COLUMBUS, Ohio (Interstat) — The Marshall Thundering Herd erupted for five runs in the first inning and weathered a potent Ohio State comeback, riding a five-hit performance from Jackson Halter and a lockdown effort from its bullpen to an 11-7 victory over the Buckeyes on Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium.

The win, which improved Marshall to 17-18, defied pregame projections that heavily favored Ohio State (19-16). Interstat’s game simulator had forecast a 7-3 Buckeyes win, giving the home team a 56.7% probability of victory.

Marshall wasted no time, batting around in the top of the first against Ohio State starter Lincoln McVicker. Evan Bottone walked, stole second and scored on AJ Havrilla’s single. Halter followed with an RBI single, part of his standout 5-for-6, two-RBI night, as the Herd staked itself to a 5-0 lead before recording an out.

Ohio State’s Henry Kaczmar answered in the bottom half with a solo home run to center, but the game’s momentum shifted decisively in a chaotic fourth inning. After Dane Harvey led off with a homer to make it 5-2, the Buckeyes sent 10 men to the plate, capitalizing on a Marshall pitching change to score four more runs. Grant Mangrum’s two-run double was the big blow, followed by RBI doubles from Alex Bemis and Kaczmar, giving Ohio State a 6-5 lead and seemingly seizing control.

The most important part of the game, however, was Marshall’s immediate response and the subsequent silencing of the Ohio State bats by its relievers. The Herd tied the game in the fifth on a Buckeyes error and reclaimed the lead for good in the sixth on Cooper Hinson’s RBI double and Oliver Service’s fielder’s choice.

From there, the Marshall bullpen quartet of Blaine Albright, A.J. McAninch, Davis Gunn and Alex Caudill was impenetrable. Over the final 5 1/3 innings, they combined to allow just one unearned run on three hits while striking out eight. Albright escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by striking out Harvey, and Gunn entered with two on in the eighth and induced a key flyout to end the threat after allowing an RBI single to Harvey.

Marshall broke it open with a four-run eighth, highlighted by Jack Smith’s two-run single and a sacrifice fly from Bottone. Halter added an insurance RBI double in the ninth, and Service drove in another with a sac fly.

Despite being outhit 14-12, Marshall took advantage of eight walks, two Ohio State errors and two sacrifice flies. The Herd also turned two double plays, matching the Buckeyes’ total.

Mangrum went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Ohio State, while Harvey was 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Buckeyes reliever Sahil Patel provided three scoreless innings, but the staff ultimately could not contain Marshall’s relentless offense.

Marshall travels to face South Alabama for a three-game series starting Friday. Ohio State opens a Big Ten series at Purdue on Friday.