CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Senior Adam Liberatore pitched a gem, and the Tennessee Tech offense did all it needed to do, scoring one run in Tech’s1-0 victory over Marshall in the opening game of The Citadel Memorial Challenge on Friday.

Liberatore gave up no runs and only two hits in seven innings, striking out eight batters and walking just four before sophomore A.J. Kirby-Jones took over. Kirby-Jones went the final two innings and struck out two batters while earning his first save of the year.

The Golden Eagles (4-2) got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, when junior Heath Cheverton’s sacrifice fly scored freshman Ben Burgess, who had reached base on a single.

Senior Evan Webb was the only player for either team to get two hits in the game, going 2-for-4 from the plate. Burgess, Alex Henry, Chad Oberaker, and Casanova Donaldson each had one hit for Tech. The Golden Eagles had one error in the game.

The Thundering Herd (2-3) finished the game with no runs on three hits and no errors.

Liberatore earned the win, and improved to 2-0 on the season, keeping his perfect 0.00 ERA in 2009. In his only other start this season, Liberatore pitched seven shutout innings in a win against Saint Peters in Cookeville.

Marshall sophomore Shane Farrell got the loss, and fell to 0-2 despite a six inning, six-strikeout performance.

The Thundering Herd threatened in the third inning when sophomore Ben Jurevicius singled then stole second. He later reached third on a groundout, but Liberatore induced an inning-ending ground ball to keep Marshall off the scoreboard.

The Citadel Memorial Challenge continues Saturday for the Golden Eagles, when they face host The Citadel in the first game of a double-header, before taking on Radford in the nightcap.