Marshall University Athletics
Friday, February 22
Charleston, S.C. (College of Charleston)
10:00 AM
Marshall University
vs
Massachusetts Lowell
Photo by: Adam Gue
Softball Travels South to the Holy City Showdown
2/21/2019 8:44:00 AM | Softball
Weekend tournament, Feb. 22-24, co-hosted by College of Charleston and Charleston Southern
Game Notes
Marshall Radio Broadcast
Facebook Live Video Stream
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Marshall softball team heads back to South Carolina for the Holy City Showdown, Feb. 22-24, co-hosted by College of Charleston and Charleston Southern.
The Thundering Herd (7-3) will take on UMass-Lowell (10 a.m. ET) and Iowa State (12:15 p.m. ET) on Friday (Feb. 22) at the College of Charleston. On Saturday, Marshall plays UNC-Wilmington (12:15 p.m. ET) and Charleston Southern (4:45 p.m. ET) at Charleston Southern. On Sunday, the Herd finishes the weekend against Appalachian State (1:30 p.m. ET) back at the College of Charleston.
Fans can tune in on WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul through one of the Listen Live links as Scott Hall will have the call. The games will also be simulcast on Facebook Live through the Marshall University Softball page.
Series History:
UMass-Lowell: Two meetings, Marshall leads 2-0, last meeting 4-2 Herd win Feb. 17, 2018
Iowa State: First ever meeting
UNC-Wilmington: Seven meetings, Marshall leads 5-2, last meeting 8-5 Herd win March 20, 2014
Charleston Southern: Seven meetings, Marshall leads 6-1, last meeting 6-1 Herd win Feb. 28, 2015
Appalachian State: Six meetings, Marshall leads 5-1, last meeting 4-3 Appalachian St. win March 4, 2016
Last Time Out: Battle at the Beach hosted by Coastal Carolina - Marshall finished 3-2
The Marshall offense exploded during the three wins but struggled in the two losses as the defense improved. The Herd smacked 10 home runs over the weekend including tying a team record of five in a single game against Presbyterian. Marshall picked up two wins over EKU and one on Presbyterian while dropping contests against Coastal Carolina and Towson. The defense reduced its errors from 18 over the previous weekend to just six.
Marshall opened the weekend with a 5-2 victory over EKU. Sophomore Aly Harrell gave the Herd a 2-0 lead in the third with her first home run of the season and the first of the year for the team with a solo shot. The Colonels tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Marshall responded with two subs from the bench as first, freshman Mya Stevenson drilled a towering 2-run shot to left to break the tie. Then senior Briana Daiss came in to pinch hit and sent a laser beam to left center. Senior Abigail Tolbert earned the victory with three shutout innings of relief and three strikeouts.
The Herd's offense struggled in the second game of the day, falling 1-0 to Coastal Carolina. Marshall managed just four hits and had some opportunities to get on the scoreboard but just could not find the timely hit. Tolbert took the loss despite allowing just three hits and the one run.
The bats came back to life for the late Saturday twinbill. Marshall began the day with an 8-4 win over EKU. The Herd scored five runs in the first inning, highlighted by a 2-RBI single from senior Hannah Giammarino and a 2-run double from senior Hayden Ellis. The Colonels tied the game with a grand slam in the top of the second. Daiss gave Marshall a 2-run lead with an RBI single in the fourth, and Giammarino broke the game open in the fifth with her first Marshall home run, a 2-run shot that put the Herd up by four. Despite allowing the grand slam in the second, Tolbert stayed in the game and shut down the Colonels throughout the rest of the contest earning her fourth win of the year.
The fireworks continued in the Saturday nightcap versus Presbyterian. Junior Sierra Huerta got the home run party started with a grand slam in the first inning for her first Division I jack. Harrell continued the onslaught in the second with a three-run blast to give the Herd a 7-1 lead. Then Marshall went back-to-back in the fourth as Harrell led off the inning with a solo shot and Stevenson followed with another solo crank. The Marshall record-tying fifth home run of the game came in the top of the fifth as Giammarino delivered a solo shot. Junior Kailee Williamson earned the win, her second of the year.
Marshall fell in the final game of the weekend, 3-2, to the Towson Tigers. The Herd struggled on offense until junior Blakely Burch hit her first career home run, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 1-run ball game. Marshall had a chance in the seventh with two runners on, but again could not find the timely hit.
You Get a Home Run, You Get a Home Run, You Get a Home Run
After not hitting a home run during the opening weekend, Marshall belted 10 at the Battle at the Beach, coming from six different players. Sophomore Aly Harrell got it all started in the first game against EKU. In the bottom of the sixth, freshman My Stevenson went deep with a towering shot to the top of the light post in left and then senior Briana Daiss sent a laser out to left-center, the 21st home run of her career, for back-to-back shots. It was Marshall's first back-to-back homers since April 14, 2017 as Taylor McCord and Shaelynn Braxton teamed up at FIU. The next day, senior Hannah Giammarino added her name to the home run column with a two-run shot in the Herd's second game of the weekend against EKU. The party really exploded in the Saturday nightcap against Presbyterian as Marshall tied a program single-game record with five homers. Junior Sierra Huerta put her name up with a grand slam for her first Division I homer in the first inning. Harrell added her second of the season in the second inning. Then Harrell showed why so many pitchers this season have opted to walk or hit her (13 walks & 6 HBPs), with her second of the game and third of the season in the fourth. Stevenson then made it back-to-back days with back-to-back home runs as she cranked her second of the year right after Harrell's bomb. Giammarino hit the fifth of the game in the fifth inning for her second of the year as well. Junior Blakely Burch was the last to add her name to the home run party with a two-run shot in the sixth inning in the final game against Towson.
