BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY

RICHMOND, Ky. – The junior duo of Jacob Daniel, who drove in four runs, and Richie Rodriguez, who scored three runs, led the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team past Marshall, 9-6, on Tuesday afternoon at Turkey Hughes Field. With the win, EKU improves to 9-20 on the season and 8-5 at home.

Daniel and Rodriguez, who combined to go 6-for-8 in the game, have paced the EKU offense all season, as Rodriguez is now batting .398 and Daniel .379.

Junior left-hander Greg Terry (2-0) came on in relief in the third inning and pitched four effective frames, allowing just one unearned run on four hits, to pick up his second win of the season. Junior right-hander Matt Harris entered the game in the ninth with one out, the bases loaded and the tying run on deck, and was able to get out of the jam, inducing a foul out and notching a strike out, to earn his first save of the season.

Right-hander Ryan Butler (0-1) started on the hill for Marshall (10-17) and got the loss, going just one inning and surrendering five runs (only one of them earned) on four hits.

Victor Ramos batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored to lead the Thundering Herd, while Isaac Ballou and Victor Gomez drove in a pair of runs each.

The game was decided in an ugly first inning in which both teams committed two errors apiece. EKU was able to minimize the damage of its errors, however, as sophomore right-hander Anthony Bazzani, with men on second and third and one out, got a foul out and a strike out to escape the inning only having surrendered one run.

Marshall, on the other hand, committed two errors in the home half of the first, and paid the price. After Rodriguez and junior #A.J. Jamison# led off the inning with consecutive singles, Daniel laced a base hit through the left side of the infield that scored Rodriguez, as Daniel and Jamison both advanced a base on an error by Marshall left fielder Nathan Gomez. Senior Ryan Faidley then reached on an error by Marshall third baseman Gray Stafford, allowing both Jamison and Daniel to score. After consecutive strikeouts by freshman Bryan Soloman and junior Michael Garcia should have ended the inning, sophomore Matt Phipps belted a double into right center that scored Faidley and freshman Sean Hagen and made it 5-1. The Colonels would never trail again.

The Thundering Herd scored two in the top of the second and another in the top of the fourth to pull within one of the Colonels; however, a bases-loaded double by Daniel in the bottom of the fourth scored Phipps and freshman Alex Arovits and gave EKU some breathing room.

The Colonels continued to add to their lead as Faidley singled home Rodriguez in the bottom of the sixth, and Daniel made it 9-4 when he scored Rodriguez with a sacrifice fly to right in the bottom of the eighth.

Marshall threatened in the top of the ninth, though, as the Thundering Herd loaded the bases with just one out. After an RBI single by Gomez and a sacrifice fly by Ballou made it 9-6, Harris got Steven Ross swinging to end the game and provide the Colonels with their second consecutive win.

EKU will try to carry its momentum into this weekend when the Colonels travel to Austin Peay for an important three-game conference series at Raymond C. Hand Park. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST.