Tech will travel to Marshall this weekend to resume Conference USA play. Marshall is 17-17 overall and 5-10 in conference play. The 5 wins are next to last in the league. The Thundering Herd were picked to finish 10th in the preseason.
The games will be played in Beckley, WV which is about an hour and a half from their campus in Huntington. The stadium is home to a summer league team in the Prospect League called the West Virginia Miners.
First pitches will be 5PM Friday night, 1PM Saturday afternoon, and 9AM Sunday morning.
It looks like the weather should be pretty solid throughout the weekend. The high is 52 on Friday, 61 on Saturday, and 65 on Sunday. Very small chances of rain.
Jeff Waggoner is in his 12th season as the skipper for the Thundering Herd. He played his college ball at Cleveland State.
Last weekend the Thundering Herd lost 2 of 3 to Western Kentucky, but the previous weekend they went on the road and swept MTSU.
Looking at Marshall from a pitching staff standpoint, they have really struggled. As a team, they have a 5.13 ERA. In 298.1 IP, they have allowed 299 hits, walked 169, hit 45, and struck out 267. The BB/HBP numbers are brutal at over 6 per game. Tech will need to capitalize on this.
Brad O’Connor, Josh Shapiro, and Zach McNeel have gotten the weekend starts the last two weekends.
O’Connor has a 4.07 ERA in 48.2 innings pitched. He’s a right-hander and has allowed 40 hits, walked 26, and struck out 42. He’ll run his fastball up to 92 so he has a good arm.
Shapiro is a lefty that will use a four-pitch mix and work his fastball around 87-89. They’ve used him in the bullpen some, but he’s been starting as of late. He has a 3.86 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 32 hits, walked 17, and struck out 28.
McNeel is a sophomore right-hander that has struggled throughout the season. He has a 6.49 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 31 hits, walked 13, and struck out 21. His spot could be up for grabs with his struggles.
Will Ray is a guy that was expected to help them in a big way, but looks like he may be out due to injury. In 6 starts he has a 1.57 ERA. He’s a command guy. We’ll see if he returns this weekend.
Same goes for Wade Martin. He has made 5 starts and has a 3.55 ERA. He is a junior that worked 86-89 and had exceptional command.
D’Andre Knight was expected to help this staff in a big way from a closing standpoint but has not pitched yet in 2018.
These three guys being out could explain a lot of their pitching woes.
Marshall has a lot of talent on offense and have found a good deal of success scoring over 6 runs per game.
Reynaldo Pastrana is absolutely crushing the ball from his catcher spot. He is hitting .345 with 7 home runs and 34 RBI while also having 12 doubles. He’s the one guy that Tech can’t let beat them.
Shane Hanon had a nice year in 2017 and has followed that back up in 2018 with another solid campaign. The first baseman is hitting .323 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. Interestingly enough, he can also play centerfield in a pinch.
Peter Hutzal is another name to watch. The sophomore infielder is hitting .274 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI.
Andrew Zban is the final guy that I will highlight. He’s an experienced outfielder that has a lot of power. For the season, he is hitting .257 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI. He also has 8 doubles. He is prone to strikeout a ton though with 46 strikeouts already.
This team will not bunt, they only have 13 sacrifices on the season. They would rather wait for the long ball and have hit 34 home runs on the season.
They have also stolen 51 bases in 67 attempts. For comparison, Tech has 44 steal in 70 attempts. Downright terrible percentage.
Matt Miller, Logan Robbins, and Logan Bailey will get the starts for the Bulldogs. Miller needs a solid outing on Friday night and get this series off to a good start.
Mason Robinson has been on fire with the bat lately. He is now hitting .288 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI. The 25 RBI are 2nd on the team.
Taylor Young is a stud. The freshman is now hitting .264 after a big night at Lafayette and has a .446 OBP. He has 25 BB/HBP to only 7 strikeouts. Insane. He’s a future leadoff hitter for sure.
Dalton Skelton continues to impress in the power department. He connected on his 7th home run at Lafayette. His swing is far from pretty, but he is getting the job done.
