Marshall University Athletics
Softball Splits MAC Doubleheader With Akron
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Softball Splits MAC Doubleheader With Akron
3/29/2003
- Game 1
- Game 2
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.- The Mid-American Conference East Division's leaders met for a pair of games on Marshall University's Dot Hicks Field on Saturday. Marshall came away with the first contest 1-0 and fell to the Zips of the University of Akron, 10-1 in game two.
?It is amazing that we can come out and play absolutely perfect ball in the first game and have no damage control in the second game,? head coach Shonda Stanton said. ?We have to realize that one win is just not enough and we must remain focused.?
Marshall (24-10, 5-2) went ahead early in the first game, using a pair of two out hits to score a single run. Amanda Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.) drew a walk and De?Shaun Drake (Spring Valley, Calif.) moved her to second with a single to left field. The Herd?s number five batter, Allison Webb (Wayne, W.Va.) stepped to the plate and knocked in her 16th runner of the season, giving MU the early 1-0 lead.
Marshall would not score another run, but was able to pull out the 1-0 victory behind Randi Nielson?s (Tucson, Ariz.) one hit performance on the mound. The Herd pounded out nine hits in the game, but couldn?t string them together as they left 10 runners on base.
Nielson carried a perfect game through six complete innings and earned her 14th win and 6th complete game shutout of the season. Karri Britt (Huntington, W.Va.) and Sara Spenia (Las Vegas, NV) led the Herd at the plate with two hits apiece.
Marshall looked like a different team in the second contest, committing four costly errors and producing only a single hit.
Akron (11-10, 3-3) struck in the first inning with a single by Kerry Omerza to left field scoring Tracee McCoy. Marshall wasted no time countering UA in the bottom of the first inning. Courtney Kacenga (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) got things going for the Herd with a lead off walk and Amanda Williams moved her to second with a single to right field. MU?s clean up batter, Drake drove in her MAC leading 32nd RBI plating Kacenga on a sacrifice fly to center.
The score remained 1-1 until Akron struck for another run in the top of the third. The Zips used a drawn walk by Sara Zilles and a single by Kerry Omerza to break the tie, bringing the score to 2-1.
Akron broke the game wide open in the fourth, scoring five runs on five hits and two Marshall errors. After four innings of play the Zips held a commanding 7-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning Akron added on to their lead with a solo homerun by Aaren McBride. The Zips put two more runs on the board in the sixth off two more MU errors making the score 10-1. Marshall wasn?t able to mount any type of offensive counter attack, managing only one hit in the contest and fell by the score of 10-1 after six innings.
Drake received the loss on the mound for the Herd, giving up five hits and four earned runs. She falls to 4-2 on the season. Megan McKenzie earned the complete game shut out and improved her record to 5-6 on the mound for the Zips.
Marshall will try to get the best of the MAC East's 2nd place Zips in the final game of the three game series at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at Dot Hicks Field.
