— By David Walsh
Marshall’s baseball team didn’t get the win it wanted Saturday, but fortunately for the Thundering Herd, neither did Arkansas State or UL Monroe.
As a result, Marshall has qualified for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting Tuesday at DABOS Park/Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. Troy is the host.
Marshall (23-31, 13-17 SBC) enters as the No. 10 seed and has an elimination game Tuesday against No. 7 Louisiana. The two teams didn’t meet in the regular season.
The Herd ended its regular season Saturday with a 5-4 loss at Texas State in 10 innings as the Bobcats secured a three-game series sweep. Justin Vossos belted a walk-off homer in the 10th inning. It was his second of the game.
“We are excited to start a new season on Tuesday and the opportunity to play for a Sun Belt Conference Championship,” Herd coach Greg Beals said. “These guys deserve the opportunity to keep playing together. We are in the tournament because of the games we won over the course of the season.”
The Herd led 4-0 after four innings. Evan Bottone started the game with a solo homer for his eighth this season. Jackson Halter followed with a homer for the 2-0 lead. It was his 11th of the season.
The winner of Tuesday’s Marshall-Louisiana matchup will face No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina or No. 1 seed Southern Miss on Wednesday pending the result of another Tuesday matchup between No. 8 Old Dominion-No. 9 Georgia State. The highest-seeded team remaining of those four will face Coastal Carolina, while the lower seed will battle Southern Miss.
On Saturday, Southern Miss beat Georgia Southern, while Coastal Carolina lost its finale at Louisiana to put the Golden Eagles on top of the conference standings with a 22-8 league record. The Chanticleers are 21-9 in conference play and defending tournament champion.
Marshall, meanwhile, scuffled down the stretch, losing 13 of its last 18 regular season games starting with the second contest of its series against South Alabama. That included a 4-10 mark within the Sun Belt, including three recent losses to the Bobcats.
Fortunately for Beals’ team, South Alabama defeated Arkansas State and Troy topped UL Monroe on Saturday, ensuring the Red Wolves and Warhawks both finished 12-18 in the Sun Belt.
James Madison, with an 11-19 Sun Belt record, and last place Georgia Southern, at 7-23 in SBC play, also missed out on qualifying for the conference tournament.
Sun Belt Conference Championship Schedule
(Note: Double elimination format is in place from Wednesday on; All times listed are EST)
Tuesday, May 19
Game 1: Louisiana 11, Marshall 1 (7 innings) — Marshall eliminated
Game 2: Georgia State 17, Old Dominion 1 (7 innings) — Old Dominion eliminated
Wednesday, May 20
Game 3: Texas State 6, Appalachian State 5
Game 4: Louisiana 12, Coastal Carolina 11
Game 5: Southern Miss 7, Georgia State 6
Thursday, May 21
Game 6: Troy 11, South Alabama 3
Game 7: Coastal Carolina 8, Appalachian State 2
Game 8: South Alabama 7, Georgia State 4
Game 9: Texas State 4, Louisiana 3
Friday, May 22
Game 10: Southern Miss 7, Troy 6
Game 11: Louisiana 5, Coastal Carolina 4
Saturday, May 23
Game 12: No. 4 Troy vs. No. 5 South Alabama, 10 a.m. (at DABOS Park)
Game 13: No. 6 Texas State vs. No. 7 Louisiana, 10 a.m. (at Riddle-Pace Field)
Game 14: Winner of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 12, 1:30 p.m. (at DABOS Park)
Game 15: If necessary, 2:30 p.m. (at Riddle-Pace Field)
Sunday, May 24
Game 16: If necessary, 10 a.m. (at DABOS Park)
Game 17: Championship, 2 p.m. (at DABOS Park)