Marshall University Athletics
Herd Looks to Extinguish Blazers
4/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 25, 2013
HUNTINGTON, W. Va.-After a ten-day break from competition, the Marshall softball team (29-17, 11-7 C-USA) will return to action this weekend with a trip to Birmingham, Ala. to take on UAB (29-12, 16-2 C-USA) at the UAB Softball Field. The series against the top C-USA seed will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET, before wrapping up with a single game at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 28.
Marshall entered its bye week after a dominating performance in a doubleheader against Ohio on Wednesday, April 17. The Herd picked up a 4-0 victory in game one before snatching a 3-2 victory in game two. Seniors Ashley Gue and Williamson both had record-setting days. While Gue jumped into sole possession of second place in the Herd's record books with 104 stolen bases, Williamson broke records for strikeouts in a single game (16), wins in a season (26) and strikeouts in a season (300). She earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors for her performance, and is currently leading the nation in strikeouts.
Gue continues to lead the Herd with a .344 average. She is followed closely by freshman Kaelynn Greene, who holds a .341 mark on the season and a team-high .377 in conference play. Senior Alysia Hively has hit a team-high eight home runs, while recording 22 RBIs - trailing freshman Shaelynn Braxton who holds 25 RBIs on the season. Braxton leads the team with five homers in conference, along with 17 RBIs.
UAB moved into first place in C-USA after taking two from No. 25 Tulsa April 13-14 and sweeping UTEP this past weekend. The Blazers will be coming off a doubleheader against Kennesaw State before facing the Herd.
UAB's Caitlin Attfield leads the team with a .362 average and 26 runs, while teammate Whitney Fletcher is leading the team in conference action with a .431 average. Blazers' Kristen McGrath is leading the team in overall and conference home runs and RBIs with 10 homers on the season (six in conference) and 32 RBIs (16 in conference). In the circle, Lauren Webster (11-3), Lannah Campbell (8-3) and Leigh Streetman (10-6) split the pitching responsibilities. Webster has a 1.54 ERA on the season, which ranks second in C-USA, while teammate Campbell is the only undefeated starting pitcher in conference (6-0) with a 1.58 ERA and five saves.
The Blazers have yet to lose a conference series, and the Herd looks to be their first loss this weekend.
