MARSHALL - Errors again plagued the Marshall Mudcats as they fell to Brandon Valley 7-6 Thursday night at Legion Field.
The Mudcats committed five errors over the nine inning game, with the most costly error came in the seventh inning.
With one out and one runner on, a potential double play resulted in zero outs after a Matt Campion throw got away from Marshall second baseman Ben Geary.
Article Photos
Photo by Travis Andries
Marshall second baseman Aaron Mathiowetz prepares to place a tag on an opponent from Brandon Valley during Legion baseball play Thursday night at Legion Field.
Instead of inning over, Brandon Valley now had runners on first and third. Jacob Adams took advantage of the new life for Brandon Valley, driving in two runs with a double. The two runs erased a 5-4 lead for the Mudcats. Adams scored on a Sam Rail single to push the Brandon Valley lead to 7-5.
"I think those are plays that go down as errors in the book and they're plays that you would like to make," said Mudcats coach Chace Pollock. "If you make those plays you win the game."
Marshall managed to turn two double plays in the game. Mudcats starter Riley Carpenter got Trevor Crow to ground into a 4-6-3 double play in the first inning to prevent Brandon Valley from scoring more than its one run in the inning. Carpenter got out of another jam in the fourth when Jacob Mulder lined out to Geary, who was playing first base at the time. Geary then threw over to Aaron Mathiowetz for the force at second to end the inning.
Carpenter pitched all nine innings for the Mudcats and picked up the loss. He finished a gutsy performance on the mound with three strikeouts and allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and two walks.
"I think he was up in the zone more than he wants to be," Pollock said. "As the year goes on he'll be our horse down the stretch. We're not too worried about that.
"Ideally we would have liked to limit his pitch count a little bit, but it's tough when a kid doesn't want to come out of the game. Which is a good trait to have," Pollock added.
Marshall attempted a rally, beginning in the bottom of the seventh, but were only able to add one run over the final three innings. The Mudcats had 11 hits off of four Brandon Valley pitchers.
Campion led the way for Marshall at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and a double. Campion was also hit by a pitch twice. Aaron Mathiowetz went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while Geary went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Mason Schnaible added a triple for Marshall.
The Mudcats had taken the lead after a three-run fifth inning. Campion, Carpenter, and Leo Zerr all scored in the inning. Campion scored on a Colton Peterson sacrifice fly. Carpenter and Zerr scored after back-to-back RBI singles from Michael Danahar and Geary.
The big fifth inning came off of Brandon Valley reliever Jacob Mulder, who stayed in the game long enough to earn the win. Mulder relieved his brother Jared to start the fifth inning, and was in turn relieved by Sam Rail with one out in the seventh. Jacob Adams picked up the save for Brandon Valley, striking out the side in his only inning of work.
The loss drops the Mudcats to 5-11 on the season, but Marshall will have an opportunity to get closer to the .500 mark when they host Watertown (S.D.) for a doubleheader on Sunday. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Legion Field.
BV100 030 300-7 11 2
M002 030 100-6 11 5
BV-Jared Mulder, Jacob Mulder (5), Sam Rail (7), Jacob Adams (9). M-Riley Carpenter. WP-Jacob Mulder. LP-Carpenter. S-Adams. 3B: M-Mason Schnaible. 2B: BV-Adams, Dylan Rock, Cole Vanderbeek; M-Matt Campion.