Marshall University Athletics
Herd Softball Prepares for Doubleheader at Pitt
4/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Marshall softball team heads northeast for a non-conference doubleheader with the Pitt Panthers, Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.
The games will be broadcast on WatchESPN (links above) as well as Marshall's audio broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul through one of the Listen Live links.
Marshall is 23-25-1 overall while the Panthers are 26-16-1.
Last Time Out: Marshall Struggles at Ohio
The Herd continued to struggle facing the team's longest running rival the Ohio Bobcats. Marshall scored in the first inning as Elicia D'Orazio reached on a leadoff walk, stole second (the career record breaker) and then stole third. D'Orazio then scored on a sac fly to right-center by Taylor McCord. Ohio responded in the bottom of the first with five runs off four hits and one walk. The Bobcats kept its distance over Marshall with two more runs in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead. In the top of the sixth, Aly Harrell hit her 10th home run of the season with a monster solo shot to right-center. However, Ohio put up three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game with a 10-2 win. The Herd recorded four hits while Ohio collected 12.
Record Breakers II: 163
Senior Elicia D'Orazio became Marshall's and Conference USA's all-time leader in stolen bases with her 163rd at Ohio on April 25. D'Orazio passed her former teammate Morgan Zerkle (2014-17) for the top spot. The speedster from Clermont, Fla., stole her first base in her first collegiate game on Feb. 6, 2015 against Army. She finished the season with 24 but showed the Herd fans and the rest of the conference what was in store as the future Conference USA Freshman of the Year ripped off a then career-best three steals against Middle Tennessee in the second to last game of the regular season. In 2016, D'Orazio went for 39 thefts and had four in a game on two separate occasions. The first came against Toledo in the second game of a doubleheader (she had three in game one), and the second time was at WKU in the regular season finale.
However, she really caught fire in 2017. The junior led the team, conference and the country with 59 steals. Not only did she set a team record - breaking the old mark of 51 by Kaelynn Greene in 2016 - she broke the 17-year old Conference USA record as well. D'Orazio began the year with two against Lipscomb, including the walk-off winner in the eighth. She stole her 100th career base on the first of three swipes against Wright State and then broke the Herd single-season record at home against UAB on May 5. However, the highlight of the year may have been her 59th and final steal of the season. D'Orazio had just stolen third against DePaul in the sixth inning of the NCAA Regional matchup. Marshall was trailing 1-0, and D'Orazio ended up stealing home to tie the game and Marshall went on to win in the eighth. In 2018, the senior has rattled off over 40 swipes for the second time in her career, just the third player in program history to do so (Sierra Davenport and Zerkle the other two). After breaking the career record, D'Orazio then promptly stole third to move the mark to 164 and she still has six regular season games to go.
Look Up And Say Goodbye!
Freshman Aly Harrell has been on a power barrage throughout her first season, but from the last day in March and through April things have been particularly good for the slugger. Harrell is hitting .435 over the 16-game stretch with 20 hits, however she is slugging an incredible 1.022 as 11 of her 20 hits have gone for extra bases including eight home runs. The Gahanna, Ohio, native started the run with a homer in three-straight games against FIU and then the doubleheader with Saint Francis. She has driven in 23 runs with three or more in five games including three-straight (Charlotte, JMU & WKU). Harrell belted a three-run homer against James Madison and then came right back with a grand slam in game one at WKU, the first grand slam of her career.
Against Ohio, she tied the program record for most home runs by a freshman. Jazmine Valle set the mark with 10 in 2010, passing Rachel Folden's nine from 2005. Current junior and teammate Briana Daiss tied the record in 2016. Harrell has six regular season games remaining to attempt to break the freshman record and move further up the Herd single-season charts as well. Right now, Harrell is tied for the 10th most in a season in program history. Folden holds the all-time record with 18 in 2006.
The Series: Two meetings, tied 1-1
Marshall and Pitt have only met twice and it has been 14 years since the two teams played one another on March 6-7, 2004, at the Ramada Classic on the old Dot Hicks Field. The Panthers took the first game, 2-0. Junior Randi Nielson took the loss despite allowing just two hits, but Pitt pitcher Laura Belardinelli went the distance in the shutout. Marshall got some revenge it what became the championship game for the three-day tournament. Pitt led 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. Ashley Mitchell and Allison Webb were walked to begin the frame and then future MAC Player of the Year Sierra Davenport dropped down a bunt single to load the bases. Amanda Williams drove a two RBI double to left to tie the game at 4-4. Later, Leigh Wintter delivered with an RBI single that scored Davenport for the game-winner. Williams finished the game with four RBI and Nielson earned the win after coming on in relief for the final two innings and did not allow a hit.
Scouting the Panthers
The Panthers are 26-16-1 overall this season and 14-6 in the ACC. Pitt has also won its last five contests including a three-game sweep of Virginia. The Panthers won the series finale 12-1 in five innings. Junior Olivia Gray was named ACC Co-Player of the Week after hitting .583 with three doubles and one home run in four games. Gray is second on the team with a .326 average, seven doubles and four homers. Giorgiana Zeremenko is the offensive leader hitting .346, 44 hits, 10 doubles, 14 home runs and 26 RBI. The pitching staff has two players with ERAs under 3.00 in Kayla Harris (2.17) and Sarah Dawson (2.61). Dawson has pitched the most innings with 120.2 and has a 13-11 record. Harris has tossed 106.2 innings and has a record of 11-1.
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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