Marshall University Athletics
Thundering Herd Treks to Sunshine State
2/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 17, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.- The Marshall University softball team is off to a staggering four-win start, its best season opening since the 1999 season. The Herd will compete at the Florida Lipton Tournament Friday through Sunday in the second tournament of the season.
The Herd returns to action after sweeping the Stetson Lead-Off Classic last week and is looking to extend the streak when it faces a tough field of competition in tournament-host No. 3 Florida (4-1), East Carolina (1-3), Kansas (2-3) and Campbell (1-2-1).
MU will face ECU on Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a 1:30 p.m. showdown with Big 12 opponent KU. The game against the Pirates will not count as a conference matchup. Saturday is slated for back-to-back games starting with Campbell at 10 a.m. and Florida immediately after. The Herd will close the trip with another faceoff against the Jayhawks at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Both Campbell and Florida made appearances at the NCAA tournament last year - the Camels were knocked out in the regional rounds while Florida fell to Washington in their first NCAA championship appearance in program history.
Leading the Herd at the plate is Marcena Bertoldo, who enters the weekend hitting at a team-best .462 batting average, .923 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage. Bertoldo is tied for second in Conference USA in doubles, at three.
In the circle is Katie Murphree (3-0) who rallied 15 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work. The senior made three starts while pitching two complete games.
As a team, Marshall leads the conference in stolen bases, with 17. The second closest are Tulsa and Southern Miss who each have five. Leading the way in steals is freshman Ashley Gue, who tallied six in the opening week. Also cracking the top five in the category are Jessica Hughes (2nd, with four), Taylor Thompson (t-5th, with two) and Morgan Cottrell (t-5th, with two).
A live broadcast of the tournament can be found, courtesy of Florida, here.
www.Herdzone.com
