete. AJ Havrilla had a great day at the plate. It was also good to see Nolan Wilson and Elijah Vogelsong get big hits. We strung really tough at bats together in the last four innings.
“We also got some key performances on the mound. Alex McKay came in and got a double play to end the second. Clint Moak came in with the bases loaded and struck out their best player. Tim Baird was really good, and I believe his performance is what flipped the momentum of the game.”
A Northeast Conference member, Fairleigh Dickinson (0-6) has been swept in a pair of road series so far this season at UNC-Asheville and Middle Tennessee State.
Manny Roman is in his third season as Knights’ head coach.
FDU’s top player so far this season is freshman infielder Johnathan Gomez the recipient of last week’s Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week. Gomez is batting .455 with 10 hits in 22 at bats to go with four RBI.
The Knights’ top pitcher is junior Jeremy Cheeseman, who has an earned-run average of 6 in two early-season appearances with five strikeouts and five walks.
Marshall is utilizing a combination of returnees and new faces in the lineup.
Senior Ethan Murdoch is the Herd’s top hitter at .346 with nine hits, including three home runs and nine RBI.
Louisiana transfer Jackson Halter is hitting .323 with 10 hits, while New Orleans transfer Maika Niu is hitting .303 with 10 hits and eight runs scored.
Miller Griffin leads Herd pitchers with a 1-0 record and 2.45 ERA over 11 innings of work.
Following Friday’s home opener, Marshall and Fairleigh Dickinson will be back at Jack Cook Field for games Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.