Herds Yeager a first-team All-Star: ; Former Huntington star, teammate Nate Lape, to play in Cape Cod League; Marshall University Notebook

HUNTINGTON - Marshall junior shortstop Adam Yeager was named toThe College Baseball Foundation's 13th annual National All-StarLineup first team.

Yeager stole a school-record 47 bases this season, including ninein the Conference USA tournament. He also hit .322 with two homeruns, five triples, nine doubles, 20 RBI, 59 runs and 79 hits.

Marshall junior center fielder Nate Lape was selected to theNational All-Star Lineup third team.

Lape finished the season with a .388 batting average, 83 hits, 17doubles, 17 home runs and 63 RBI, all of which were team-highs.

Yeager, a former Huntington High star, and Lape are scheduled toplay for the Brewster Whitecaps in the prestigious Cape Cod Leaguethis summer if they don't turn professional. However, both areexpected to be selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft onThursday and Friday.

"I'm real excited," Lape said. "It's a huge honor to be able toplay there. It should be a lot of fun.

"It's the best pitching in the country up there. You play infront of crowds of 2,000 people every game. It's a greatenvironment.

"It's a great way to get a lot better."

"There are always scouts at every game," Yeager said. "So, it's achance to showcase your skills."

Yeager and Lape are scheduled to report to the Cape Cod League onSaturday. The Whitecaps' season is set to begin one week later.

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IN YET another testament to the turnaround taking place insidethe Cam Henderson Center, Marshall's men's basketball team reportedthe nation's 14th largest average attendance increase last season.

The Thundering Herd drew an average crowd of 5,042 at its 17 homegames in 2007-08, when a total of 85,710 fans walked through theHenderson Center turnstiles in Coach Donnie Jones' first season.

That is an increase of 1,498 fans per game compared to 2006-07,when Marshall had an average crowd of 3,544 at its 14 home games.

Marshall is one of 33 schools nationwide with a growth of morethan 1,000 per game.

It marks the Thundering Herd's largest increase from the previousseason since 1994-95, Marshall's first season under former CoachBilly Donovan. The increase that season was 2,449.

Donovan was Jones' boss for 13 seasons at Marshall and Florida,where he still is the head coach.

The Thundering Herd (16-14 overall, 8-8 Conference USA) postedits first winning season since 2000-01 under Jones, whose inauguralteam attracted the largest average attendance in the past sevenseasons at Marshall.

The Thundering Herd, which was 13-4 at home last season, drewcrowds of 5,000 or more seven times in 2007-08.

Marshall drew a season-high crowd of 9,043 when second-rankedMemphis visited the Henderson Center on Jan. 12.

"It's going to be fun next season," senior forward MarkelHumphrey said. "I hope all of the fans come out and support us likethey did last year.

"We want a packed house every game," he added.

"We want it to be like Memphis and add some more on top of it."

Marshall's average attendance increase is the third-best inConference USA behind Memphis (2,221 - the nation's fourth-largestincrease) and Central Florida (2,195 - the country's fifth-largestincrease).

Led by former Huntington High School star O.J. Mayo, SouthernCalifornia (2,670) reported the nation's largest increase.

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THUNDERING HERD assistant football coach Phil Ratliff is one ofthe seven members of the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame's27th class.

This year marks the hall's 25th anniversary.

Ratliff was an All-American lineman from 1989-1992 for theThundering Herd.

His head coach, Jim Donnan, also is among this year's inductees.Ratliff was a team captain for Donnan in 1992, when they helped MUwin its first Division I-AA national championship.

Donnan was 64-21 from 1990-95 before leaving for the Georgia job.He now is an ESPN commentator.

The other members of the class include J.R. VanHoose (1998-2002), one of the all-time greats in men's basketball; ByronCarmichael (1999-2002), the all-time leading scorer in men's soccer;Anna Mitina (1999-2002), one of the best ever in women's tennis; andTom Kies (1985-89), a former All-American men's golfer.

The final member, who was named in the "Pre-1960s Thundering HerdGreats" category, is William "Bill" Harris, who starred in bothbaseball and football. He also helped launch the school's fledglingwrestling program in 1953.

The new members will be inducted Aug. 29. There will be areception at 5:30 p.m. and a dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Don MorrisRoom of the Memorial Student Center that evening.

The honorees also will be introduced to the crowd duringMarshall's football season-opener against Division I-AA IllinoisState on Aug. 30 at 4:30 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

Tickets for the banquet are $30 each and available at theMarshall ticket office in the Henderson Center lobby. Call 1-800-THE HERD or visit www.HerdZone.com to order tickets.

Contact sportswriter Jacob Messer at jacobmesser@dailymail.com or348-1712.