Marshall University Athletics
Friday, April 19
Huntington, W.Va.
1:00 PM
Marshall University
vs
LA Tech
Photo by: Rick Haye
Softball Welcomes Louisiana Tech for Home Conference USA Series
4/18/2019 2:17:00 PM | Softball
Friday, April 19th, doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.
Game Notes
Live Video Stream: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Marshall Radio Online Stream
Live Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team is back at Dot Hicks Field to take on the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters, April 19-20. The Friday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the Saturday series finale is scheduled for 12 p.m.
The games on Friday will be the Herd's Cancer Awareness Day and Saturday is Emileigh Cooper Day as the 2019 Warrior Award will be handed out.
Fans who cannot attend can tune in through HerdVision on CUSAtv and on Facebook Live through the Marshall University Softball page as Scott Hall will have the call. The game will also be broadcast by 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1.
The Thundering Herd comes in with an overall record of 26-15 and 9-6 in Conference USA. The Lady Techsters enter at 35-10 overall and 13-2 in conference play.
Last Time Out: Marshall Loses First C-USA Series of Year at FIU, 2-1
Marshall struggled in the Saturday doubleheader at FIU, dropping both games. The Herd fell in game one, 9-1, and then 5-1 in game two, allowing the Panthers to win its second consecutive Conference USA series.
Marshall came back on Sunday needing to salvage a win out of the weekend and did just that. The Herd scored first in the first inning and a held the slim lead until the top of the fourth. Freshman Mya Stevenson led off the fourth with a solo homer to left, her first home run since game two at Charlotte (March 16). Then with two outs, the Herd started to make contact again, first with a double from junior Blakely Burch. Then senior Abigail Estrada took advantage of an error that allowed Burch to score from third. Next, senior Hannah Giammarino drove in Estrada for the third run of the inning.
Senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert had an excellent bounce-back outing pitching all seven innings, allowed just four hits and one run. Tolbert threw 38 fewer pitches than two Panther pitchers combined to throw (135-97). The lone run for FIU came in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Herd lead to three, 4-1, but it didn't last long.
Marshall poured on three more runs in the top of the sixth as Estrada and senior Briana Daiss got on base with back-to-back singles before sophomore Rachel Rousseau belted her third homer of the season. FIU put the leadoff batter on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Herd defense came through with great plays to earn the 7-1 victory.
Warrior Award
In memory of former Herd great Emileigh Cooper, the Marshall softball staff established the Warrior Award that will be given out each year to the player that best personifies the qualities that Cooper established as a member of the Herd from 2012-15. Saturday, April 20, before the series finale against Louisiana Tech, the 2019 Warrior Award will be presented.
As a senior in 2015, players were told to pick one word that would be significant and have meaning to them. Cooper chose "Warrior" and her identity statement that season was, "I am a confident Warrior. I am the fire in C-USA that will always keep burning." At home against WKU on March 13, 2015, the Herd and Hilltoppers were locked in a scoreless battle that went into the 10th inning. Cooper came up to the plate, after Rebecca Myslenski was walked, and got to see one pitch before the game was called because of rain. The teams came back the following morning and picked up right from there. As Cooper prepared to go to the plate she looked at freshman Elicia D'Orazio who was batting behind her and warming up and said "Don't worry about getting ready. I'm going to end this now." Cooper saw two more pitches before blasting a home run off 2015 C-USA Pitcher of the Year Miranda Kramer for the walk-off win.
