Marshall University Athletics
Saturday, March 2
Huntington, W.Va.
1:00 PM
Marshall University
12-5
2
vs
0
Rider
0-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Rider
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
Marshall University
0
0
1
1
0
0
X
2
3
0
Photo by: Adam Gue
Softball Blanks Rider in Doubleheader Victory
3/2/2019 7:00:00 PM | Softball
Tolbert and Williamson with complete-game shutouts
Game One Box Score (PDF)
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team took down the Rider Broncs, 2-0 and 4-0, on a cold Saturday afternoon at Dot Hicks Field.
The Thundering Herd improves to 13-5 while the Broncs fall to 0-8.
"Happy to go away with two wins today," Herd head coach Megan Smith said. "We really didn't give our best performance so it is good to get the wins. Defensively, we played really well but we have to get a little sharper with our pitching and more consistency on offense tomorrow."
Game One: Marshall 2, Rider 0
The Herd struggled to find the offensive rhythm with just three hits in the first game, however the defense held tight and senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert tied her career-high with eight strikeouts in the win.
Marshall scored one run in the bottom of the third as freshman Mya Stevenson doubled to right-center, bringing home sophomore Armani Brown. The second run came in the fourth when senior Briana Daiss doubled to right-center, scoring junior Blakely Burch from first.
The Herd received some steady defensive play, highlighted by a great throw from center from senior Hannah Giammarino. After just missing on a diving catch effort in left-center, the senior centerfielder threw out the lead runner at third on a base hit into center. Giammarino tossed a dart to Burch for the out.
Game Two: Marshall 4, Rider 0
The Broncs out-hit the Herd, 8-4, but Marshall's defense made some great plays while receiving three more home runs from the offense. Junior pitcher Kailee Williamson lowered her season ERA to 0.62 with the complete-game shutout.
The Herd's defense found itself up against multiple runners on base in three innings and still made the plays to get out of the jam.
Rider loaded the bases with one out in the first, but a grounder back to Williamson in the circle kept one run from crossing the plate as the junior pitcher tossed back to sophomore catcher Katie Adams. After an 11-pitch battle with the hitter at the plate, Marshall ended the inning with a ground ball to Brown at second for the final out.
In the second inning, Stevenson made a great throw from right field to Burch after a base hit to get the lead runner attempting to take third. Two batters later with two on base, freshman Rachel Pennington came flying in from left to make a catch on the run in shallow left-center to get Marshall out of the inning.
Rider loaded the bases again in the top of the fifth with one away. This time, Williamson recorded a strikeout for the second out and then a great snag by Harrell at first got the Herd out of another jam. In the seventh, Williamson ended the game as she started a double play catching a line drive and then tossing to Harrell to double-up the runner. It was Williamson's fourth win of the season.
Marshall cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as sophomore Aly Harrell belted her sixth home run of the season. It is also the 17th of her career as she is now tied with Melanie Stoehr (2008-11) for 14th in Marshall history. Not be to outdone, Stevenson smashed her sixth homer of the year in the third to give the Herd a 3-0 lead. Harrell and Stevenson are tied for the team lead in home runs. Daiss then added one more on the scoreboard in the fourth with a solo shot to left. It was her third of the year and 23rd of her career. Daiss is tied with Alysia Hively (2010-13) for eighth all-time in program history.
The Herd has 21 home runs in just the first 18 games of the year. Marshall hit 24 all of last season.
Marshall will finish the three-game series with Rider on Sunday at 11 a.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.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
Game Two Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team took down the Rider Broncs, 2-0 and 4-0, on a cold Saturday afternoon at Dot Hicks Field.
The Thundering Herd improves to 13-5 while the Broncs fall to 0-8.
"Happy to go away with two wins today," Herd head coach Megan Smith said. "We really didn't give our best performance so it is good to get the wins. Defensively, we played really well but we have to get a little sharper with our pitching and more consistency on offense tomorrow."
Game One: Marshall 2, Rider 0
The Herd struggled to find the offensive rhythm with just three hits in the first game, however the defense held tight and senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert tied her career-high with eight strikeouts in the win.
Marshall scored one run in the bottom of the third as freshman Mya Stevenson doubled to right-center, bringing home sophomore Armani Brown. The second run came in the fourth when senior Briana Daiss doubled to right-center, scoring junior Blakely Burch from first.
The Herd received some steady defensive play, highlighted by a great throw from center from senior Hannah Giammarino. After just missing on a diving catch effort in left-center, the senior centerfielder threw out the lead runner at third on a base hit into center. Giammarino tossed a dart to Burch for the out.
Game Two: Marshall 4, Rider 0
The Broncs out-hit the Herd, 8-4, but Marshall's defense made some great plays while receiving three more home runs from the offense. Junior pitcher Kailee Williamson lowered her season ERA to 0.62 with the complete-game shutout.
The Herd's defense found itself up against multiple runners on base in three innings and still made the plays to get out of the jam.
Rider loaded the bases with one out in the first, but a grounder back to Williamson in the circle kept one run from crossing the plate as the junior pitcher tossed back to sophomore catcher Katie Adams. After an 11-pitch battle with the hitter at the plate, Marshall ended the inning with a ground ball to Brown at second for the final out.
In the second inning, Stevenson made a great throw from right field to Burch after a base hit to get the lead runner attempting to take third. Two batters later with two on base, freshman Rachel Pennington came flying in from left to make a catch on the run in shallow left-center to get Marshall out of the inning.
Rider loaded the bases again in the top of the fifth with one away. This time, Williamson recorded a strikeout for the second out and then a great snag by Harrell at first got the Herd out of another jam. In the seventh, Williamson ended the game as she started a double play catching a line drive and then tossing to Harrell to double-up the runner. It was Williamson's fourth win of the season.
Marshall cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as sophomore Aly Harrell belted her sixth home run of the season. It is also the 17th of her career as she is now tied with Melanie Stoehr (2008-11) for 14th in Marshall history. Not be to outdone, Stevenson smashed her sixth homer of the year in the third to give the Herd a 3-0 lead. Harrell and Stevenson are tied for the team lead in home runs. Daiss then added one more on the scoreboard in the fourth with a solo shot to left. It was her third of the year and 23rd of her career. Daiss is tied with Alysia Hively (2010-13) for eighth all-time in program history.
The Herd has 21 home runs in just the first 18 games of the year. Marshall hit 24 all of last season.
Marshall will finish the three-game series with Rider on Sunday at 11 a.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.
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---
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tolbert, Abigail (8-4)
L: Trujillo, Brooklyn (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Swank, Kiera 1
Base Running:
HBP: Bram, Gabby 2
Batting:
2B: Stevenson, Mya 1 ; Daiss, Briana 1
RBI: Stevenson, Mya 1 ; Daiss, Briana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Armani 1 ; Burch, Blakely 1
HBP: Burch, Blakely 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
rf/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP
/ Softball
RHP/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballMarshall Softball Class of 2025 Graduates
Friday, May 02
Marshall Softball: Kaleea Washington & Brooklyn Ulrich (Post-Radford)
Tuesday, April 22
Marshall Softball: HC Morgan Zerkle, Haleigh Adkins, Paige Maynard (Post-Coastal)
Friday, April 18
Hype and Harmony: the Team Personality Fuels Success #softball
Thursday, April 17