Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Southern Miss
Herd Softball Completes Sweep of Golden Eagles
3/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Sophomore pitcher Kailee Williamson went the distance for the 4-1 win to complete the sweep of Conference USA opponent Southern Miss on a sunny Sunday afternoon from Dot Hicks Field.
The Thundering Herd improves to 12-13-1 and 4-1-1 in C-USA play. Southern Miss drops to 11-20 and 1-5 in conference action.
"It was nice to get the sweep in front of our home crowd," Herd head coach Jen Steele said. "Every league game matters and it's hard to beat a team three times in a weekend.
"I'm proud of our squad for finding a different way to win. Yesterday we smacked the ball all over the ballpark. Today we were a little more station to station and let our speed take over."
Williamson got the start in the circle and held Southern Miss to just five hits across seven innings. The lone run allowed was unearned.
"KK (Williamson) pitched great and handled their lineup well," coach Steele said. "She was poised under pressure in the last few innings and put us on her back. She worked really hard in the bullpen this week, mastering her command and I'm happy for her to have that sort of success in a league game."
The game started slowly offensively as both teams flashed great defensive plays. Freshman Rachel Rousseau, making just her second career start, threw out a Golden Eagle runner at second from the fence in left as the runner attempted to turn a single into a double in the first. The Morgantown, W.Va., native finished the game with four putouts and the assist on defense, and was 1-of-3 at the plate.
Senior Elicia D'Orazio saved a run in the top of the third, going up to snag a liner headed to right field and stranding a runner at third base to end the inning.
Marshall got the first run of the game on the board in the bottom of the third. Freshman Samantha Koehn led off with a double to left-center. Two batters later, as Koehn was now at third, senior Jordan Colliflower dropped down a perfect bunt that scored Koehn.
The bats came back to life again in the fifth as senior Eloise Tribolet got the scoring started with an inside-the-park home run to take a 2-0 lead. Later, with D'Orazio at third and Colliflower at second, McCord drove in D'Orazio. Freshman Aly Harrell followed up with a single to center that scored Colliflower. Marshall led 4-0.
Williamson and the Herd defense continued to make plays, but Southern Miss fought back in the seventh taking advantage of a Marshall error to score a run and end the shutout. Williamson ended the game fielding a grounder to the circle and making the throw to junior Briana Daiss at first for the final out, stranding two Golden Eagle runners in scoring position.
Marshall returns to the field on Wednesday, March 21, for a doubleheader at Florida Gulf Coast. The Herd then heads to Boca Raton, Fla., for a three-game conference series at Florida Atlantic on March 24-25.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall Softball team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdSB, Facebook at Marshall University Softball and on www.herdzone.com.
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