Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Saint Francis (PA)
Herd Softball Splits Midweek Doubleheader with Saint Francis
4/3/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game One Box Score (PDF)
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall softball team fought back to take game two of a midweek doubleheader and earn a split with the Saint Francis Red Flash, Tuesday at Dot Hicks Field.
The Herd dropped game one 16-3 and won game two, 6-3. Marshall is now 16-19-1 and Saint Francis is 19-16.
Game One: Saint Francis 16, Marshall 3
The bats for the Red Flash stayed red hot in game one scoring 16 runs on 13 hits.
After Saint Francis jumped out to a 1-0 lead, the Herd scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. Freshman Wylie Glover and senior Jordan Colliflower both reached on infield singles and then freshman Aly Harrell hit her first of two home runs for the day. Marshall's offense struggled throughout the rest of the contest.
Sophomore Kailee Williamson got the start and took the loss, allowing the first six runs through 3.1 innings. Junior Ali Burdette came on in relief and pitched 2.1 innings. Freshman Tatum Ksiazek entered the circle in the sixth and recorded the last out.
"It isn't a secret that we haven't been playing our best softball as of late," Herd head coach Jen Steele said. "We've faced our fair share of adversity with a few different situations, but we still have a responsibility to play the game the right way.
"That is on us as coaches. We have to continue finding ways to help our players have success."
Game Two: Marshall 6, Saint Francis 3
The Thundering Herd came out strong in game two as Glover led off the bottom of the first with her first career triple. Colliflower drove in Glover with a single for the first run. Later in the inning, Harrell smacked her second home run of the day with a solo shot to left. Marshall led 2-0.
The Red Flash added one run in the top of the second, but Marshall responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Junior Samantha Loose scored on an RBI double by Glover. With bases loaded, senior Taylor McCord hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated senior Eloise Tribolet. On the same play, Glover and Colliflower both scored on a throwing error by the catcher to third that rolled all the way to the fence in left. The Herd led 6-1.
Saint Francis added two more runs as Madison Cabell hit two solo home runs, one in the fifth and another in the seventh.
Junior pitcher Abigail Tolbert went the distance and allowed just five hits for her seventh win of the season.
"The easy thing to do would have been to lie down after giving up 16 runs at home," coach Steele said. "It can be a real gut check. We challenged the team to do the tough thing, which was let it go and play hard until the last out. It takes a mature team to emotionally respond the way we did.
"I hope we can bottle this feeling up and take it with us down to Texas this weekend."
Colliflower had a hit in both games and moved her hitting streak to 18 games. The Huntington, W.Va., native is now tied with Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Sierra Davenport (2001-04) for the second longest hitting streak in program history. Davenport set the mark in 2004. Colliflower is batting .386.
With two home runs and a double for the day, Harrell is now slugging .701 this season. Harrell drew two walks in game one and one in game two and extended her streak to seven-straight contests with at least one walk.
Marshall hits the road this weekend for a three-game series at UTSA, April 7-8. The Saturday doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. eastern. The final game Sunday is set for a 1 p.m. eastern first pitch.
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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