Feb. 14, 2008

In 2008, the name of the game for the Marshall Baseball team is depth. The Thundering Herd boasts a 32-man roster that includes five seniors among the 12 returning letterwinners, comprising seven position players and five pitchers from the 2007 squad.

In its third season in the highly regarded Conference USA, second year head coach Jeff Waggoner and his talented staff will look to build upon the 21-32 record of a year ago. The Herd will welcome 20 newcomers for the 2008 season, giving a team already bursting with talent, a youthful edge.

Marshall enters the 2008 campaign with a very strong defense. Herd fielders registered a collective fielding percentage of .959 and committed seven fewer errors (78) than their opponents in 2007. Senior catcher Tommy Johnson led the defensive charge as he notched a .992 fielding percentage while committing only a single error in 39 games played. Five other returning starters recorded fielding percentages above .900.

Power at the plate will come from junior infielder Brandon Casamassima. The Texas native tallied a team-high 36 RBI and recorded a second-best eight homers. Classmate Nate Lape will also be called upon to provide power to replace the loss of Brendan Murphy who tallied a team-best in doubles (12) and homers (12) while adding 30 RBI. Lape showed promise at the plate in his first season with the Herd as he connected for four home runs, 10 doubles and two of the team's 5 triples. The outfielder also led the team with a .513 slugging percentage.

Infield
Marshall returns two starters to the corners of the infield. Casamassima is the front-runner for third base, while sophomore sensation Josh Valle is the leading candidate to replace Murphy at first base. Valle, who spent most of his freshman season at second base, led the team with a .331 batting average and committed just four errors for a .973 fielding percentage. The New York native also notched seven doubles and drove in 24 runs in 46 games for the Herd.

Patrolling the middle of the infield will most likely be a pair of newcomers. University of Cincinnati transfer, and Huntington, W.Va. native, Adam Yeager, will provide his services at shortstop. Yeager ranked sixth in the Big East with 24 stolen bases. In addition to his threat on the base paths, the junior drew 39 walks (third best in the Big East), tallied 12 doubles and scored 42 runs for the Bearcats in 2007. Incoming freshman Kenny Socorro is the primary contender for second base. The Miami, Fla. native tallied a .561 batting average during his senior year of high school and was subsequently named team MVP. Socorro will look to make an immediate impact both at the plate and in the field for the Herd in 2008.

The Herd will have six reserve infielders that include senior Matt Helm and sophomore Blake Sanders, both of whom were on the 2007 squad. Joining them will be sophomore transfer Ramone Tate, and three incoming freshmen. Helm saw action in 49 games for the Herd, including 37 starts, primarily at third base. Sanders made 39 appearances, 29 of which were starts, during his first season in the green and white. Tate joins Marshall from Myers University. Three newcomers to the team are Bryce Ferguson, Tyler Oliver and Brock Neil. Ferguson, a Huntington, W.Va. native, recorded a .387 batting average, clouted six homers, knocked in 124 runs, and stole 24 bases and was a four-time West Virginia all-state selection in high school. Oliver was a three-time all-state selection out of Kentucky, and was named Training and Conditioning Magazine's Comeback Player of the Year in 2006. The 6-foot-5-inch Neil will vie for playing time at first base.

Catchers
Anchoring the Marshall infield will be Johnson. The senior catcher registered a .324 batting average, blasted two homers, totaled seven doubles and recorded a .448 slugging percentage.

Looking for playing time behind Johnson will be incoming freshmen Rhett Stafford and Kevin Shackelford. Victor Gomez, also an incoming freshman, is in the hunt for the backup catcher spot, but is also the probable designated hitter, which could be his primary position in 2008. The Miami, Fla. native tallied a .456 batting average during his senior year in high school, homered seven times, and registered 35 RBI. Gomez will be called upon to continue his impressive hitting prowess for the Herd in 2008. Shackelford joins the Herd as a Perfect Game Top Prospect after hitting .297 with a home run and 11 RBI during his senior season. Behind the plate, Shackelford allowed just one stolen base and committed one passed ball during that year. In addition to being the number one catching prospect out of South Carolina, Stafford will bring power to the Marshall lineup as he hit .414 with four homers, 10 doubles and 25 RBI last season.

Outfield
Tracking down the fly balls will be an experienced group led by senior Jeff Rowley in left field. Rowley tallied a .980 fielding percentage and committed just one error, while right fielder Lape registered a solid .944 fielding percentage, firing 65 put-outs. The favorite to make a claim on the center field position is Vanderbilt transfer Kurt Lipton. The junior tallied a .289 average and recorded a perfect fielding percentage with the Commodores in 2007.

