Marshall University Athletics
Wednesday, March 27
Harrisonburg, V.A.
4:00 PM
Marshall University
21-11
5
at
8
James Madison
20-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Marshall
2
0
0
0
3
0
0
5
7
2
James Madison
3
0
0
1
3
1
X
8
12
2
Herd Fights but Falls at No. 20 James Madison
3/27/2019 8:05:00 PM | Softball
Box Score (PDF)
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HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Marshall softball team fought hard against the 20th ranked team in country, the James Madison Dukes, but in the end fell 8-5. Sophomore Aly Harrell hit her team-leading ninth home run of the season and tied a team record with three hit-by-pitches in the loss.
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The Thundering Herd fell to 21-11 and the Dukes improved to 20-6.
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Senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert took the loss after pitching the first 4.1 innings and allowed six runs. Tolbert struck out two batters increasing her season total and career-high to 96. Junior Kailee Williamson was brought on in relief in the fifth and pitched the final 1.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts.
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Marshall got on the board in the top of the first inning with two runs. Junior Blakely Burch led off the game reaching on an error and increased her season-high on base streak to 14 games. Two batters later, Harrell drove a pitch to deep right-center to give the Herd the 2-0 lead. It was Harrell's 20th career homer, putting her into a tie with Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Amanda Williams (2003-06) for 11th all-time in program history.
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JMU responded with three runs in the bottom of the first and increased its lead to 4-2 after the fourth.
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The Herd fought back in the top of the fifth with three runs to take the lead at 5-4. Junior Sierra Huerta and Harrell were both plunked to put two runners on base. Freshman Mya Stevenson then loaded the bases with a single to left. Senior Hannah Giammarino drove in Huerta and senior Abigail Estrada, who entered the game to run for Harrell, to tie the game. Next, senior Briana Daiss hit a single up the middle that scored Stevenson and gave Marshall the lead.
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The Dukes offense stayed on the attack scoring three more runs to take back the lead in the bottom of the fifth and scored one more in the sixth to make it a three-run game.
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Marshall threatened in the sixth and the seventh getting two runners on base, but just could not find the timely hit.
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Senior Hayden Ellis reached base safely three times in the loss. The Ashville, Ohio, native recorded two walks and a base hit, has reached base safely now in 9-straight games, and increased her season on base percentage to .438. Ellis is now second on the team in walks with 17. Daiss and sophomore Armani Brown both finished the game with two hits.
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Harrell with the three hit-by-pitches, became only the second player in team history to get plunked three times in a single game. The first was Sarah Chamberlain (2002-04) against Buffalo on March 29, 2002. It was also the third time this season that Harrell has been hit by a pitch at least twice in a game.
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The Herd stays on the road to finish out the week. Marshall will next head down to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a three-game series with Southern Miss, March 30-31. The Conference USA matchup begins with a Saturday (March 30) doubleheader at 2 p.m. eastern.
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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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To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Marshall softball team fought hard against the 20th ranked team in country, the James Madison Dukes, but in the end fell 8-5. Sophomore Aly Harrell hit her team-leading ninth home run of the season and tied a team record with three hit-by-pitches in the loss.
Â
The Thundering Herd fell to 21-11 and the Dukes improved to 20-6.
Â
Senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert took the loss after pitching the first 4.1 innings and allowed six runs. Tolbert struck out two batters increasing her season total and career-high to 96. Junior Kailee Williamson was brought on in relief in the fifth and pitched the final 1.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts.
Â
Marshall got on the board in the top of the first inning with two runs. Junior Blakely Burch led off the game reaching on an error and increased her season-high on base streak to 14 games. Two batters later, Harrell drove a pitch to deep right-center to give the Herd the 2-0 lead. It was Harrell's 20th career homer, putting her into a tie with Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Amanda Williams (2003-06) for 11th all-time in program history.
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JMU responded with three runs in the bottom of the first and increased its lead to 4-2 after the fourth.
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The Herd fought back in the top of the fifth with three runs to take the lead at 5-4. Junior Sierra Huerta and Harrell were both plunked to put two runners on base. Freshman Mya Stevenson then loaded the bases with a single to left. Senior Hannah Giammarino drove in Huerta and senior Abigail Estrada, who entered the game to run for Harrell, to tie the game. Next, senior Briana Daiss hit a single up the middle that scored Stevenson and gave Marshall the lead.
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The Dukes offense stayed on the attack scoring three more runs to take back the lead in the bottom of the fifth and scored one more in the sixth to make it a three-run game.
Â
Marshall threatened in the sixth and the seventh getting two runners on base, but just could not find the timely hit.
Â
Senior Hayden Ellis reached base safely three times in the loss. The Ashville, Ohio, native recorded two walks and a base hit, has reached base safely now in 9-straight games, and increased her season on base percentage to .438. Ellis is now second on the team in walks with 17. Daiss and sophomore Armani Brown both finished the game with two hits.
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Harrell with the three hit-by-pitches, became only the second player in team history to get plunked three times in a single game. The first was Sarah Chamberlain (2002-04) against Buffalo on March 29, 2002. It was also the third time this season that Harrell has been hit by a pitch at least twice in a game.
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The Herd stays on the road to finish out the week. Marshall will next head down to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a three-game series with Southern Miss, March 30-31. The Conference USA matchup begins with a Saturday (March 30) doubleheader at 2 p.m. eastern.
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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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To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Buresch,Payton (3-1)
L: Tolbert, Abigail (13-9)
Batting:
HR: Harrell, Aly 1
RBI: Harrell, Aly 2 ; Giammarino, Hannah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Burch, Blakely 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Harrell, Aly 1 ; Estrada, Abigail 1 ; Stevenson, Mya 1
HBP: Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Harrell, Aly 3
Batting:
2B: Good,Megan 1
HR: Alexander,Odicci 1 ; Newton,Logan 1
RBI: Jubas,Sara 2 ; Gordon,Kate 1 ; Alexander,Odicci 2 ; Newton,Logan 2 ; Roadcap,Kierstin 1
SF: Jubas,Sara 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jubas,Sara 1 ; File,Hannah 1 ; Alexander,Odicci 1 ; Sullivan,Michelle 1 ; Brown,Kelsey 1 ; Newton,Logan 1 ; Roadcap,Kierstin 1 ; LaScola,Sydney 1
SB: Jubas,Sara 1 ; Sullivan,Michelle 1 ; Roadcap,Kierstin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
lf/dp
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballP
/ Softball
RHP/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
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