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.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
Marshall Radio Broadcast
Facebook Live Video Stream
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Marshall softball team heads back to South Carolina for the Holy City Showdown, Feb. 22-24, co-hosted by College of Charleston and Charleston Southern.
The Thundering Herd (7-3) will take on UMass-Lowell (10 a.m. ET) and Iowa State (12:15 p.m. ET) on Friday (Feb. 22) at the College of Charleston. On Saturday, Marshall plays UNC-Wilmington (12:15 p.m. ET) and Charleston Southern (4:45 p.m. ET) at Charleston Southern. On Sunday, the Herd finishes the weekend against Appalachian State (1:30 p.m. ET) back at the College of Charleston.
Fans can tune in on WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul through one of the Listen Live links as Scott Hall will have the call. The games will also be simulcast on Facebook Live through the Marshall University Softball page.
Series History:
UMass-Lowell: Two meetings, Marshall leads 2-0, last meeting 4-2 Herd win Feb. 17, 2018
Iowa State: First ever meeting
UNC-Wilmington: Seven meetings, Marshall leads 5-2, last meeting 8-5 Herd win March 20, 2014
Charleston Southern: Seven meetings, Marshall leads 6-1, last meeting 6-1 Herd win Feb. 28, 2015
Appalachian State: Six meetings, Marshall leads 5-1, last meeting 4-3 Appalachian St. win March 4, 2016
Last Time Out: Battle at the Beach hosted by Coastal Carolina - Marshall finished 3-2
The Marshall offense exploded during the three wins but struggled in the two losses as the defense improved. The Herd smacked 10 home runs over the weekend including tying a team record of five in a single game against Presbyterian. Marshall picked up two wins over EKU and one on Presbyterian while dropping contests against Coastal Carolina and Towson. The defense reduced its errors from 18 over the previous weekend to just six.
Marshall opened the weekend with a 5-2 victory over EKU. Sophomore Aly Harrell gave the Herd a 2-0 lead in the third with her first home run of the season and the first of the year for the team with a solo shot. The Colonels tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Marshall responded with two subs from the bench as first, freshman Mya Stevenson drilled a towering 2-run shot to left to break the tie. Then senior Briana Daiss came in to pinch hit and sent a laser beam to left center. Senior Abigail Tolbert earned the victory with three shutout innings of relief and three strikeouts.
The Herd's offense struggled in the second game of the day, falling 1-0 to Coastal Carolina. Marshall managed just four hits and had some opportunities to get on the scoreboard but just could not find the timely hit. Tolbert took the loss despite allowing just three hits and the one run.
The bats came back to life for the late Saturday twinbill. Marshall began the day with an 8-4 win over EKU. The Herd scored five runs in the first inning, highlighted by a 2-RBI single from senior Hannah Giammarino and a 2-run double from senior Hayden Ellis. The Colonels tied the game with a grand slam in the top of the second. Daiss gave Marshall a 2-run lead with an RBI single in the fourth, and Giammarino broke the game open in the fifth with her first Marshall home run, a 2-run shot that put the Herd up by four. Despite allowing the grand slam in the second, Tolbert stayed in the game and shut down the Colonels throughout the rest of the contest earning her fourth win of the year.
The fireworks continued in the Saturday nightcap versus Presbyterian. Junior Sierra Huerta got the home run party started with a grand slam in the first inning for her first Division I jack. Harrell continued the onslaught in the second with a three-run blast to give the Herd a 7-1 lead. Then Marshall went back-to-back in the fourth as Harrell led off the inning with a solo shot and Stevenson followed with another solo crank. The Marshall record-tying fifth home run of the game came in the top of the fifth as Giammarino delivered a solo shot. Junior Kailee Williamson earned the win, her second of the year.
Marshall fell in the final game of the weekend, 3-2, to the Towson Tigers. The Herd struggled on offense until junior Blakely Burch hit her first career home run, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 1-run ball game. Marshall had a chance in the seventh with two runners on, but again could not find the timely hit.
You Get a Home Run, You Get a Home Run, You Get a Home Run
After not hitting a home run during the opening weekend, Marshall belted 10 at the Battle at the Beach, coming from six different players. Sophomore Aly Harrell got it all started in the first game against EKU. In the bottom of the sixth, freshman My Stevenson went deep with a towering shot to the top of the light post in left and then senior Briana Daiss sent a laser out to left-center, the 21st home run of her career, for back-to-back shots. It was Marshall's first back-to-back homers since April 14, 2017 as Taylor McCord and Shaelynn Braxton teamed up at FIU. The next day, senior Hannah Giammarino added her name to the home run column with a two-run shot in the Herd's second game of the weekend against EKU. The party really exploded in the Saturday nightcap against Presbyterian as Marshall tied a program single-game record with five homers. Junior Sierra Huerta put her name up with a grand slam for her first Division I homer in the first inning. Harrell added her second of the season in the second inning. Then Harrell showed why so many pitchers this season have opted to walk or hit her (13 walks & 6 HBPs), with her second of the game and third of the season in the fourth. Stevenson then made it back-to-back days with back-to-back home runs as she cranked her second of the year right after Harrell's bomb. Giammarino hit the fifth of the game in the fifth inning for her second of the year as well. Junior Blakely Burch was the last to add her name to the home run party with a two-run shot in the sixth inning in the final game against Towson.
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.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
---HerdZone.com---
Players Mentioned
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C
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RHP/UTL
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