Marshall University Athletics
Softball To Play in Auburn Tiger Invite
2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Softball To Play in Auburn Tiger Invite
2/8/2005
Abigail Harter picked up two wins for the Herd last weekend. Photo by Matt Riley |
After a promising 4-1 start, the Marshall softball team heads south to Alabama for the Auburn Tiger Invitational. The Herd will battle College of Charleston, Northwestern State and Auburn in the three-day tournament.
Marshall defeated UNLV, Utah State, UTEP and Indiana last weekend while dropping a contest to 2004 NCAA Tournament at-large participant Cal State-Northridge. The Herd saw a phenomenal output from freshman Rachel Folden (Baldwin Park, Calif.). The catcher/first baseman batted .588 on the weekend, including two home runs, two doubles and seven RBI. Leigh Wintter (Acworth, Ga.) and Gina Guzzo (Virginia Beach, Va.) each homered twice. On the mound, Abigail Harter (Monmouth, Ore.) had an impressive weekend, notching wins over Utah State and UTEP. The sophomore compiled a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings of work.
The host school, Auburn (4-1), was the runner-up at the Diamond Fun & Sun Classic at Florida International last weekend. The Tigers placed three on the all-tournament team, including Holly Curie, a player that led AU on the mound and at the plate. The sophomore is hitting .462 and is 2-1 with a .90 ERA. The Tigers defeated its first ranked opponent of the season when it took down #21 South Florida in the opener. The squad is paced by senior Sara Dean. Dean, the 2002 Co-Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, was a Third Team All-American last season.
College of Charleston will see its first action this season on Wednesday night. The Cougars were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference preseason poll. They are led by preseason First-Team All-Conference selections Rachel Stern, Bridgette Loudermilk and Leshe Russell. The Cougars went 43-23 a year ago.
Rounding out competition in the invite is Northwestern State. NW State started its season at 4-1 as well, with wins over McNeese State (2), Sam Houston State, and Prairie View A&M in the Louisiana Mardi Gras Classic. The Demons have dropped only one game, a 12-0 romping against Louisiana-Lafayette, under new head coach Mike Perniciaro. Sarina Noack went 8-for-16 on the weekend while five others are batting over .300. Loni Rasberry tallied two wins on the mound with a 1.20 ERA.
The Herd will get a chance for its first win against College of Charleston as the all-time series sits in favor of the Cougars, 3-0. The games against Auburn and Northwestern State are both firsts. MU takes on Northwestern State at 12:30 p.m. and Auburn at 5:30 p.m. on Friday before challenging College of Charleston on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Bracket play is set to begin thereafter.
