Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Canisius
Marshall Softball Picks up Win over Canisius, 5-1
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 7, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Junior Caitlyn Jackson (Ontario, Calif.) pitched over five hitless innings to lead Marshall to a 5-1 victory over Canisius in the Saturday finale of the Marshall Softball Tournament at Dot Hicks Field.
Jackson, who went 3-for-3 at the plate against Buffalo earlier today, got the job done in the circle going seven innings with eight strikeouts for the Thundering Herd (10-7). The first hit for the Griffins (4-4) came in the sixth inning.
"Our pitching got the job done today in the circle. Caitlyn (Jackson) was injured earlier in the week but she came out strong," head coach Shonda Stanton said. "But I continue to be frustrated with us not doing the little things and staying focused."
Marshall continued its streak of jumping on teams early with a two run first inning. Senior Joscelyn Bitner (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jackson walked before sophomore Melanie Stoehr (Tacoma, Wash.) singled to right field scoring both runners.
The Herd extended its lead to three over the Griffins in the second as freshman Rebecca Gamby (Mount Victory, Ohio) walked and was pinch ran for by classmate Melissa Loesing (Grapevine, Texas). After Loesing stole second and advanced to third after senior Kelly Nielson (Tucson, Ariz.) singled.
After Nielson was caught stealing, sophomore Jessica Hughes (Stillwater, Okla.) notched an infield single scoring Loesing.
Going into the sixth with no hits, Canisius tried to battle back as Amanda Cannizzo struck out but reached first after the third strike was dropped and Cameron Norton reached on an error.
The first hit came as Michelle Fridey singled to left field which scored Cannizzo but the scoring ended there as Marshall and Jackson picked up the last two outs and finished the game strong in seven complete.
"We need to play with a passionate drive. When you play 60 games in a season, it's a challenge to get these young ladies to understand how important every single pitch and inning is," Stanton said. "If we can get them to understand that we'll be a great time but now we have good days and bad days until we can be more consistent with our preparation and focus."
Stoehr and Nielson finished the game at 2-for-3 apiece and Stoehr collected two RBIs while Nielson picked up two stolen bases.
The Marshall Softball Tournament will wrap up Sunday as Delaware takes on Canisius at 10 a.m. EST and the finale as Delaware takes on Marshall at 12 p.m. EST. All games will be available via Gametracker and on the airwaves of WMUL 88.1 FM and at http://www.marshall.edu/wmul.
