Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
@HerdSB Earns Saturday Sweep Against Blazers
5/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall Thundering Herd softball team (34-13, 14-7) won both games Saturday against the UAB Blazers (30-18, 14-7) at Dot Hicks Field.
GAME ONE (6-1)
Half of the Herd runs were scored in the opening inning, with the catalyst being junior Kaelynn Greene as she doubled down the left-field line. Freshman Elicia D'Orazio singled down the right field line to score Greene, then junior Shaelynn Braxton followed up with a home-run to put the Herd on top 3-0.
Marshall padded onto their lead in the second inning after sophomore Rebecca Myslenski and senior Emileigh Cooper reached base after a single and a hit by a pitch, respectively. After a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Morgan Zerkle, freshman Jordan Colliflower, a pinch runner for Myslenski, scored after a throwing error from UAB's catcher. Greene would once again single to score Cooper to increase the Blazers' deficit by 5.
UAB would respond a half-inning later with a run of their own, but so would the Herd. After a single from Shaelynn Braxton and a Katalin Lucas walk, catcher Taylor McCord drove the glow ball to center field, giving the Herd an extra insurance run, ultimately sealing UAB's game one fate.
GAME TWO (5-2)
Reminiscent of game one, Marshall took an early 3-0 victory. It all started with Zerkle, Greene and D'Orazio as all three speedsters singled to fill the bases. Next up, Braxton was hit by a pitch. The hit by pitch would score Zerkle. Designated hitter Raquel Escareno would later hit into a fielder's choice, but D'Orazio scored on the play to increase the lead to 2-0. On the final scoring play, Rebecca Myslenki and her keen eye for pitches would earn a walk to score Braxton.
UAB responded in the top third and fourth innings, with carefully placed singles and a solo homer in the fourth, but a narrow margin for victory was not good enough for the Herd.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kristina Braxton, pinch hitting for Taylor McCord, doubled to center-field. A Myslenski and Emileigh Cooper single would score pinch runner Jordan Colliflower. The final run of Saturday's double-header would come from Cooper, as she scored via single from Kaelynn Greene.
Marshall sophomore pitcher Jordan Dixon earned the win in both games, bringing her total to 33-13. With the wins, she tied former Herd standout Andi Williamson's record total from 2013.
STANTON'S STATEMENTS
Herd Coach Shonda Stanton's Postgame
LET'S GET SOCIAL
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Marshall and UAB will close out the series on Sunday at 12 p.m., with Sunday's senior day ceremonies starting approximately 15 minutes prior to game time.
