Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
Marshall Splits With UAB After Claiming Game One Marathon
4/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 12, 2008
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall freshman Melanie Stoehr drilled a one-out two-RBI walkoff homer to left field in the bottom of the 10th inning to seal the Herd's victory in game one of Saturday's Conference USA doubleheader against UAB, 6-4. The Blazers earned a split in the second game with a 3-0 victory in game two.
"We tried everything we could to give away game one, but we were fortunate to come away with the victory," head coach Shonda Stanton. "During game two, Autumn Mitchell played good enough to get us the win, but our hitters didn't adjust to get any hits."
The Herd (18-25, 7-8 C-USA) tallied seven hits in the first game, but was limited to only three in the second. UAB ( 23-26, 8-9 C-USA) out-hit Marshall in both contests with nine in game one and 10 in the second.
In game one, Marshall's Caitlyn Jackson pitched 9.2 innings striking out five before reliever Autumn Mitchell (7-4) could close out game. Jackson allowed four runs on eight hits, while Mitchell finished the contest and picked up her seventh win of the season. The Blazer's Kayla Harris (10-9) went 9.1 innings surrendering six runs from eight walks and seven hits.
Lowe's Senior Class Award Finalist, Rachel Folden, started the game with a lead off home run to give the Herd an early 1-0 advantage. The Blazers responded in the top half of the third with a run to tie the game at one. UAB's shortstop Kayla Orr singled up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Caley Walden. Orr eventually reached third by an error from the Herd's third baseman, Marcena Bertoldo.
With Orr on third, Andrea Rogers hit a RBI single through the right side, scoring Orr.
Tied at one, the Herd added two more runs in the bottom of the third with a pair of extra base hits. Second baseman Deanna Tourville started the inning with a walk. After two Herd outs, Caitlyn Jackson ripped a triple to right center field, scoring Tourville. Junior outfielder Rachael Sofie hit a RBI ground rule double to right field, which scored Jackson.
Trailing 3-1, the Blazers answered with a run in the next two innings to tie the game and force extra innings. In the fourth inning, Cameron Skates singled to left center and moved to second on a ground out by Laura Callaway. UAB tied the game in the fifth with another run.
The Blazers broke the tie in the top of the ninth when they scored on a throwing error by the Herd. Leigh Walker hit a one-out single through the right side, which preceded an Andrea Rogers single through the right side of the infield. After a fielder's choice, a throwing error by the Herd to attempt a double play failed, scoring Rogers from second base.
Marshall would get its revenge in the bottom portion of the inning when it loaded the bases with one out. Blazer's ace Harris overshot her catcher scoring Bertoldo from third base on the wild pitch.
After shutting down UAB in the top of the 10th, Sofie reached on a one-out error by the Blazer's short stop, Kayla Orr. With a 1-2 count, freshman Stoehr delivered with a homer to left field clinching the Herd's first conference home game.
After its 10 inning marathon, the Herd's bats would cool off in the second game as Marshall was limited to three hits.
The Herd's Mitchell closed out the first game and then started the second game with five consecutive strikeouts. The Blazer's Jennifer Nelson (13-18) got the nod in the second game and picked up her fifth shutout of the season.
UAB got on the board in the third inning when Orr hit a screamer down the left field line. Orr stole third and scored on the next play from a Walker single.
The Blazer's added insurance runs in the fourth and seventh to close out the victory. First baseman, Callaway, hit a one-out double in the fourth, which she scored on the Amanda Allen RBI single. In the seventh, a Holly Krzan leadoff double and stolen base, placed the right fielder on third base. She scored on Walker's second RBI of the game.
The Herd and UAB will conclude its conference three-game series, Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) at Dot Hicks Field.
