Charleston, S.C. - Junior
Matt Talley didn't give up a hit until the sixth inning and tied a career-high in innings pitched to lead The Citadel over Marshall, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon in the Charleston Crab House Shootout at Riley Park.
Talley earned his first win of the season as he pitched 7.0 solid innings, giving up only two hits, one run, while walking three batters and striking out six. The left-hander did not yield a hit until after the first out in the sixth inning, a double by Marshall's Kenny Socorro. It was the longest outing for Talley since he went 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts against Savannah State last season on April 14. Matching zero's on the scoreboard with Talley through much of the game was Thundering Herd starter Shane Farrell, who yielded six hits and two runs to go along with 6.0 innings pitched.
The Bulldogs struck as they were able to break through in the sixth inning when Nick Orvin led off with a single. Felder's sacrifice moved him to second, before Matt Simonelli doubled to deep left to score Orvin and the game's first run. Simonelli would then steal third and score on a ground out off the bat of Bryan Altman, his seventh RBI of the season.
In the seventh, Marshall cut the lead in half when Kurt Lipton launched a Talley offering over the left field wall, the first home run given up by a Bulldog pitcher this season. Talley would finish out the inning with a strikeout and ground out ending his afternoon after 106 pitches.
In the eighth, The Citadel would open up their lead as Orvin once again reached base, via a walk this time. A sacrifice by pinch hitter Grant Richards, followed by a passed ball by Marshall catcher Thor Meeks, put Orvin on third with nobody out. Simonelli then registered an RBI ground out to bring in Orvin. An error by the Thundering Herd short stop Socorro allowed Altman to reach base and move Simonelli to third. David Greene picked up his third RBI of the weekend when he singled up the middle to score Simonelli.
Setup man Raymond Copenhaver relieved Talley in the eighth and set three down, giving way to closer Drew Mahaffey who picked up his third save of the season to seal The Citadel win in the ninth.
"It was an outstanding ball game this afternoon, great pitching by both squads," said The Citadel Head Coach Fred Jordan. "Matt Tally had one of his finest performances of his career here at The Citadel. He had outstanding command of his pitches, really hit his locations well and he threw a lot of pitches for strikes. Defensively, we played well to help him out. We were finally were able to catch a break in the eighth offensively and were able to capitalize."
The Citadel improves to 4-1 on the year, which is their best start since the 2000 season, when they also began the season 4-1. Marshall falls to 3-3 on the season.
The Citadel returns to Riley Park tomorrow in the finale of the Charleston Crab House Shootout as they face Radford at 1:30 p.m. Live stats and an internet broadcast and video coverage of the game are available. For more information on Bulldog Baseball, visit the official website at CitadelSports.com.
Courtesy: The Citadel