The outfield corps is the thinnest group on the diamond for the Herd. Junior transfer Eddie Rush, and incoming freshman Ben Jurevicius will round out the unit. The Ohio native was named Sun Press Player of the Year and was a second-team all-state selection. Jurevicius will look to provide a major impact out of the dugout for the Herd in 2008.

Pitching
Junior left-hander Andrew Blain will anchor a talented pitching staff. The Huntington, W.Va. native posted a 4-3 record in 23 appearances. He tallied a team-high 47 strikeouts in 46.2 innings of work. Joining Blain in the rotation will be transfer Steve Blevins. The junior righty from the University of Cincinnati tallied a 4.81 ERA and posted a 5-8 record in 2007. Blevins struck out 64 batters in 88.0 innings on the hill for the Bearcats. Newcomer Dan Straily is the probable third member of the Marshall rotation. The freshman built a 7-3 record with a 2.48 ERA and 65 strikeouts, and scorched his opponents at the plate as well, batting at a .343 clip with 20 RBI, eight doubles and two homers as a senior in high school.

In addition to the three starters, 10 pitchers will make up the staff in 2008. Seniors Adam Dobies and Andrew Hancock will join junior Ryan Kiel and sophomore Tyler Gatrell from last year's team. Dobies, a starter in 2007, pitched a second-best 76.0 innings in 17 appearances (most of any Herd starter during the season) while striking out 45 batters and posted a record of 3-5. Hancock made 22 appearances and struck out 24 opponents. Kiel (12 appearances) and Gatrell (14 appearances) provided the Herd a good spark in their relief duties and will help anchor a staff that is deep with experience.

Brian Mooney, a junior left handed transfer, will join five freshmen who will complete the Thundering Herd's 2008 squad. Ian Kadish, Justin Moore, Chad Johnson, Shane Farrell and Arik Sikula are all right handed hurlers whose youth will be relied upon to provide strong innings of relief. Sikula registered a 1.30 ERA and 74 strikeouts en route to being named West Virginia State Player of the Year in 2007. Farrell tallied a 5-1 record as a senior in high school in 37.1 innings on the hill. He surrendered just 10 walks while striking out 35 en route to being named second-team all-city. Fellow newcomer Johnson also recorded a 5-1 record in addition to pitching five saves. The freshman threw 55 innings, struck out 40 and allowed just 10 free passes, while giving up a mere 42 hits. Kadish brings a 9-2 record out of high school that also saw him tally an impressive 62 strikeouts. Rounding out the pitching staff is Moore, who averaged a strikeout in each of his 35 innings pitched during his senior season.

2008 Schedule
The Thundering Herd schedule includes 25 home games, with the 12 Conference USA games to be held at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. Marshall's 13 non-conference home contests will be played at the YMCA Kennedy Center off Route 2 in Huntington.

Thirteen of Marshall's 2008 opponents, including Western Carolina, VMI, Kent State, George Mason, N.C State, Coastal Carolina, Ohio State, Rice, Tulane, Memphis, ECU and Southern Miss., made the NCAA Tournament last spring.

The Herd begins play Feb. 22-24 on the road with a three-game set against Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. before traveling to Conway, S.C. for four contests. Marshall will square off against the Catamounts for a fourth time, Feb. 29 before taking on Bash at the Beach host Coastal Carolina later in the day. The Herd will then take on West Virginia University (Mar. 1) and George Mason (Mar. 2) to close out tournament play.

Marshall will continue play on the road with contests against Radford (March 4) and Cincinnati (March 5) before opening up its home schedule with five games in six days. That stretch from Mar. 7-12 includes a three-game series with Marist, followed by two contests with Valparaiso.

Following three games on the road against VMI (March 14-16) the Herd returns home for two games with Kent State (March 18-19).

Marshall then opens C-USA action with a three-game home series against 2007 College World Series semifinalist Rice (March 21-23), and will also host Memphis (March 28-30), Southern Miss. (May 2-4), and UCF (April 18-20). The Herd will travel to Tulane (April 4-6), East Carolina (April 11-13), UAB (April 25-27) and will finish regular season action at Houston (May 15-16).

Marshall's remaining non-conference home schedule includes Morehead State (April 2), Eastern Kentucky (April 16), Ohio (April 23), and a three-game series with Delaware State (May 9-10).

The remainder of the Herd's non-conference road schedule includes a pair against N.C. State (March 25-26), Morehead State (April 8), Eastern Kentucky (April 16), Kent State (April 22), Ohio (April 30), and Ohio State (May 7).

Marshall finished 2007 with a 21-32 overall record, 5-18 in the conference, and will strive to build on that performance in the 2008 season.