The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Sports Front

January 20, 2013

Herd baseball has 3 dates in Beckley

Marshall releases schedule for 2013

By Gary Fauber Assistant Sports Editor

Marshall University was the state’s last institution of higher learning to release its 2013 baseball schedule.

By the looks of things, it was worth the wait.

The Thundering Herd will play four teams ranked in the preseason, and of course will have an extensive Beckley showing. The team, led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Waggoner, will make at least three appearances at Linda K. Epling Stadium, including a conference series for the first time and a long-awaited meeting with West Virginia University.

Radford will be the opponent for Marshall on March 12 for the Herd’s first Beckley appearance of the season. In fact, it will be Marshall’s first home game of 2013.

After that, Marshall is not scheduled to return to Beckley for two months, but what a return it will be. The Herd will host a three-game set with outoing Conference USA rival East Carolina May 10-12. The first two games, on Friday and Saturday, will start at 7 p.m. The series finale will start at 1 p.m. that Sunday.

After a day off, the Herd will return to Epling Stadium Tuesday, May 14, to take on WVU in the last of a three-game installment. First pitch will be 6 p.m.

The Herd and Mountaineers, who have not played since 2005, are also scheduled to face each other March 19 at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston and April 2 at Hawley Field in Morgantown. Both games will start at 6 p.m.

There are six other home games on Marshall’s schedule at sites that have not been determined, including a three-game series with former Mid-American Conference foe Central Michigan.

“We and Marshall have always had a great experience,” said Doug Epling, owner of Epling Stadium. “We do business with a handshake because there is so much trust among us. And to have that WVU-Marshall game here, I am very, very pleased with that.”

The Herd will play 56 games in all, starting with a three-game set at future C-USA member Old Dominion Feb. 15-17.

The schedule includes games with four teams in the Top 40 preseason rankings of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. They are at No. 8 Kentucky (March 26), at No. 20 Rice (May 16-18), at No. 38 Coastal Carolina (Feb. 24), at No. 36 Southern Miss (April 12-14) and the Beckley series against ECU, which is No. 37.

Six Herd opponents advanced to the NCAA regionals last season: Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Kentucky, Rice, UAB and UCF.

“The players and coaches are extremely excited about this year’s schedule,” Waggoner said. “With the challenge of a very competitive nonconference schedule in addition to the always demanding Conference USA schedule and traveling on the road, we are going to need our eight seniors to step up and lead us.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Sports Front
  • 052413 Woodrow.jpg Woodrow Wilson headed to states

    Hunter Greco will walk into the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School this morning for the final time. He’ll walk past his locker and the classroom of his favorite teacher.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • 052413 Indy.jpg Rain halts AA final in 5th

    It took nearly a week for PikeView and Independence to finally claim their sectional championships, largely because of persistent rain.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • 052413 James Monroe.jpg Mavericks fall in AA title game

    The James Monroe High School softball team scratched its way up to the championship game of Class AA softball this week.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • Months of waiting ends: Weeks signs with Marshall

    Adam Weeks probably could have helped usher in a historic first season for the Mountain East Conference at any member school he wanted. Instead, he waited — and waited — for the offer he really wanted.

    May 24, 2013

  • 052313 james monroe A dream start, nightmare end

    Lightning on the horizon brought Wednesday's final game of the state softball tournament to an end.
    The James Monroe Lady Mavericks had felt a shock long before that.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • 052313 woodrow One step away from Charleston

    A trip to Charleston — with a lot more on the agenda than a tour of the capitol building and a shopping spree at Charleston Town Center — will be up for grabs tonight for three area teams that are one win away from punching their ticket to the WVSSAC State Baseball Tournament at Appalachian Power Park.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • 052313 Tanner Tanner is Summers County coach

    After weeks of controversy, it appears Summers County High School officially has a new football coach.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • WVU baseball changes up pitching lineup for Big 12 Championship

    Randy Mazey’s attention has been on everything but baseball in recent days, as the West Virginia University coach has been out in front of his team’s effort to help the tornado victims in Oklahoma, where his team has been this week preparing for the Big 12 Baseball Championships, which begin today at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.

    May 22, 2013

  • 052213 woodrow Woodrow downs defending AAA champs

    It’s a play that Woodrow Wilson has practiced everyday this season and has rarely had to utilize.
    It’s a good thing the Flying Eagles did practice it; it saved their season and led to a 2-1 victory over defending state champion Princeton.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • 052213 indy No repeat for Warriors

    Independence has been on a tear offensively the entire month of May. It didn’t stop Tuesday, even against Wyoming East ace Derek Thornton.
    The Patriots led 5-0 after two innings, and Brian Sexton — backed by that very offense and some sparkling defense — gutted out a complete game in a 7-5 win in the Class AA Region 3 semifinals Tuesday night.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo