— By Bill Cornwell
Marshall’s baseball program made Wednesday night a sour one for most on hand at Bill Davis Stadium.
That was the sight of an 11-7 victory for the Herd against home standing Ohio State, with Marshall overcome a four-run deficit through four innings to defeat the Buckeyes.
It was a particularly satisfying result for Herd head coach Greg Beals, who served as the Buckeyes’ head coach from 2011-22. Beals was 346-288-1 in his OSU tenure before being fired after the 2022 season.
“It was a full team win,” Beals said. “We used a lot of the pitching staff. We wanted to get guys work for the weekend, but not too much work. I used Davis Gunn maybe a tad more, but we’re in a situation to win the ball game, and it protected Charlie Krebs a little bit. Just a good win.”
Despite run-scoring singles from Jackson Halter and A.J. Havrilla in the first inning, Marshall (17-18) trailed 6-2 entering the fifth before beginning its charge back.
Halter was a major factor and finished 5-for-6 with a double, while shortstop Jack Smith added a pair of hits to go with two RBI.
Designated Hitter Oliver Service also drove in a pair in the win.
Marshall’s four runs in the eighth turned what was a 6-5 deficit into a three-run lead, before the Buckeyes answered with a run in the home half of that inning.
The two teams combined to use 15 pitchers, while the win was credited to A.J. McAninch, who picked up his first college victory by recording three strikeouts over 1.1 innings with one hit allowed.
Davis Gunn pitched two scoreless frames to earn his second save of the season.
Gunn got help from his defense, which helped stop a potential ninth-inning rally from Ohio State (19-16). The Buckeyes’ Jacob Parr hit a fly ball that was destined for a home run, but Cam Harthan came up with a high-level catch to prevent the long ball.
“I’m just doing everything I’ve been doing my whole life since 5 years old playing baseball,” Harthan said. “Just going out there, having fun and taking advantage of my opportunities.”
Gunn wrapped up the road win by inducing a double play to short.
Marshall returns to action this weekend with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at South Alabama starting Friday.
The Herd and Jaguars are two of five SBC teams with an 8-7 league mark.
Coastal Carolina, at 13-2, has a four-game lead in the Sun Belt standings.
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While Marshall’s baseball team won in Ohio, the Herd softball squad had its nine-game win streak halted some 75 miles away in a 4-2 loss at Ohio University.
The Herd (32-11, 13-2) couldn’t overcome a four-run third inning from Ohio, which improved to 29-15.
Sydni Burko and Ava Blake hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning as Marshall came charging back late.
For Burko, a former standout at Cabell Midland High School, it marked her team-leading 17th home run this season.
Blake, who excelled at John Marshall High School, isn’t far behind with 15 round-trippers.
Marshall returns home for the weekend to face South Alabama in a three-game series starting Friday.
The Herd has a two-game lead in the Sun Belt standings. UL Monroe is in sole possession of second place.
South Alabama is in a two-way tie for third place at 10-5 in SBC play.