The Miami RedHawks broke out the long ball to break open their Mid-American Conference series opener against Marshall en route to a 16-8 victory over the Herd Friday afternoon at University Heights.

The two teams will square off in a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game slated for a noon start. The series will conclude on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m. Marshall (13-23, 4-8 in MAC) has now lost six straight games.

Miami (21-18, 8-5 in MAC) pounded out seven home runs against Marshall pitching, including three by junior Michael Carlin and two by classmate Andi Scheidt.

The fireworks provided Miami starting pitcher Shawn Landis (4-0) all the support he needed. The senior pitched a complete game, allowing eight runs, all earned, on 17 hits. He struck out eight and did not allow a walk while throwing 125 pitches.

“Landis kept us off-balance at the plate all day until he got tired in the last two innings,” Marshall coach Dave Piepenbrink said. “We were able to get a few hits, but we were never able to string anything together.”

Marshall starter Chris Fritz (4-4) was able to keep the Herd close early on. Despite allowing a pair of solo homers in the first four innings, he went to the fifth down just 4-1. That was when the flood gates opened.

Miami scored four runs in the fifth inning to chase Fritz and followed up with four more in the sixth off reliever Aaron Smith. Miami added a single run in the seventh and three in the eighth to take a 16-1 lead.

Marshall’s bench helped the Herd push across seven runs over the final two innings to make the final score somewhat respectable.

Overall, the two teams combined for 36 hits in the game, 13 of which went for extra bases.

Senior David Colangelo led Marshall at the plate with three hits. He is now just one hit shy of tying the school career hits record of 187 currently held by Eric Pinkerton. Matt White had two hits in the game, including his seventh home runs of the year, while Stuart Shepherd and Mike Koitsopolous also had two hits each.

Carlin’s three home runs give him 10 on the year for Miami. He drove in four in the game. Mike Galloway had three hits, including his ninth homer of the year, while Scheidt had three hits and scored five runs. His two homers give him eight on the year.

Marshall will send sophomore Grant Harper (2-5, 7.02) and junior Rick Suter (1-6, 8.93) to the mound on Saturday. All members of Little League Baseball or any youth league baseball organization will receive admission to the doubleheader for only one dollar.