Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Miami (Oh)
@HerdSB Takes Down Miami (OH), 6-1
2/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score (PDF)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Marshall softball team started its trip to the Carolina Classic with a 6-1 victory over the Miami Redhawks. The Thundering Herd improved to 7-3 overall and Miami dropped to 5-5.
Senior pitcher Jordan Dixon went the distance for her fifth win of the season and 81st of her career. Dixon recorded five strikeouts and allowed just four hits. The Edmond, Okla., native now has 875 career strikeouts. Dixon also started a 1-4 double play to end the second.
Junior Taylor McCord got the scoring started for the Herd with two outs in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to center, her fourth of the year.
The Herd put two more on the scoreboard in the second inning as junior Elicia D'Orazio lined a two-out double to left center that scored both Jordan Colliflower and Madi Marshall. Marshall took the lead, 3-0.
Miami changed pitchers to begin the bottom of the fourth. Three batters into the inning, McCord picked up her third RBI of the afternoon with a double to left field. Senior Morgan Zerkle crossed home after her second hit of the game and her second stolen base to get into scoring position for McCord.
The Redhawks put up one run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to three, 4-1. The Herd quickly jumped back on the scoreboard with two more insurance runs as Zerkle launched a pitch over the scoreboard in left in the bottom of the sixth. Zerkle brought home D'Orazio after she reached on an infield error.
Dixon and the Marshall defense took care of Miami in the top of the seventh with three-up, three-down. Dixon recorded the final out after a grounder back to the circle.
Morgan Zerkle was named the Dot Hicks Significant Sticker Award winner against the Redhawks. Zerkle was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, two RBIs, two stolen bases and her first home run of the season. The Milton, W.Va., native's two steals moved her ahead of Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Sierra Davenport (2001-04) for second all-time with 131.
COACH QUOTES
Head Coach Shonda Stanton:
"Dixon gave us a great start. Offensively it was nice to see Zerkle and McCord with the long ball, and to see those two and Elicia at the top of the lineup stepping up in RBI situations. Overall, it was a solid day offensively. I would have liked a little more run production early to put the game away but it was a great way to start the tournament."
UP NEXT
Marshall continues in the Carolina Classic on Saturday Feb. 25. The Herd will first take on the Hampton Pirates at 10:30 a.m. and then stay on the field for a meeting with the Towson Tigers at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM and online at www.marshall.edu/wmul. The games will also be simulcast through Facebook Live on the Marshall Softball page.
