If this Marshall baseball team is indeed a team of destiny in its 11th year in Conference USA, it has one necessary ingredient: a different star every game.
On this Saturday afternoon, it was Leo Valentin. The shortstop lobbed a shot off the top of the railing beyond the left-field wall to give the Thundering Herd a 4-3, 11-inning victory over Alabama-Birmingham.
He entered the game with ordinary, No. 9-slot credentials, a .239 batting average with a home run and eight RBIs. In fact, his long ball at Charlotte was his only extra-base hit.
But, “He was on the ball all day,” said Herd first baseman Tommy Lane.