Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: 'Fired up' Tolbert pitches with emotion for hometown school
5/16/2019 9:19:00 AM | Softball, Big Green Scholarship Foundation, Word on the Herd
Senior from Barboursville was a second team all-conference selection
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Three years ago, as a freshman, Abigail Tolbert pitched one inning. Two years ago, she was used as a pinch runner … once.
You'll have to forgive her when she's in the circle; she's a little fired up to be the Marshall softball team's unquestioned ace.
"I'd like every player – every pitcher – to be that way," first-year Herd coach Megan Smith said. "Sometimes pitchers are too stoic in the circle. She likes to try and encourage the umpire to call strikes, which I love. She gets fired up for herself, but for her teammates, too. If I was a player, I'd want to play behind her."
Tolbert, a senior who leads Marshall (39-20) into Thursday's National Invitational Softball Championship against George Washington, is a Barboursville and Cabell Midland product. After toiling on the Thundering Herd's bench for two seasons, she enjoyed a mini-breakout as a junior in 2018, pitching in 38 games and finishing 12-10.
Consider this, her final college season, the full-fledged breakout. Don't ask if she's excited about getting the ball every day for her hometown team – you'll see her and hear her when she's firing fastballs and riseballs.
"I feel the team feeds off of my confidence," Tolbert said. "I like the fist pump; they feed off that. I do that every time. Sometimes, it's a little much, but I do it when they make good plays too so they know I have their back."
Tolbert has evolved from seldom-used player to an all-conference arm. This season, she has made 46 appearances (39 starts), and is 26-16 with a 2.72 earned-run average. She has 172 strikeouts in 234 innings. Recently, she was named a Conference USA all-conference second team selection.
Thursday, when Marshall gets underway in the opening round of the NISC in Lynchburg, Virginia, Tolbert will make her 40th start – only the fourth different Herd pitcher to accomplish that in a single season, along with Andi Williamson, Jordan Dixon and Cristy Waring. Tolbert has already surpassed 25 wins this season, which has only been accomplished by Williamson and Dixon in a single season. Tolbert's 10 shutouts this season are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history.
"What a special story she is," Smith said. "As a new coach, coming in, I'm looking at the stats and saw she didn't pitch a single inning two years ago. For her to come out and do what she's done this season, it's been special to watch."
Tolbert grew up with a vision to someday star at Marshall. She was on softball teams with players who'd go on to star for the Herd, and Tolbert wished to follow in their footsteps.
"For girls around here, the dream is to go to Marshall and represent the Herd," Tolbert said. "You feel like you're playing for more than yourself here. You go to the camps and you see the Marshall athletes and you think they're celebrities, so you want to be one."
Tolbert has arrived, it just took her longer than she thought to get here.
"I wouldn't have chosen to sit the bench the first two years, but if I was to go back I wouldn't change anything," Tolbert said. "Without those two years, I wouldn't be the same person. Not playing the first two years, I didn't like that, but that's what made me who I am."
Tolbert has been the workhorse for a Marshall team on the cusp of 40 wins, which has been accomplished by only two other teams in program history. Tolbert tossed three shutouts in the C-USA tournament to put her team in position to win a championship.
"I love my riseball," she said. "That's my pitch; that's what I live and die by. That's my favorite. My fastball is for speed and my riseball is to play around with."
Tolbert has already received her degree in biology, with minors in psychology and chemistry. She has been accepted to med school at Marshall.
She wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
"She's such a great person and athlete, and she cares so much about her team and Marshall," Smith said. "No one deserves it more."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