Warrior Award Winners
2017 - Rebecca Myslenski
2018 - Madi Marshall
Series History with Louisiana Tech: 5 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 3-2
The series between Marshall and Louisiana Tech has been a short one with just five meetings all-time and the Herd leads 3-2. The two schools did not meet until the Lady Techsters joined Conference USA in 2014. Marshall hosted LA Tech at Dot Hicks Field for senior weekend and swept the series. The programs have not met in the regular season since but have matched up in the Conference USA Tournament twice. The Lady Techsters got the best of the Herd in both contests. The first was on day one of the tournament on May 11, 2016, in Denton, Texas. Louisiana Tech eliminated Marshall from the tourney with a 6-3 victory. Then freshman Hayden Ellis hit her first career triple late in the game as the Herd attempted a comeback. The next came the very next season in 2017 on May 12 in Hattiesburg. Marshall was the number one overall seed in the tournament and had already lost, 4-1, earlier that day to FIU. The Lady Techsters defeated the Herd 4-2 to eliminate Marshall. Louisiana Tech went on to win the tournament and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting the Lady Techsters
Louisiana Tech was picked to finish first in the Conference USA preseason polls and the Lady Techsters have had a great season with a 35-10 overall record, 13-2 in conference play and sit in first place. WKU is second with a 12-3 C-USA record and North Texas is third (second in the west) at 11-4 in conference action. LA Tech is coming off a three-game sweep of UTEP this past weekend and a 10-2 victory over Grambling State on Tuesday. As a team, the Lady Techsters are batting .316 with five players all hitting over .300 for the year. Kimmie Atienza is hitting .390, but has missed 10 games this season. Lindsay Edwards is batting .385 with 50 hits, eight doubles, four homers and 33 runs driven in. Jazlyn Crowder leads the team in hits (53), home runs (7) and RBI (44) while batting .366. Morgan Turkoly, who was named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year and to the USA Softball Top-50 Watch List, is hitting .376 with 50 hits, nine doubles, three home runs and 24 stolen bases. In the circle, LA Tech has a staff ERA of 2.81 and pitched nine shutouts. The C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Preslee Galloway has a 2.97 ERA with a 14-6 record and 109 strikeouts in 139 innings. Krystal De La Cruz leads the squad with a 2.02 ERA, has a 13-2 record and 98 strikeouts in 107.1 innings. The Lady Techsters have been solid on defense as well with a .968 fielding percentage and allowed just 20 stolen bases.
Up Next
Following the series against LA Tech, Marshall stays at home for a single game against the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday, April 23, at 3 p.m. The Herd returns to Conference USA action April 27-28, at Middle Tennessee.
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!
Live Video Stream: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Marshall Radio Online Stream
Live Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team is back at Dot Hicks Field to take on the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters, April 19-20. The Friday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the Saturday series finale is scheduled for 12 p.m.
The games on Friday will be the Herd's Cancer Awareness Day and Saturday is Emileigh Cooper Day as the 2019 Warrior Award will be handed out.
Fans who cannot attend can tune in through HerdVision on CUSAtv and on Facebook Live through the Marshall University Softball page as Scott Hall will have the call. The game will also be broadcast by 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1.
The Thundering Herd comes in with an overall record of 26-15 and 9-6 in Conference USA. The Lady Techsters enter at 35-10 overall and 13-2 in conference play.
Last Time Out: Marshall Loses First C-USA Series of Year at FIU, 2-1
Marshall struggled in the Saturday doubleheader at FIU, dropping both games. The Herd fell in game one, 9-1, and then 5-1 in game two, allowing the Panthers to win its second consecutive Conference USA series.
Marshall came back on Sunday needing to salvage a win out of the weekend and did just that. The Herd scored first in the first inning and a held the slim lead until the top of the fourth. Freshman Mya Stevenson led off the fourth with a solo homer to left, her first home run since game two at Charlotte (March 16). Then with two outs, the Herd started to make contact again, first with a double from junior Blakely Burch. Then senior Abigail Estrada took advantage of an error that allowed Burch to score from third. Next, senior Hannah Giammarino drove in Estrada for the third run of the inning.
Senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert had an excellent bounce-back outing pitching all seven innings, allowed just four hits and one run. Tolbert threw 38 fewer pitches than two Panther pitchers combined to throw (135-97). The lone run for FIU came in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Herd lead to three, 4-1, but it didn't last long.
