Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
19-6, 0
Charlotte
9-14, 0
Softball Falls to Charlotte in Series Finale
3/17/2019 4:32:00 PM | Softball
Thundering Herd takes the series two games to one
CHARLOTTE – The Marshall softball team lost the final game of the weekend to the Charlotte 49ers, 11-6, Sunday afternoon. The Herd won the series two games to one after taking the Saturday doubleheader.
The Thundering Herd is now 19-7 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA. The 49ers improve to 9-14 and 2-4 in conference play.
The Herd started off well on offense with four-straight hits in the top of the first and scored two runs. Junior Sierra Huerta got it going with a leadoff double and was followed by a single to left from sophomore Armani Brown. Sophomore Aly Harrell drove in Huerta and then freshman Mya Stevenson smacked her fourth double of the weekend to score Brown. It was Stevenson's eighth hit and 10th RBI of the series.
Charlotte responded with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a one-run lead, 3-2. Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the second.
Senior Hayden Ellis gave Marshall a two-run lead in the third with a three-run home run to left. It was her first homer of the season and first since her freshman year in 2016. Ellis finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI.
The 49ers took advantage of two defensive miscues, two walks and four hits in the fourth to plate three runs and take back the lead at 6-5. The Charlotte offense continued to produce through the fifth and sixth, building out a six-run lead.
Marshall scored one more run in the top of the seventh. Junior Blakely Burch led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a base hit to center by junior Brooke Burns, her first in a Marshall uniform since transferring over the summer of 2018 from UNC. Huerta drove in Burch with a sacrifice fly to deep center.
Junior Kailee Williamson got the start in the circle and pitched a total of 1.1 innings after getting pulled in the first and then re-entering in the sixth. Senior Abigail Tolbert pitched 3.1 innings of relief and took the loss to drop to 12-6 for the year. Senior Ali Burdette saw her first action on the rubber since Feb. 9, against Cal Poly, after dealing with a nagging injury, with 1.1 innings of relief work.
Marshall returns to Dot Hicks Field on Wednesday, March 20 at 3 p.m., against No. 15 Kentucky for a midweek contest. The Herd stays at home as the UTSA Roadrunners come to Dot Hicks Field, March 23-24, for a three-game C-USA series. The Saturday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.
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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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: PACE, Carson (4-4)
L: Tolbert, Abigail (12-6)
Batting:
2B: Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Stevenson, Mya 1 ; Burch, Blakely 1
HR: Ellis, Hayden 1
RBI: Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Harrell, Aly 1 ; Stevenson, Mya 1 ; Ellis, Hayden 3
SF: Huerta, Sierra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Brown, Armani 1 ; Daiss, Briana 1 ; Burch, Blakely 2 ; Ellis, Hayden 1
SB: Pennington, Rachel 1
HBP: Huerta, Sierra 2 ; Burch, Blakely 1
Batting:
2B: BERRIER, Kiersten 2 ; VANNOY, Bailey 1
3B: OCKER, Emma 1
RBI: GRAY, Spenser 1 ; OCKER, Emma 3 ; HARRIS, Meredith 2 ; MANRING, Katie 1 ; VANNOY, Bailey 1 ; BIRCH, Lizzy 2 ; ROCHELLE, Imani 1
SH: DOTY, Bethany 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BERRIER, Kiersten 3 ; OCKER, Emma 2 ; HARRIS, Meredith 1 ; MANRING, Katie 1 ; BIRCH, Lizzy 1 ; ROCHELLE, Imani 3
HBP: BIRCH, Lizzy 1
