Marshall University Athletics
Herd Softball to Host FIU in Key East Division Series
3/29/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall softball team returns to Dot Hicks Field Friday and Saturday to take on the FIU Panthers in a key Conference USA east division series. The teams play a doubleheader Friday, 1 and 3 p.m., and a final game Saturday at 12 p.m.
Saturday is also Lil Sis Day at Dot Hicks Field where our many wonderful Lil Sis members will be recognized on the field.
The series with FIU is the start of a five-game homestand for the Thundering Herd as Marshall will play St. Francis on Tuesday, April 3, in a doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m.
Marshall comes in at 14-16-1 overall and 5-3-1 in C-USA. FIU is 16-19 and 2-4 in conference action.
Last Time Out: Spring Break - Down to Florida
Over spring break, Marshall headed down to the sunshine state for the second time this season to take on Florida Gulf Coast in a Wednesday doubleheader and then Florida Atlantic over the weekend. The Herd played well against a FGCU squad that entered the day 24-5. Marshall could not hold on in game one losing 4-3 as the Eagles got the walk-off win in the seventh. In game two, the Herd struggled out of the gate and trailed 4-1 going into to the seventh. However, the bats found a spark as 11 batters came to the plate and Marshall scored seven runs to take an 8-4 lead. Taylor McCord hit a one-out double to get things rolling. Briana Daiss drove in McCord and then Daiss scored on a double from Jordan Colliflower. Katie Adams was intentionally walked for the second time in the game to load the bases. Aly Harrell grounded out to second for the second out but still drove in the game-tying run. Blakely Burch then reached on an infield error that allowed Colliflower and Adams to score as the Herd took the lead. Marshall was not done as Elicia D'Orazio hit a single and then Abigail Estrada, who led off the inning with a strikeout, stepped back up to the plate and drove in the final two runs of the inning. Freshman Tatum Ksiazek, who entered the game in the fifth, pitched a gem in the seventh as the Eagles were retired in order in just five pitches. It was Ksiazek's first career win.
Marshall then traveled from the Gulf coast side to the Atlantic side of the state for a three-game series with FAU. The Herd took a shutout win in game one, 4-0. Abigail Tolbert got the win and Ali Burdette shared in the shutout. Marshall scored four runs in the fifth with three coming from a Harrell homer. McCord threw out three potential Owl base-stealers to increase her career total to 54, just one away from tying Karri Britt (2000-03) for the most in program history. It was also the first time a Marshall catcher had three caught stealing in a game since Allison Webb at Buffalo on May 1, 2004. FAU took the final two games of the series. However, the Herd finished the weekend with eight stolen bases on an Owl team that allowed just six all season (32 games). Colliflower continued to figure out ways to get on base and the senior increased her career-high hitting streak to 13 games. The streak almost came to an end in the series finale at FAU until Colliflower reached on an infield single in the top of the seventh. The Huntington native also stole three bases during the series including two in game one. The game one victory over FAU was also win number 100 for head coach Jen Steele in her Division I career.
The Series: 14 meetings, Marshall leads 9-5
Marshall and FIU first met during the Panther's second season of existence on March 20, 1999 at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. Marshall won the game 1-0. 15 years went by before the two schools met on the same field again. April 18-19, 2014 in Huntington as both schools were now in Conference USA. Marshall swept the home series 6-4, 8-4 and 6-2. In 2015, Marshall made its first trip down to the FIU campus in Miami and dominated the first two games of the series. The games played on until late in the night of March 7 as game one included a long rain delay, and the Herd slugged its way to a 13-5, run-rule victory. Junior Morgan Zerkle belted her first home run that went out of the park. Game two finally got started at 9 p.m., and Marshall again put up 13 on the Panthers. FIU responded on Sunday with a dominating 9-1 win in the series finale.
In 2016 in Huntington, it was senior weekend and a sophomore came through in a big way for Marshall in game one. Madi Marshall stepped up in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and hit her first career home run to left-center for a grand slam. The teams had to play a doubleheader on Sunday due to rain the day before. FIU took game two, 6-4. Seniors Brittanie Fowler and Kaelynn Greene were magnificent in their final appearances at Dot Hicks Field for game three. Fowler came on in relief of Jordan Dixon in the second inning and pitched the final six innings allowing just three hits and no runs. Greene was 3-for-3 at the plate, scored a run and drove in another as Marshall won 3-2.
The Herd headed to Miami for the series in 2017. Marshall won the first game, 2-1, as Dixon recorded her 100th career win, the first pitcher in Herd history to reach the century mark. The Panthers took the next two games of the series as Marshall struggled offensively. The teams met again in the C-USA tournament. FIU defeated the Herd 4-1 to give Marshall its first loss of the tourney.
Scouting the Panthers
FIU comes into the series with a 2-4 Conference USA record with one win each against UTSA and Louisiana Tech. The Panthers salvaged each series with a win in game three, after dropping the Saturday doubleheader. FIU split with No. 4 Florida on Wednesday (March 28) losing the first game, 9-0, and then taking game two, 5-0. Shannon Saile, the conference preseason pitcher of the year selection, pitched a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts for the game two win over the Gators. This season Saile has a 1.83 ERA, a 10-7 record and 168 strikeouts in 115 innings. Junior Megan Kugelman (59 innings) and freshman Allison Muraskin (44 innings) have been the next pitchers in the circle for the Panthers although Muraskin has been steadily getting more time over the past few weeks. Junior Jackie Schoff leads offensively with a .350 average, 42 hits, 19 runs, seven doubles and two triples. Senior Kasandra Castle leads FIU with 24 RBI and four home runs. The team is hitting .240 while opponents are hitting .225.
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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