Marshall University Athletics
@HerdSB End Fall Ball on a High Note
10/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall softball team finished out its fall exhibition season Saturday, Oct. 10, in dominant fashion. The Herd (6-2) swept the final double header of the fall 8-0 and 13-1 over Ohio Valley.
Marshall received strong performances from the circle in both games and Head Coach Shonda Stanton was pleased with the staff's performance. "(Jordan) Dixon and (Brittanie) Fowler provided strong starts," Coach Stanton noted. "And we got solid relief innings from our freshmen."
Junior pitcher Jordan Dixon (Edmond, Okla.) started game one in the circle for Marshall and shut down the Fighting Scots. From the first inning into the fourth, Dixon did not allow a base hit and retired 10 straight batters with nine in a row coming by strikeout. She threw five innings and finished with 11 strikeouts.
Senior Brittanie Fowler (Avon, Ohio) started game two and pitched three shutout innings allowing only one hit and striking out four. Freshmen Ali Burdette (Buffalo, W.Va.) Cheyenne Meyer (Port Republic, N.J.) and Abigail Tolbert (Barboursville, W.Va.) combined through both games to throw four innings, allow only two hits and just one run to Ohio Valley.
On the offensive side, the Herd got the scoring going early and often. Senior Katalin Lucas (Agua Dulce, Calif.) got things rolling in the first inning in game one with an RBI triple to left center that scored fellow senior Kaelynn Greene (Eastvale, Calif.). Freshman Brianna Daiss (Clermont, Fla.) followed that up with an RBI single that scored Lucas. Daiss would add a big hit in the fifth with a solo home run to right center, her first of the fall that gave Marshall a 5-0 lead.
In game one Greene finished 2-3 at the plate and scored two runs along with two stolen bases. Lucas went 2-4 with a run and two RBIs. Daiss finished 3-4 with two RBIs and senior Alyssa Woodrum (West Hamlin, W.Va.) drove in two runs as well. Sophomore Taylor McCord (Gilbert, Ariz.) added two hits as Marshall finished the game with 14 hits in all as well as five stolen bases.
In game two, Marshall exploded from the beginning scoring seven runs on eight hits in the first inning. Burdette added the Herd's second triple of the day that drove in two runs. The Herd scored three more in the second, one run in the third and the final two runs of the game in the fourth. The last two runs came after freshman Summer Collins (Logan, W.Va.), who reached base safely on a fielder's choice, scored on an inside-the-park home run by junior Morgan Zerkle (Milton, W.Va.).
"We got results up and down the line giving us a number of options to produce runs," Coach Stanton said in talking about her team's performance. "Our coaching staff is fired up to get to work with our athletes in the off season because of their coachability. We are enjoying coaching this group."
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