— By Bill Cornwell
In less than three weeks, 10 of 14 Sun Belt Conference teams will partake in the league tournament in Montgomery, Ala.
Whether or not one is Marshall largely depends on how the Herd fares from here on out.
After splitting two games earlier this week, Marshall hits the road for an important three-game conference series at James Madison starting Friday at 6 p.m.
Game 2 is set for 4 p.m. Saturday with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Marshall (20-24, 10-11) followed Tuesday’s 9-6 loss at Morehead State with a 5-2 victory against Ohio.
JMU (18-25, 8-13) lost earlier this week to Virginia Tech, 14-1.
Marshall is among a sixth-place logjam in the Sun Belt standings with four other teams — Arkansas State, Texas State, UL Monroe and Georgia State.
JMU (18-25, 8-13) is two games back of that group and next-to-last in the league standings.
Marshall seeks another strong performance Friday from starting pitcher Bryce Blevins, who has an 8-2 record and pitched a complete game a week ago in a victory against Troy at Jack Cook Field.
Blevins leads the country with 81 innings pitched after back-to-back complete games. He has recorded 71 strikeouts, fourth most in the Sun Belt. His eight wins lead the conference as he sits at a career of 20 with his next one to set the program career record.
The Herd offense has had a few standouts but has struggled to plate runs in recent games. Evan Bottone is fifth in the SBC with a .371 batting average, while Cooper Hinson holds the team lead with 17 doubles and is tied for third in the conference, 26th in the country. Tyler Kamerer has 48 runs and leads the Herd and is second in the Sun Belt. AJ Havrilla ranks 12th nationally with 43 walks during the 2026 season and leads the Sun Belt.
Marshall Head Coach Greg Beals says that an early offensive explosion in Wednesday’s Ohio win which featured a grand-slam home run in the first inning by Jackson Halter was a good sign of improvement and got rid of a lot of frustration.
“It’s good to be on the winning side of a ballgame, but more importantly I like how we won,” Beals said. “We pitched the ball extremely well. You get the big hit from Halter in the first inning to put four runs on the board. Then our pitching staff for the most part took care of business.”
It’s been a tough season for James Madison, but the Dukes have the second most sacrifice bunts in the nation with 55 and the sixth most stolen bases at 127, led by Reece Moody’s 30 stolen bases, a mark that leaves him No. 10 nationally.