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Date: Friday, April 13-Saturday, April 14

Location: Charleston, WV; Appalachian Power Park

Times: Friday- 3:00 p.m. and Game 2 to follow at approximately 7:00; Saturday- 7:00 p.m.

All-Time Series: East Carolina leads 5-1

Following a sweep of Memphis to open CUSA play, East Carolina has lost five of its last six league games. The contests have been versus upper echelon league foes in Rice and Tulane. Billy Godwin and his Pirates will look to get back into the conference race this weekend when they travel to Marshall. The Thundering Herd is currently in the CUSA cellar with a 0-6 mark. This will mark the first time that ECU has played Marshall away from Greenville.

RF Ryan Tousley leads the Pirates in home runs, as he has belted seven of the team's 31 round trippers. PHOTO: Bob Powell

However, the Pirates must focus on the task at hand and not the Herd’s winless performance to date. Despite not having won, Marshall’s losses came against Tulane and at Rice. The first two games with the Green Wave were competitive with the Herd falling 8-7 in 11 innings and 4-1. MU started strong under first year head coach Jeff Waggoner, as they raced out to a 14-5 record.

Since then, the Herd has dropped 12 straight and currently sits at 14-17. This week, they dropped a 12-10 road decision to Big East foe Cincinnati while their Wednesday match-up with Morehead State was washed out. Prior to losing to the Bearcats, Marshall dropped all three games (8-6, 11-7, 10-4) at Liberty in Lynchburg, VA. East Carolina opened its season by taking two of three from LU in Greenville.

Billy Godwin and the Pirates took two of three from Marshall last season; however, the Pirates were forced to win two 10-9 come from behind thrillers before dropping Sunday’s contest, 5-3.

The Thundering Herd’s struggles have been the result of a variety of things. First, MU has struggled with the glove, as its fielding percentage is only .956. Opponents have slaughtered the Herd’s pitching staff, which comes into the series with an ERA of nearly six (5.94). Last year, Marshall swung the bats better and possessed more capability to win the shootouts. This season, the team average rests at .270 and the Herd has only produced 16 long balls.

Brendan Murphy possesses the most pop on the squad. He leads the team in home runs (8), doubles (10), extra base-hits (18), RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.600) while being one of four players to start all 31 games. Murphy is batting .276.

The team’s other top threat to hit the long ball is Brandon Casamassi, who has also started all 31 contests this season. He is second in home runs (5), doubles (6) and RBI (21). His average sits at .277.

MU has three hitters over .300. Freshman CF Mason Chapman leads the team at .312. First baseman Brit Vincent and second baseman Blake Sanders are also above baseball’s batting average standard, as they are at .303.

The Herd has very little team speed and have stolen a measly 12 bases.

East Carolina hopes to reel in three wins this weekend against Marshall in Charleston, WV. PHOTO: Bob Powell

East Carolina ’s line-up is led by junior shortstop Dale Mollenhauer. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, the Gibsonia, PA-product has rebounded to hit .358 this season. He is second on the team with eight stolen bases in nine attempts and possesses a .442 on-base percentage.

The Pirates have demonstrated the ability to hit the long ball, as they now have 31 on the year. Ryan Tousley, who is hitting .308, leads ECU with seven. Brandon Henderson is second with six.

Harrison Eldridge, Stephen Batts and Ryan Wood are other top sticks for East Carolina. Eldridge, who is the Pirates lead-off man, is hitting .320. “H” leads the team in doubles with 12. The Knoxville, TN-native has also been spectacular with the glove in center field. Batts, who has settled into the role at first base, leads the team with four triples and is hitting .302. The former Pirate soccer player is second on the club in RBIs (31). After struggling to start the year, Ryan Wood is up to .299. The Pirates’ second baseman has consistently reached base via singles, as only three of his 26 hits have been for extra bases.

Defensively, Godwin’s club has been solid for the most part. CF Harrison Eldridge and SS Dale Mollenhauer are the Pirates’ top with the glove. Each has made several plays that would be classified as “web gems” if on the major league level.

Opponents have been limited to a .250 average and ECU’s team ERA is at 3.86, which is more than acceptable in college baseball.

The Pirates bullpen has struggled lately, but is still much better than the Herd’s. However, MU’s Nick Wolle has been superb. In 18.1 innings of work, he has allowed only 12 hits. Wolle has struck out 18 and walked only three.

 

STARTING PITCHING MATCH-UPS

Game 1: ECU—RHP TJ Hose (4-4, 4.15) vs. Marshall- RHP Jeremy Slone (1-2, 6.44)

Game 2: ECU – LHP Dustin Sasser (3-2, 3.19) vs. Marshall- LHP Brian Chrisman (3-3, 4.15)

Game 3: ECU – RHP Josh Dowdy (1-1, 2.48) vs. Marshall- RHP Adam Dobies (2-4, 6.75)

 

Prediction:
The Pirates are better than Marshall in essentially every phase of the game. They should at least win the series and could very likely pick up a much-needed road sweep. However, this is under the assumption they don’t take the Thundering Herd for granted. This should not happen after last season’s series and the Pirates’ recent failures the last two weeks.

Marshall’s best chance to win will likely be the second game on Friday when it has lefty Brian Chrisman on the hill.

 

Other Notes:

• This weekend’s series will be played at Appalachian Power Park, which is the home of the West Virginia Power. The Power is a Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.