AP Sports Preview

BECKLEY, W.Va. (Interstat) — Louisiana-Monroe visits Marshall on Saturday evening in a Sun Belt Conference matchup at Linda K. Epling Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature of 64 degrees.

The Warhawks enter with a 25-25 record overall after dropping the series opener 7-4 to Marshall on Friday. Louisiana-Monroe has lost six of its last eight games, including three consecutive defeats at Southern Mississippi earlier this month.

Marshall improved to 22-27 with Friday’s victory. The Thundering Herd have won two of their last three after defeating West Virginia 2-7 on Tuesday.

Jake Haggard is a player to watch for Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks infielder went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 10-5 win over Mississippi Valley State on May 5, but has been inconsistent. Over his last 10 games, Haggard is batting .241 with six RBIs. He was 0-for-4 in Friday’s loss to Marshall.

Hunter Richardson is a key reliever for Marshall. The right-hander has not allowed a hit in his last two outings, covering 2.1 innings with three strikeouts. He threw 1.0 scoreless inning against West Virginia on Tuesday and 1.1 scoreless frames at Ohio on April 29.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 4-3 victory for Louisiana-Monroe.

The teams conclude their three-game series Sunday before Marshall hosts Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Louisiana-Monroe returns home to host Troy next week.