Marshall poured on three more runs in the top of the sixth as Estrada and senior Briana Daiss got on base with back-to-back singles before sophomore Rachel Rousseau belted her third homer of the season. FIU put the leadoff batter on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Herd defense came through with great plays to earn the 7-1 victory.
Warrior Award
In memory of former Herd great Emileigh Cooper, the Marshall softball staff established the Warrior Award that will be given out each year to the player that best personifies the qualities that Cooper established as a member of the Herd from 2012-15. Saturday, April 20, before the series finale against Louisiana Tech, the 2019 Warrior Award will be presented.
As a senior in 2015, players were told to pick one word that would be significant and have meaning to them. Cooper chose "Warrior" and her identity statement that season was, "I am a confident Warrior. I am the fire in C-USA that will always keep burning." At home against WKU on March 13, 2015, the Herd and Hilltoppers were locked in a scoreless battle that went into the 10th inning. Cooper came up to the plate, after Rebecca Myslenski was walked, and got to see one pitch before the game was called because of rain. The teams came back the following morning and picked up right from there. As Cooper prepared to go to the plate she looked at freshman Elicia D'Orazio who was batting behind her and warming up and said "Don't worry about getting ready. I'm going to end this now." Cooper saw two more pitches before blasting a home run off 2015 C-USA Pitcher of the Year Miranda Kramer for the walk-off win.
Warrior Award Winners
2017 - Rebecca Myslenski
2018 - Madi Marshall
Series History with Louisiana Tech: 5 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 3-2
The series between Marshall and Louisiana Tech has been a short one with just five meetings all-time and the Herd leads 3-2. The two schools did not meet until the Lady Techsters joined Conference USA in 2014. Marshall hosted LA Tech at Dot Hicks Field for senior weekend and swept the series. The programs have not met in the regular season since but have matched up in the Conference USA Tournament twice. The Lady Techsters got the best of the Herd in both contests. The first was on day one of the tournament on May 11, 2016, in Denton, Texas. Louisiana Tech eliminated Marshall from the tourney with a 6-3 victory. Then freshman Hayden Ellis hit her first career triple late in the game as the Herd attempted a comeback. The next came the very next season in 2017 on May 12 in Hattiesburg. Marshall was the number one overall seed in the tournament and had already lost, 4-1, earlier that day to FIU. The Lady Techsters defeated the Herd 4-2 to eliminate Marshall. Louisiana Tech went on to win the tournament and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting the Lady Techsters
Louisiana Tech was picked to finish first in the Conference USA preseason polls and the Lady Techsters have had a great season with a 35-10 overall record, 13-2 in conference play and sit in first place. WKU is second with a 12-3 C-USA record and North Texas is third (second in the west) at 11-4 in conference action. LA Tech is coming off a three-game sweep of UTEP this past weekend and a 10-2 victory over Grambling State on Tuesday. As a team, the Lady Techsters are batting .316 with five players all hitting over .300 for the year. Kimmie Atienza is hitting .390, but has missed 10 games this season. Lindsay Edwards is batting .385 with 50 hits, eight doubles, four homers and 33 runs driven in. Jazlyn Crowder leads the team in hits (53), home runs (7) and RBI (44) while batting .366. Morgan Turkoly, who was named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year and to the USA Softball Top-50 Watch List, is hitting .376 with 50 hits, nine doubles, three home runs and 24 stolen bases. In the circle, LA Tech has a staff ERA of 2.81 and pitched nine shutouts. The C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Preslee Galloway has a 2.97 ERA with a 14-6 record and 109 strikeouts in 139 innings. Krystal De La Cruz leads the squad with a 2.02 ERA, has a 13-2 record and 98 strikeouts in 107.1 innings. The Lady Techsters have been solid on defense as well with a .968 fielding percentage and allowed just 20 stolen bases.
Up Next
Following the series against LA Tech, Marshall stays at home for a single game against the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday, April 23, at 3 p.m. The Herd returns to Conference USA action April 27-28, at Middle Tennessee.
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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RHP/UTL
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