If Tech wants to win the regular season title, a sweep is necessary. Call me crazy, but that’s what it is going to take.
The games will be played in Beckley, WV which is about an hour and a half from their campus in Huntington. The stadium is home to a summer league team in the Prospect League called the West Virginia Miners.
First pitches will be 5PM Friday night, 1PM Saturday afternoon, and 9AM Sunday morning.
It looks like the weather should be pretty solid throughout the weekend. The high is 52 on Friday, 61 on Saturday, and 65 on Sunday. Very small chances of rain.
Jeff Waggoner is in his 12th season as the skipper for the Thundering Herd. He played his college ball at Cleveland State.
Last weekend the Thundering Herd lost 2 of 3 to Western Kentucky, but the previous weekend they went on the road and swept MTSU.
Looking at Marshall from a pitching staff standpoint, they have really struggled. As a team, they have a 5.13 ERA. In 298.1 IP, they have allowed 299 hits, walked 169, hit 45, and struck out 267. The BB/HBP numbers are brutal at over 6 per game. Tech will need to capitalize on this.
Brad O’Connor, Josh Shapiro, and Zach McNeel have gotten the weekend starts the last two weekends.
O’Connor has a 4.07 ERA in 48.2 innings pitched. He’s a right-hander and has allowed 40 hits, walked 26, and struck out 42. He’ll run his fastball up to 92 so he has a good arm.
Shapiro is a lefty that will use a four-pitch mix and work his fastball around 87-89. They’ve used him in the bullpen some, but he’s been starting as of late. He has a 3.86 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 32 hits, walked 17, and struck out 28.
McNeel is a sophomore right-hander that has struggled throughout the season. He has a 6.49 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 31 hits, walked 13, and struck out 21. His spot could be up for grabs with his struggles.
Will Ray is a guy that was expected to help them in a big way, but looks like he may be out due to injury. In 6 starts he has a 1.57 ERA. He’s a command guy. We’ll see if he returns this weekend.
Same goes for Wade Martin. He has made 5 starts and has a 3.55 ERA. He is a junior that worked 86-89 and had exceptional command.
D’Andre Knight was expected to help this staff in a big way from a closing standpoint but has not pitched yet in 2018.
These three guys being out could explain a lot of their pitching woes.
Marshall has a lot of talent on offense and have found a good deal of success scoring over 6 runs per game.
Reynaldo Pastrana is absolutely crushing the ball from his catcher spot. He is hitting .345 with 7 home runs and 34 RBI while also having 12 doubles. He’s the one guy that Tech can’t let beat them.
Shane Hanon had a nice year in 2017 and has followed that back up in 2018 with another solid campaign. The first baseman is hitting .323 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. Interestingly enough, he can also play centerfield in a pinch.
Peter Hutzal is another name to watch. The sophomore infielder is hitting .274 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI.
Andrew Zban is the final guy that I will highlight. He’s an experienced outfielder that has a lot of power. For the season, he is hitting .257 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI. He also has 8 doubles. He is prone to strikeout a ton though with 46 strikeouts already.
This team will not bunt, they only have 13 sacrifices on the season. They would rather wait for the long ball and have hit 34 home runs on the season.
They have also stolen 51 bases in 67 attempts. For comparison, Tech has 44 steal in 70 attempts. Downright terrible percentage.
Matt Miller, Logan Robbins, and Logan Bailey will get the starts for the Bulldogs. Miller needs a solid outing on Friday night and get this series off to a good start.
Mason Robinson has been on fire with the bat lately. He is now hitting .288 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI. The 25 RBI are 2nd on the team.
Taylor Young is a stud. The freshman is now hitting .264 after a big night at Lafayette and has a .446 OBP. He has 25 BB/HBP to only 7 strikeouts. Insane. He’s a future leadoff hitter for sure.
Dalton Skelton continues to impress in the power department. He connected on his 7th home run at Lafayette. His swing is far from pretty, but he is getting the job done.
If Tech wants to win the regular season title, a sweep is necessary. Call me crazy, but that’s what it is going to take.
