Louisville Blanks Marshall for Sweep, 7-0

March 12, 2008

Louisville, Ky. - The Marshall Thundering Herd softball fell 7-0 to host Louisville in non-conference action, Wednesday afternoon at Ulmer Stadium.

"We played 22 straight games on the road and we learned a lot," Marshall head coach Shonda Stanton said. "Despite today's results we learned more about our team and now we're just excited for the opening of Dot Hicks Field."

The Herd (10-12) was held to three hits, two coming from senior All-American Rachel Folden. Sophomore Marcena Bertoldo recorded the other hit for Marshall. Folden increased her season average to .478 after finishing Wednesday with a total of 4-four-7.

The Cardinal's (10-8) Sarah Totten led Louisville for a second-straight game with two hits and three RBIs. Kristen Wadwell, Kristi Cunningham and Christina Roesel were the other multi-hit batters for Louisville.

Pitcher Erin DeStefano (2-2) went 3.2 innings for the Herd surrendering four earned runs and seven hits. Junior Autumn Mitchell came in for relief for the final 2.1 innings and gave up two runs on five hits.

Kassie Stanfill (3-2) earned the complete-game shutout after allowing only three hits with seven strike outs.

The Cardinals now lead the all-time series, 4-2 and are currently riding a season-high three-game winning streak.

Louisville recorded the bulk of its runs with a three-run third inning. The Cardinals started the inning with four -consecutive base hits starting with a Cunningham double to center field. Melissa Roth doubled to earn the RBI, while Totten kept the rally going with a single for the inning's second RBI. Chelsea Bemis hit her only single in the game to score Totten on a Herd throwing error.

The Cardinals added a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth inning to round out the scoring.

Marshall will now prepare for its season home opener and the revealing of the new Dot Hicks Field against Conference USA member, Houston. Pregame ceremonies will start 15 minutes prior to game time and the first 200 fans will receive a commemorative opening day glass.

Live streaming will be available if an All-Access is purchased via www.herdzone.com and free GameTracker will be provided for all home games.

Louisville 7, Marshall University 0 (Mar 12, 2008 at Louisville, Ky.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Marshall University. 000 000 0 -  0  3  1      (10-12)Louisville.......... 003 220 X -  7 12  0      (10-8)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Marshall University - DeStefano, Erin; MITCHELL, Autumn(4). Louisville - STANFILL.Win-STANFILL(3-2)  Loss-DESTEFANO, Erin(2-2)  T-1:49  A-137

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Players Mentioned

Marcena Bertoldo

Erin DeStefano

Rachel Folden

Autumn Mitchell

Marshall University Athletics