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MARSHALL SPORTS
Marshall and Rice meet in opener
HUNTINGTON -- One year ago Marshall University's baseball team was going through another mediocre season until showing flashes of brilliance at the Conference USA tournament.
This year, the Marshall is no longer the virtual unknown going into a 1:30 p.m. today tournament game against Rice at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss., making it doubly difficult for the Thundering Herd to duplicate its 2008 run to the championship game.
That doesn't mean Marshall head coach Jeff Waggoner doesn't think his team is capable of not only making it back to the championship, but winning it this season.
"We have Rice right off the bat and you are going to have to beat them to win anyway," Waggoner said. "We feel we can go in and beat anyone in the tournament."
Rice, the second seed with a 35-15 record, is ranked No. 9 in two national polls. Marshall is 22-30 and seeded seventh in the double-elimination tournament.
Marshall has proven it can play well in the big game this season. The Herd defeated the Owls when Rice was ranked No. 1 by Baseball America. Marshall also notched wins against ranked East Carolina and Ohio State while taking Virginia to the wire.
Victor Gomez, an All-CUSA selection, and Nate Lape are home run threats in the middle of the Marshall order. Marshall has steady hitting by Josh Valle and speed on the basepaths with Huntington native Adam Yeager. Herd pitcher Dan Straily was also an all-conference pick.
"At times, we've had some big wins. We've beat good teams, but we've not been as consistent as we've needed to," Waggoner said. "Now is about going in and executing."
The Herd has the chance to atone for all the missed chances this season by seizing its opportunities in the tournament.
A win over the Owls would be a huge confidence boost.
"There's no question how big it would be," Waggoner said. "You have to take it one game at a time, but you don't want to be in the loser's bracket. You do everything you can to stay out of the loser's bracket."
Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon was chosen as the C-USA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Rendon and pitcher Ryan Berry were all-conference first team selections.
