HUNTINGTON Ƶ The No. 4-seeded Marshall baseball team is scheduled face No. 5 seed Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
The tournament in its entirety can be streamed on ESPN+.
The tournament takes the top 10 teams from the regular-season standings, leaving four at home. This is the first season the Thundering Herd has qualified for the tournament as a member of the SBC. Marshall last played in a conference tournament in 2019 as a member of Conference USA.
Marshall has climbed from 16 wins in its first season under Greg Beals in 2023 to a 31-24 record entering this yearƵs tournament. The 2025 Herd is just the third team in school history to have 30 or more wins. The 2016 Herd that plucked a No. 2 seed in Conference USA holds the high mark at 34. Marshall won 30 games in 2008.
MarshallƵs 16 conference wins this year is the second-best showing in program history, to 21 in that 2016 season.
To get there, the Herd has won 13 of its last 15 games. Marshall has scored 152 runs in those 15 games, with nine games of 10 or more. The Herd was picked 12th in the preseason poll.
ƵThe Sun Belt, whoever picks it before the season, they picked us 12th,Ƶ MarshallƵs Maika Niu said. ƵThey had us not even in (the tournament). We wanted to prove them wrong, and we did that. ThatƵs pretty damn good.Ƶ
Eddie Leon, one of the seniors that has been part of the shift to a winning culture, is confident in MarshallƵs ability to keep up the pace.
ƵIf thereƵs a time to get hot in the year, itƵs right now,Ƶ Leon said. ƵRolling to the tournament with a couple of wins, a little bit of confidence and a little bit of swagger with us. WeƵre carrying that through, and itƵs anyoneƵs game at that point. We get in and we make things happen, and we can mess around and win a championship.Ƶ
Marshall tied with Louisiana in the final SBC standings. The Herd won the tiebreaker by beating Southern Miss in its regular season series. Louisiana and Marshall did not play during the regular season. The RaginƵ Cajuns have never lost to Marshall, leading the all-time series 6-0.
The last matchup between the two was in April 2024. Louisiana swept a series against Marshall in three close games, 2-0, 1-0 and 3-1.
Notable wins for the Cajuns this season include a victory over Dallas Baptist, ranked No. 21 at the time, and a win over then-No. 21 Troy. Louisiana was swept by Southern Miss and did not play SBC champion Coastal Carolina.
The RaginƵ Cajuns bucked a five-game losing streak in its last series of the season, winning against Arkansas State on senior day, 8-6.
Louisiana has two qualified batters hitting at .300 or higher. TheyƵre led by Conor HiggsƵ .346 average. Higgs, a redshirt senior, was named to the All-SBC first team.
Higgs has 16 homers, 10 doubles, two triples and 45 RBIs in 185 at-bats. HeƵs also stolen six bases on 13 attempts. He leads Louisiana in OBP at .466. He also leads the Cajuns in strikeouts with 48. HiggsƵ average ranks fifth in the SBC. He is ninth in hits with 64 and fifth in total bases at 126.
Caleb Stelly, whoƵs hitting .314, was a second-team selection as the only other RaginƵ Cajun to be named to postseason SBC honors. He has eight homers, 10 doubles and two triples in 191 at-bats. He has 31 RBIs.
Louisiana has two other batters with 30 or more RBIs. The Cajuns have totaled 41 homers and 81 doubles. None of LouisianaƵs offensive stats are within the top five of SBC teams in terms of hits, doubles, triples, home runs or RBIs.
But when it gets on base, Louisiana is the biggest speed threat. It leads the SBC in stolen bases at 92 on 123 attempts.
The Cajuns have four qualifying pitchers at an ERA of 5.17 or lower. JR Tollett leads with a 3.58. He has struck out 61 batters and holds a record of 5-4. Tate Hess has the best record among the quartet at 6-2. Chase Morgan leads Louisiana in strikeouts at 65 on the year. Morgan, Tollett and Hess each have 60 or more strikeouts. Morgan has allowed the fewest doubles among qualifying SBC pitchers.
Among the bullpen, Matthew Holzhammer has 40 strikeouts. Dylan Theut has 31. Andrew Herrmann is fourth in the SBC in saves with two. He also has only allowed 79 hits, good for fifth in the SBC. Herrmann also has allowed the fifth-fewest runs.
Where Marshall will get its spark is recent success from batters like Niu. He has hit a home run in six of his last seven games, including a six-game streak that tied the all-time SBC record.
ƵBeals says it all the time, weƵre our best when weƵre competing,Ƶ Niu said. ƵThatƵs what weƵre trying to do. We try not to think about doing too much. We want to do enough to compete with our best baseball.Ƶ
Leon is 12th in the conference in hits at 63 and tied for second in the SBC in doubles with 18.
The bottom three of the HerdƵs batting order has really sparked its recent streak. That group is batting .345 in the last 15 games, with 54 runs and 46 RBIs. MarshallƵs Jackson Halter has also become a top-end base-stealer, ranking sixth among the SBC at 17 swipes on 18 attempts.
Niu is ninth in the conference in runs scored with 49. He is fifth in triples at four and has rocketed to 10th in home runs with 12. HeƵs tied for 12th in RBIs with 46.
Niu had a walk-off single against Georgia Southern to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning on senior day, keeping his impact despite the conclusion of the homer streak. His approach gives insight into what has made the game come to him.
ƵI have this positive self talk the whole time,Ƶ Niu said of the at-bat. ƵI was waiting on deck, and they switched the pitcher up. The whole time, I was talking to myself that I was going to win the game. All the guys in front of me did their job to put me in that position, so itƵs a real team effort. Gotta love it.Ƶ
How big is the ball looking?
ƵI guess itƵs pretty big, I donƵt know,Ƶ Niu said while shaking his head. ƵIƵm really confident right now. I feel good. IƵm feeling my legs where IƵm supposed to. When I feel good, I see the ball. IƵm not swinging at pitches in the dirt anymore. It helps me get better pitches.Ƶ
That type of confidence is what Niu said Marshall needs to advance to the next round of the tournament. If it were to win, the Herd would likely face No. 1-seeded Coastal Carolina next. The tournament is double elimination.
ƵWeƵre going to take it into the tournament, stay positive and be a big family in there,Ƶ Niu said. ƵWeƵre going to keep that family vibe and keep going.Ƶ
