Softball Back at the Dot to Host WKU

Game Notes
Live Stream Links: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Marshall Radio Online Stream
Live Stats

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team is back at home for another Conference USA series against the WKU Lady Toppers, April 6-7, at Dot Hicks Field. The Saturday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m., and the series finale is set for Sunday at 12 p.m.

The Thundering Herd comes in with an overall record of 23-12 and 6-3 in conference. The Lady Toppers enter at 26-6 overall and 9-0 in conference action. WKU and Marshall are 1-and-2, respectively, in the C-USA East Division standings and the Lady Toppers are receiving votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.

Fans who cannot attend the game can tune in on HerdVision/CUSAtv as well as Facebook Live through the Marshall University Softball page. The game will also be broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM with the audio streamed at www.marshall.edu/wmul through one of the Listen Live links.

Last Time Out: Marshall wins series at Southern Miss, 2-1
Marshall got back on the winning side, taking the series two games to one at Southern Miss. The Herd battled through the Saturday doubleheader, 6-1 and 6-3, but again struggled on Sunday in the series finale losing 5-0.

Senior Briana Daiss was the star of game one. Daiss came in to pinch hit in the fifth with two runners on and leading 1-0. Daiss punched one out to left-center to give the Herd a 4-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, Daiss received another opportunity at the plate as she stayed in the lineup and drilled a solo homer to center to increase Marshall's lead to five. It was the first two home run game of the senior's career. Daiss now has 26 career home runs and needs just one more to tie Leigh Wintter (2003-06) and Alianna Telles (2009-12) for sixth all-time. Junior Blakely Burch hit her team-leading fifth triple of the season and drove in senior Hayden Ellis in the sixth inning. Burch is tied with Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Amanda Williams (2003-06) with the second-most triples in a season in team history.

In game two, Marshall trailed 2-0 through four innings before Daiss led off the fifth with a double. The Herd got rolling from there offensively, scoring three runs to take the lead. The Golden Eagles responded to tie the game in the fifth, however Marshall went on to score three more runs over the final two innings for the win. Junior Sierra Huerta smacked her fourth homer of the season and sophomore Aly Harrell hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season. Harrell is now tied with Raquel Escareno (2013-16) for 10th all-time with 21 career dingers. Senior pitcher Abigail Tolbert earned the victory in both games.

The Herd's Sunday struggles continued in the series finale as Marshall managed just two base runners and one hit in the loss. Huerta reached base in the second with her 14th hit-by-pitch of the season and senior Abigail Estrada recorded an infield single in the fifth. Tolbert took the loss.

Other Stats and Figures for the Herd
Season Home Runs Update: Team Total - 36 (39th in the nation at 1.03 HR/Game & 1st in C-USA)
Aly Harrell - 10 (3-way tie for 1st in C-USA, Lexi Cushing at MTSU & Cortney Smith at UTEP)
Mya Stevenson - 8 (4th in C-USA)
Briana Daiss - 6
Hannah Giammarino - 4
Sierra Huerta - 4
Blakely Burch - 3
Hayden Ellis – 1
Season Bean Ball Update: Team total – 44 HBPs (leads C-USA)
Sierra Huerta, Aly Harrell and Blakely Burch are 1-2-3 in Conference USA in HBPs
Huerta - 8th (nation) 0.40 HBPs/Game
Burch - T9th (nation) 0.39 HBPs/Game
Harrell - 13th (nation) 0.37 HBPs/Game
National ERA Standings Update: Team ERA: 50th in the country - 2.62 & 3rd in Conference USA in ERA
Aly Harrell Season Free Pass Update: (NCAA rankings from March 25th) Through 35 games
33 walks (T6th in the country BBs/Game 0.94) & 13 HBPs (13th in the country HBP/Game 0.37)
6 games with at least 3-free passes (5 with 3 walks & 1 with 3 hit-by-pitches)
Leads Conference USA On base (.547)
Blakely Burch Triple Watch Update: 5 - tied for 7th in the nation/tied for 1st in C-USA

