Baseball hosts UCF in pivotal C-USA matchup

The Marshall University baseball team hosts Conference USA opponent UCF for a three-game series starting at 10 a.m Friday.  The first game was moved up because of the possibility of inclement weather disrupting play. The second game will begin at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale is slated for a Sunday at 1 p.m.  All three games will be played at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va.

Both Marshall and UCF are in a race for the top six spots for the C-USA Tournament in Houston, Texas.  The Thundering Herd and Knights enter the series in a three-way tie for fourth place with Memphis as all squads own a 6-6 league record.

The home squad enters the weekend after sweeping a doubleheader against Coppin State at Epling Stadium in Beckley, W.Va.  The Herd captured the first game 10-4 prior to taking game two, 7-3.

Kurt Lipton went 3-for-3 with two triples and three RBI in the first game, while Victor Gomez drove in three runs and Kenny Socorro crossed home on three occasions to highlight the first contest.

In the second game, Thor Meeks had a big game for the Herd, clubbing two three-run homers as part of a six RBI day at the dish.  Meeks and Eric Semeniuk hit back-to-back homers in a four-run second inning to help the Herd earn the sweep.

Since the start of conference play, second baseman Kirby Pellant has been on fire in the batter's box.  The freshman is hitting .408 (20-for-49) against league pitchers with 14 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples and nine RBI out of the leadoff spot.

Sunday's starter Arik Sikula has been outstanding on the bump against league opponents as well. The junior right-hander owns a perfect 2-0 record in four starts with a 3.33 ERA in C-USA action.  He has recorded 22 strikeouts in 24.1 innings, while holding batters to a .209 average against him.

UCF has been an offensive machine all season as the team ranks either first or second in nearly every offensive category.  The team posts a .340 batting average led by Chris Duffy, who is tops in the league with a .448 average. Teammate Shane Brown is not far behind, ranking second in C-USA, hitting at a .426 clip.

Duffy also leads the conference in hits (69), homers (15), RBI (59) and total bases (131) as the Herd pitching staff should be aware of his powerful presence in the lineup.

The Knights rank eighth of nine teams in the league in ERA at 5.79. Saturday's starter, Owen Dew, tops the team in wins with a 5-1 record.  The UCF staff leads the conference in saves with 14 as five different relievers have been credited with one save a piece.