Marshall University Athletics
Herd Softball Splits with WKU
4/21/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game One Box Score (PDF)
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Marshall softball team split the Saturday doubleheader at WKU losing 8-6 in game win and winning game two 7-5 in eight innings. The series finale is now scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday morning with the possibility of rain in the forecast.
Marshall is now 23-23-1 and 11-8-1 in Conference USA. The Hilltoppers are 25-20 overall and 8-9 in conference action.
"League games are intense, and I was welcomed to the WKU rivalry today," Herd head coach Jen Steele said. "It's fun and it's supposed to be this way. We didn't play our cleanest softball, but we competed when it mattered.
"I'm happy that we came out on the winning end of the day because that is going to be important for morale and momentum."
Game One: WKU 8, Marshall 6
The Herd exploded for six runs in the second inning but could not manage to generate any more offense throughout the game as the Hilltoppers came back to take game one.
Marshall took advantage of two WKU errors in the second to pour in the runs. Freshman Aly Harrell drilled her first career grand slam to cap off the big inning. It was Harrell's ninth home run of the season.
The Hilltoppers scored one in the bottom of the second and then cut the deficit to three with back-to-back home runs in the third. WKU tied the game at 6-6 in the fourth with three more runs and then took the lead for good in the fifth.
Junior Abigail Tolbert got the start and was pulled in the second for junior Ali Burdette. Sophomore Kailee Williamson came on in relief in the third and pitched into the sixth when Tolbert re-entered. Williamson took the loss.
Harrell finished the game 3-of-4 at the plate with a career-high four RBI. Senior Elicia D'Orazio stole her 162nd career base in the fourth and is tied with Morgan Zerkle (2014-17) for the most in program and Conference USA history.
Game Two: Marshall 7, WKU 5 (8 innings)
Marshall had a big third inning on offense with five runs scored to take the early lead. The Hilltoppers came storming back and tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh. Marshall regained the lead in the top of the eighth and held on for the win.
The Herd drew three consecutive walks to begin the third inning. Senior Eloise Tribolet scored the first run on an RBI single to left-center by Harrell. Freshman Wylie Glover scored the second run from a sacrifice fly to left by sophomore Blakely Burch. Junior Briana Daiss stepped up next with two runners on and sent a laser over the fence in left for a three-run homer. It was her 19th career home run.
WKU scored one run each in the third and the fourth, but scored three in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. The Hilltoppers recorded six hits in the inning before Tolbert recorded a strikeout to end the frame.
Senior Taylor McCord led off the eighth drawing a walk at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat. Burch moved McCord to second with a sacrifice bunt. Senior Madi Marshall came in to pinch run for McCord at second as freshman Rachel Rousseau stepped up for a pinch hit. After battling through a seven-pitch at-bat, Rousseau drilled a pitch to the base of the fence in center that scored Marshall to give the Herd a one-run lead.
Two batters later, freshman Grayson Radcliffe hit a double to left that scored Rousseau to give the Herd a two-run lead.
The Hilltoppers had an opportunity in the bottom of the eighth with two runners on and Brittany Vaughn at the plate. Vaughn had already driven in seven total runs for the two games, but in this plate appearance, Tolbert came out on top with a strikeout. Tolbert earned her 12th win of the season in the complete-game victory.
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