The Series vs. WKU: 17 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 9-8
The series between Marshall and WKU has been a heated and great matchup since both teams were members of Conference USA for the 2015 season. Even the first meetings in 2001 were a split as WKU took the first game on March 9, 2001, and then the Herd bounced back for the contest the very next day. Two years later, the two teams met again at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga and the Lady Toppers grabbed the win. Twelve years went by before the programs - who are separated by only 286 miles - finally met again, this time as conference foes. The first series took place in Huntington. Marshall won game one in walk-off fashion as senior Emileigh Cooper went deep in the 10th inning to end what had been an epic pitcher's duel between the Herd's Jordan Dixon and WKU's Miranda Kramer. The Lady Toppers won the next two games to take the series. In 2016, this time in Bowling Green, Marshall won the series two games to one to cap off the regular season. In 2017 the series came back to Huntington and Marshall was on a roll. The Herd took all three games to continue what became a program-record 17-game winning streak.

The teams met again in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament in 2017, and Dixon pitched just the second no-hitter in the history of the C-USA Tournament for the 2-0 win (Kramer of WKU had the other no-hitter in 2015). Junior outfielder Jordan Colliflower helped preserve the no-hitter with a diving catch by the right field line for the second out in the top of the seventh. Fellow senior Morgan Zerkle hit a solo homer to give Marshall the lead and later scored again in the fifth. Marshall traveled back to Bowling Green in 2018. After losing the first game, the Herd bounced back as freshman Rachel Rousseau drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth and then later scored to give Marshall the two-run cushion. Junior Abigail Tolbert ended the game on a strikeout. However, the Lady Toppers won the series finale. Later, the two teams met again in the first round of the C-USA Tournament. Freshman Aly Harrell set the Herd rookie record with her 11th homer of the year and senior Eloise Tribolet robbed a home run in center, but the Herd fell and was eliminated.

Scouting the Lady Toppers
WKU comes in with a 26-6 overall record and has been unbeatable in Conference USA action. The Lady Toppers had an 11-game winning streak going before falling to Louisville, 7-2, at home on Wednesday. During the win streak, the Lady Toppers swept through FIU, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic while also picking up non-conference wins over EKU and No. 17 Kentucky. Junior pitcher Kelsey Aikey has won the past two Conference USA Pitcher of the Week awards with excellent outings in the circle. As a staff, WKU is second in conference with a 2.31 ERA. Freshman Kennedy Sullivan has been the main arm in the circle with 93.2 innings, a 2.84 ERA, 14-2 record and 139 strikeouts. Aikey has been next with 68 innings, a 2.06 ERA, 8-4 record and 102 strikeouts. Sophomore Shelby Nunn has tossed 46 innings and sports a 1.37 ERA with a 4-0 record.

On the offensive side, WKU is batting .299 as a team and has outscored the opposition, 180-79. Redshirt senior Shannon Plese, a transfer from Tennessee, leads the team hitting .358 with 34 hits, 25 runs, seven doubles, two homers and 13 steals. Sophomore catcher Kendall Smith is the leader in power numbers with six doubles, seven home runs, 28 RBI and is slugging .682. The Lady Toppers have not been afraid to try and take the next 60 feet, with 67 stolen bases for the year which ranks 14th in the nation with 2.09 per game.

Up Next
After the series with WKU, Marshall travels down to Miami for another Conference USA series with the FIU Panthers, April 13-14.

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!

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Players Mentioned

Blakely Burch

Jordan Colliflower

Briana Daiss

Jordan Dixon

Hayden Ellis

Abigail Estrada

Hannah Giammarino

Aly Harrell

Sierra Huerta

Rachel Rousseau

Mya Stevenson

Abigail Tolbert

Eloise Tribolet

Morgan Zerkle

Marshall University Athletics