Marshall University Athletics
Herd Opens Five-Game Home Stand Tuesday Against Indiana State
3/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 13, 2006
Indiana State Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
HUNTINGTON - After more than 5,700 miles on the road, the Marshall Thundering Herd will open its five-game home stand Tuesday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader against Indiana State.
The games will be broadcast live by WMUL 88.1 FM, 20 minutes prior to first pitch.
Indiana State (7-7) enters Tuesday on a two-game slide and has lost three of its last four games. The Sycamores lost 5-2 to Stony Brook and 1-0 to Charlotte at the Holiday Inn 49er Classic in Charlotte, N.C. Indiana State did, however, defeat Morehead State after losing 4-3 to Liberty in the tournament opener.
Tuesday marks the fourth meeting between the schools. They last met March 10, 1997, when the Herd defeated the Sycamores 4-2. Marshall, which holds a 2-1 series lead, has won the last two meetings.
Last week, the Herd won its home-opening doubleheader in dramatic fashion. Marshall used a pair of walk-off home runs to turn back the Akron Zips 8-7 in game one and 6-5 in game two. Marshall has won 42 of its last 53 games at home (.792 winning percentage), dating back to the 2003 season.
Over the weekend, the Herd (12-11) lost two out of three at Southern Miss in its first Conference USA series. However, it was not a runaway weekend for the Golden Eagles. USM needed 12 innings to dispose of the Thundering Herd, 3-2, in game one of a Saturday doubleheader. Southern Miss followed with a 2-1 victory in the night cap.
Marshall did not go away as the Thundering Herd took the third game of the series behind the bat of Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year Rachel Folden (Baldwin Park, Calif./Diamond Bar). Folden blasted two home runs, while driving in five runs to lead the Herd to a 9-1 run-rule victory Sunday.
In the process, Folden tied and later broke the school's single-season home run record which was set last season by Leigh Wintter (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb).
Another impressive milestone was attained Sunday. Marshall head coach Shonda Stanton became the first coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau. Stanton is now 200-153 in six-plus seasons at Marshall.
Following its non-conference twinbill with the Sycamores, the Thundering Herd returns to action this weekend when it hosts UCF in Conference USA action. A 1 p.m. doubleheader will be played Saturday, followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
