Softball Heads South to Miami for Series at FIU

Game Notes
Marshall Radio Online Stream
Live Stats

MIAMI – The Marshall softball team is back out on the road for a Conference USA series at the FIU Panthers, April 13-14. The Saturday doubleheader begins at 4 p.m.

The Thundering Herd enters with an overall record of 25-13 and 8-4 in conference. The Panthers come in at 20-19 and 2-10 in conference play.

Fans can tune in for the radio broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM with the audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul, through one of the Listen Live links. Scott Hall will have the call.

Last Time Out: Marshall wins series vs. WKU, 2-1
Marshall won its fourth-straight Conference USA series after defeated the WKU Lady Toppers 10-2 in game one, 8-7 in game three and fell 7-1 in game two at Dot Hicks Field. WKU had come in to the weekend in first place with a 9-0 record in conference action and receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll.

Game one began as a pitcher and defensive duel until Marshall finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth, courtesy of sophomore Aly Harrell's 11th home run of the season. In the fifth, senior Hayden Ellis drove in junior Sierra Huerta with a triple to give the Herd a 2-run lead. However, the Lady Toppers responded with two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Marshall dominated in the bottom of the sixth, scoring eight runs to close out the game with the 10-2 win. The highlight of the sixth came from a grand slam to left by sophomore Rachel Rousseau, her first career home run in her first game back after missing the last 30 due to injury.

WKU bounced back taking game two to force the rubber match on Sunday.

Game three became a marathon as neither team was willing to go quietly. The Lady Toppers scored two runs in the first, but then Marshall came back with three runs in the bottom of the first. WKU tied the game at 3-3 in the second and then both teams were held scoreless until Rousseau drove in junior Blakely Burch in the fourth to regain the lead. WKU then jumped on top with two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth. However, the fireworks for Marshall were just getting started. In the bottom of the sixth Burch blasted a bomb straight out to center for a three-run shot that gave the Herd back the lead at 7-6. The Lady Toppers still had some fight in them and tied the score at 7-7 in the top of the seventh. The long, back-and-forth battle continued into the eighth when Rousseau stepped to the plate to leadoff for Marshall. Two hours-47 minutes, and 328 pitches after the game began, it ended as Rousseau crushed a towering shot to left-center for the walk-off win.

Four-straight Series Wins to Open the Season
Head Coach Megan Smith has had a great start in her first season at Marshall, overall and in conference play. The Herd has taken the first four Conference USA series in 2019 over Charlotte, UTSA, Southern Miss and WKU, going to 2-1 in each set. Marshall was picked in the preseason conference polls to finish eighth, but yet the Herd sits in second place in the east. It is also just the fourth time in program history that Marshall has opened a season winning at least the first four conference series matchups joining the squads from 2003, 2005 and 2017.

The 2003 team won every series matchup in the Mid-American Conference and finished 20-4, taking home the regular season championship. In 2005, Marshall won every series again and finished 20-4 in first place in the MAC. In 2017, the Herd won its first five C-USA series before falling twice at FIU. The 2017 MUSB team again finished 20-4 in conference play earning the regular season title and making its way into the national rankings.

Series History vs. FIU: 17 meetings, Marshall leads 10-7
The series between Marshall and FIU got started way back on March 20, 1999 as the Herd won 1-0 at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. Fifteen years went by before the programs met again on the field as Conference USA opponents, April 18-19, 2014. Marshall swept that first series in Huntington. The Herd then headed down to Miami for the first time in 2015 and had a couple of dominant performances on a messy Saturday filled with thunderstorms and delays. The Herd took game one 13-5 and then 13-3 in game two. Morgan Zerkle hit her first career home run that went over the fence as earlier in the season she had an inside-the-park homer. The Panthers rebounded for a 9-1 win during a televised contest on Sunday. In 2016, the series returned to Dot Hicks Field and Marshall came away with another series win. Marshall pitched an 8-0 shutout in game one. The Herd erupted for five runs in the fifth to grab the run-rule victory. Madi Marshall belted her first career home run for a grand slam that gave the Herd a 7-0 lead. Marshall ended the game several batters later as Taylor McCord was walked with the bases loaded that scored Elicia D'Orazio. Game two was suspended due to darkness but FIU answered and won 6-4. The Herd then came back and took game three to win the series, 3-2, as senior pitcher Brittanie Fowler put on a show from the circle on senior day. Fowler pitched six shutout innings and allowed just three hits. FIU won its first series over Marshall in 2017 as the teams battled for the top spot in the conference. Marshall had moved into the top 25 polls and the Panthers were receiving votes. The Herd won game one as Jordan Dixon earned her 100th career victory. FIU then outfought Marshall for the final two contests. The teams met again in the Conference USA tournament and the Panthers handed the Herd the first loss (Marshall was later eliminated by LA Tech). The series returned to Huntington in 2018 and FIU won the weekend again. The Herd won the first game in walk-off fashion as Jordan Colliflower drove in Blakely Burch to win 10-9. The Panthers then finished off Marshall 10-2 and 9-5. 2019 will be the third trip down to South Beach for Marshall.

Scouting the Panthers
FIU comes in with a record of 20-19 and 2-10 in Conference USA action. The Panthers had been swept by WKU, Middle Tennessee and North Texas before taking 2-of-3 from Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. FIU had dropped 12-straight including the first game of the series with the Owls, 5-2, before bouncing back with an 11-9 win in game two and then closing it out on Sunday with a 5-2 victory. The Panthers trailed 5-0 early in game two but had the game tied at 6-6 after the sixth inning. FIU then rattled off five runs in the top of the seventh and held on for the win. The Panthers led from start to finish in the series-clinching victory. Following the series with Marshall, FIU will finish conference play at Charlotte (April 19-20), at home vs. Southern Miss (April 27-28) and at UTEP (May 4-5). As a team, the Panthers are hitting .232, but have only been outscored by 14 runs (137-123). Senior Jackie Schoff leads the team batting .322, 38 hits, three triples and 11 stolen bases. Senior Natalie Orcutt is hitting .313 with eight doubles, two homers and leads with 24 RBI. Junior Jessica Rivera leads in home runs with four. FIU has mainly used three pitchers in Allison Muraskin (97.2 IP), Megan Kugelmann (85.1 IP) and Kendahl Dunford (71 IP). Kugelmann, a senior, leads with a 2.71 ERA, 6-4 record and 61 strikeouts. Muraskin, a sophomore, is next with a 2.80 ERA, 6-10 record and 74 strikeouts. Dunford, a sophomore, has a 4.54 ERA, 6-5 record and 45 strikeouts. Defensively, the Panthers sport a .966 fielding percentage, third best in the conference. FIU has allowed 63 stolen bases out of 70 attempts.

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---

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blakely Burch

Jordan Colliflower

Elicia D'Orazio

Jordan Dixon

Hayden Ellis

Aly Harrell

Sierra Huerta

Madi Marshall

Taylor McCord

Rachel Rousseau

Morgan Zerkle

Marshall University Athletics