Marshall University Athletics
@HerdSB Travels to WKU to Finish Regular Season
5/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes
Game One: | Live Stream
Game Two: | Live Stream
Game Three: | Live Stream
Radio Broadcast
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Marshall softball hits the road one last time for the 2016 regular season. The Herd (27-24, 11-10 C-USA) head to Bowling Green, Ky. to take on the WKU Hilltoppers (16-28, 7-11 C-USA). Marshall and WKU will play a doubleheader Saturday May 7 beginning at 2 p.m. eastern and a single game Sunday May 8 at 1 p.m. eastern.
Marshall and WKU are both fighting for positioning in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament (May 11-14). The Herd controls its own destiny sitting in second place in the East Division at 11-10. Charlotte is one game back, FIU is two games behind the Herd and WKU is still in contention at 7-11. The top three teams from each division make the tournament while the next two teams with the best record will round out the bracket.
FAU (19-2), UAB (13-8) and UTEP (13-8) have all clinched a spot in next week's tournament hosted by North Texas. Fans can check the standings as well as the tournament bracket at the Conference USA softball page.
The Series...
The history between Marshall and WKU is a relatively short one. The schools have met only six times previously and goes all the way back to March 9, 2001. However, there is a 12 year gap in between meetings. The Herd and Hilltoppers first met in 2001 at a tournament hosted by WKU. The Herd lost the first game 2-0 and won the second matchup 5-1. It took almost two full years before another meeting on the field March 2, 2003 at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga. WKU beat a young Herd squad 11-1 in five innings. 4,394 days later on March 13, 2015 the two schools finally met again as both members of Conference USA in Huntington. The first game was halted in the bottom of the 10th inning due to rain. It was a scoreless tie with Herd sophomore Rebecca Myslenski on first and senior Emileigh Cooper at the plate with two outs. The game was picked back up the next morning and on the second pitch of the morning Cooper cranked a Walkoff, two run home run to give Marshall the first win of the series. WKU came back and won the next two games to take the series. The series this season will be the first time that Marshall and WKU have met outside of the month of March.
A Senior Day to Remember
Senior pitcher Brittanie Fowler came into the ball game in the second inning of the final game of the series against FIU. Marshall and FIU were tied at one win a piece and tied on the scoreboard at 2-2 after the first inning. Fowler proceeded to pitch six shutout innings and helping the Herd win 3-2 to take the series and stay in second place in the C-USA East Division. The senior from Ohio, who was one of six seniors honored on the field in between games, retired the first six batters she faced through the second and third innings. In the fourth, FIU finally recorded two consecutive hits and had a runner in scoring position with no outs. Fowler struck out the next batter for the first out and then got out of the inning with a double play, started by fellow senior Katalin Lucas, from third to first. The Panthers managed one base runner in the fifth and one more in the seventh. Fowler was masterful in the circle inducing grounders and fly balls and getting great defensive support. She also struck out three on her way to her second win of the season.
A Career First to Remember
Sophomore Madi Marshall made a big contribution to the Herd's game one win over FIU this past weekend (4/30). After being inserted into the game to run for freshman Samantha Loose in the fourth inning, Madi stayed in on defense for the top of the fifth and then came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth. The Herd loaded the bases and then FIU made a pitching change. Two batters later with one out the sophomore stepped up and on the seventh pitch of the at-bat with a full count Madi took the pitch deep out to center for a Grand Slam. It was the first home run of Marshall's career and broke the game wide open giving the Herd a 6-0 lead. Earlier this season (2/16) against LIU-Brooklyn, Madi Marshall sent a ball deep to left field that hit the top of the fence for a game-ending, RBI double that gave the Herd a 10-2 run-rule win in the sixth. That shot was about two feet from becoming her first career home run.
Saying Goodbye to Six Seniors
Marshall had its senior day May 1st as six seniors played at Dot Hicks Field for the final time. The Herd's seniors are Alex Dawes (Tipp City, Ohio), Alyssa Woodrum (West Hamlin, W.Va.), Brittanie Fowler (Avon, Ohio), Kaelynn Greene (Eastvale, Calif.), Raquel Escareno (Wellington, Colo.) and Katalin Lucas (Agua Dulce, Calif.). The six were freshmen in 2013 when Marshall won its first Conference USA Tournament Championship and then its first ever trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. All six players have been honored multiple times in some fashion whether it has been their work on the field or in the classroom. The group has been honored 16 times on the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, 8 times as NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes, 5 All-Conference selections, 2 Conference USA Academic Medalists and 2 times as NFCA Mideast All-Region selections. In the record book the six can be found listed 37 times in Marshall single season Top 10s, 28 times in the career Top 10 including holding 4 career records and 4 Marshall individual game records. They have been a part of some of the biggest moments in Herd history and have contributed with game winners, home runs, grand slams, stolen bases, double plays, crucial strikeouts and many great catches. This class has been to two Conference USA Championship games along with the one title (2013) and look to finish out on top.
