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The Thundering Herd won the opener 10-2 and the nightcap 4-2.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI struggled in the first inning but settled in the next seven,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Blevins said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was big for us after a rainout (Friday) to come out and get this first one.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Blevins (4-5) started off rocky, walking leadoff hitter John Smith, then giving up a massive home run to right to Rett Johnson. Blevins walked Kyle Morrison before retiring the next five and 17 of the next 19.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEverything,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Blevins, a former Lawrence County High School star, said of what was working for him. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEvery pitch, which kept them off-balance. We scored some runs and it was on from there.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Marshall coach Greg Beals said he was proud of the way Blevins and the Herd responded to an early deficit.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBryce settled in and pitched his tail off the rest of the way,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Beals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t bat an eye being two runs down. We jumped back in and played really good baseball.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

The Thundering Herd took the lead in the second inning on a three-run homer by Ethan Murdoch. Marshall added two runs in the fourth in a single by Maika Niu and a sacrifice fly by A.J. Havrilla.

Marshall scored three times in the fifth, two on wild pitches. An insurance run in each of the sixth and seventh set the score.

Former Boyd County ace Peyton Jackson retired the side in order in the ninth.

Niu went 2 for 5. Havrilla had a single and a sac fly. Tyler Kamerer reached base three times on a double, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Elijah Vogelsong made it on base twice and hit a sacrifice fly. Murdoch walked twice. Nolan Wilson singled once and drew three walks.

In the second game, the Herd took control early with three runs in the first inning.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI liked the fact in the first inning of game two we did some things,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Beals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe had a safety squeeze on. We had a hit-and-run we executed. We did some things to boost that offense.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Eddie Leon knocked in Jackson Halter, Kamerer, Niu, and Vogelsong for the 3-0 advantage.

The Jaguars pulled within 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning, but Vogelsong smacked a home run in the bottom of the inning to finish the scoring.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œ(South Alabama starter Mitchell Herr) went with a fastball a couple of pitches before and I was late on it,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Vogelsong said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was a 3-2 count, and I figured he was going to try to throw a strike, throw it by me, so I tried to be on time and do some damage.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Vogelsong was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Griffin Miller was the winning pitcher. Nicholas Weyrich picked up a save.

The victories boosted Marshall (22-22, 8-12) into the 10th spot in the Sun Belt standings. The top 10 teams make the conference tournament at the end of the regular season. South Alabama fell to 17-23 and 7-13 to sit 13th in the 14-team league heading into SundayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 11 a.m. series finale.

The Herd has left three games at Old Dominion and three at Georgia State in conference play, along with WednesdayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 6 p.m. contest against West Virginia at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston.

Beals said he was pleased with MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s performance Saturday, but work remains.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was a really good day of baseball for us,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Beals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe pitched well enough, we got hits when we needed them and played defense ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” 18 innings with no errors.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

First game

SOUTH ALABAMA 200 000 000 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” 2 4 0

MARSHALL 030 231 11x ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” 10 9 0

Shineflem, Smith (5), Maredo (6) and Mathews; Blevins, Jackson (7) and Wilson.

Hitting: (USA) Johnson 204 HR 2 RBIs; (MU) Niu 2-5, Kamerer 2B, Murdoch HR 3 RBIs.

Second game

SOUTH ALABAMA 000 011 000 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” 2 6 2

MARSHALL 300 001 00x ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” 4 6 0

Heer, Gillis (6) and Mathews; Miller, Krebs (6), Weyrich (9) and Wilson.

Hitting: (USA) Smith 2B, Johnson 2-5 Stevenson 2-3; (MU) Vogelsong 2-4 HR 2 RBIs.