Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Miss
Softball Takes Series From Southern Miss
4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2011
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - In a continuation of Friday's second game, the Marshall University softball team broke open for a 4-2 victory early Saturday afternoon, securing the conference series with the win over Southern Miss. The Herd then dropped a 5-1 decision in the weekend finale.
Natalee Pulver improves to 8-13 with a win in the second game of the series, where the Thundering Herd (17-29, 3-14 C-USA) outlasted Southern Miss 4-2. Coming up big at the dish for MU was Alysia Hively who homered her sixth long ball of the year in the contest, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Saturday's second game saw Southern Miss (17-29, 4-14 C-USA) stave off the sweep, collecting its lone win in the series 5-1. Beth Dietrich came in relief to snag the win, improving her to 10-14 after being the pitcher of record in all three games of the series.
Game Two Continuation: Marshall 4, Southern Miss 2
Friday scoring recap: a sacrifice fly by Chanell Thurman plated Jill Mathis from third base to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the third.
Marshall claimed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth as base runners Melanie Stoehr and Ashley Gue crossed home, unearned, via a USM misplay in the infield on a Victoria Marvin pinch hit.
Adding safety to the lead, a long ball from Hively also plate Rebecca Gamby allowing the Herd to go up 4-1 in the fifth with one out on the board. Southern Miss quickly brought in Dietrich for starter Courtney Ramos who exited after 4.1 innings of work.
A late homer to left by Mathis in the seventh closed the gap at 4-2 but it was not enough as the Herd escaped with the win and allowed MU to collect the series.
Pulver recorded the win after closing 6.1 innings in the circle and tossing three strikeouts. Dietrich garnered her second loss of the series after 1.2 innings pitched.
Game Three: Southern Miss 5, Marshall 1
Southern Miss chalked up three runs in the second on its third home run of the series, via Alexis Hurley, giving the Golden Eagles a 3-0 head start in the weekend finale.
Marshall worked through a trio of pitchers in the second frame, starting with Erika Bennett, who pitched the first 1.1 innings and nabbed one strikeout. Andi Williamson entered for a brief stint of four batters faced before the Herd elected to call up Pulver to get out of the jam.
Four straight walks in the bottom of the third allowed MU to grace the board, 3-1, with bases loaded and two outs. Gabby Luciani exited the game after battling through 2.2 innings and one strikeout to make way for reliever Dietrich.
The Golden Eagles would seal the 5-1 win in the top of the seventh after Chanell Thurman's single up the middle plated Taylor Brown and Michelle Takeda. Bennett garnered the loss after logging 1.1 innings in the circle.
Up next for the Thundering Herd, UTEP will visit the Dot in a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on April 30.
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