BECKLEY, W.Va. (Interstat) — Marshall’s Jackson Golden delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 10-10 tie and lift the Thundering Herd to a 13-10 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday evening at Linda K. Epling Stadium.

The Sun Belt clash featured 23 combined runs, 25 hits and five lead changes before Marshall pulled away in the late innings. Louisiana-Monroe fell to 25-26 overall, while Marshall improved to 23-27.

Marshall struck first with a four-run bottom of the first. Evan Bottone and Tyler Kamerer singled, and AJ Havrilla doubled to right-center to drive in two. Cooper Hinson followed with a two-run single to give the Thundering Herd a 4-0 lead. After a fielder’s choice and a walk, Jack Golden walked to load the bases, and Bottone doubled down the right-field line to bring home two more, making it 6-0. Louisiana-Monroe answered in the second when Davis Mauzy singled up the middle to plate two runs, cutting the deficit to 6-2. Marshall added a run in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Murdoch to push the lead to 7-2.

The Warhawks chipped away again in the fourth. Mauzy homered to left field in the top of the fifth, and Marcus Aranda doubled down the left-field line to score Jake Haggard, tying the game at 7-7. Marshall reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a groundout by Jack Smith and a two-run double by Golden, making it 10-7. Louisiana-Monroe tied it again in the sixth when Mauzy singled up the middle to drive in two runs, knotting the score at 10-10.

The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the eighth. With the game tied, Marshall’s Mason Onate doubled down the right-field line to score Murdoch, giving the Thundering Herd an 11-10 lead. After a groundout, Onate advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Golden crushed a home run to center field, scoring Onate and stretching the lead to 13-10. Marshall reliever Davis Gunn closed out the ninth, striking out two and allowing two hits in one and one-third scoreless innings.

Golden finished 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs, earning top-star honors for Marshall. Hinson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Bottone added two hits and two RBIs. For Louisiana-Monroe, Mauzy was 4-for-6 with a home run and five RBIs, while Kade Dupont homered and drove in two. Seth Cooper pitched three and one-third hitless innings of relief for the Warhawks, striking out one. Marshall starter Drew Harlow allowed six hits and four earned runs over five innings with five strikeouts.

The game featured a combined five home runs and multiple pitching changes. Louisiana-Monroe outhit Marshall 13-12 but left six runners on base. Marshall capitalized on nine walks and two hit batters.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Louisiana-Monroe 4, Marshall 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Marshall with a 55.20 percent probability to win.