Softball to Host Rutgers and Bucknell at Thundering Herd Round Robin

Marshall Game Notes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team stays at home to host the Thundering Herd Round Robin, March 6-8, as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Bucknell Bison come to Dot Hicks Field. Each team will play each other twice for a total of four games.

The Thundering Herd come in to the weekend with a 15-5 overall record and winners of seven-straight.

Marshall Schedule Page
Marshall's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jake Griffith on the call, and on 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul through one of the Listen Live links. The two neutral games of Rutgers versus Bucknell will not have a live stream or radio broadcast.

Last Time Out: Home-Opener vs. Akron
Marshall kept the hot bats swinging in a doubleheader sweep of old Mid-American Conference foe Akron, 8-3 and 8-0. The Herd smashed five more home runs in front of the home crowd. Senior Haleigh Christopher got it started with a 2-run shot in the second inning. It was her first game in front of her hometown crowd after transferring to Marshall for her final collegiate season. It was also her fifth of the year. Akron kept it close (3-1) until Marshall scored three more runs in the fifth off a solo home run from sophomore Mya Stevenson and then a 2-run single from sophomore Grace Chelemen. Junior Sierra Huerta hit the third homer of the game with a solo blast to left in the sixth and then junior Saige Pye drove in Stevenson with a triple.

In game two, junior Aly Harrell led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer for the 30th of her career. She is just the fourth player in team history to reach 30. It stayed a 1-0 game until the third when Pye and junior Rachel Rousseau both scored. Later in the fourth, Rousseau came up again and hit a 3-run homer to put the Herd up 6-0. The game ended in the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Stevenson.

Junior Laney Jones pitched the complete, game-one victory and struck out seven. She improved to 8-1. Freshman Ashley Blessin had the start in game two, allowed just two hits, had four assists and four strikeouts in picking up her fifth win of the season.

Opponents
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights come in to the weekend with an 8-11 record after a 2-3 trip to the USF Tournament. Rutgers recorded two wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, fell twice to Syracuse and once to USF. As a team, the Scarlet Knights are batting .236 and have been outscored 105-61. Sophomore Aleah Marra leads the team with a .323 average, 20 hits and is tied for the lead with five doubles. Sophomore Katie Wingert, who finished second in the nation among freshmen with 18 home runs in 2019, is tied for the team lead with four homers. Senior Anyssa Iliopoulos also has four home runs and leads the team with 10 RBI. In the circle, the staff has a 4.54 ERA with a pair of freshmen leading the way. Jaden Vickers leads with a 3.14 ERA, has tossed the most innings with 42.1, a 2-3 record and 48 strikeouts. Ashley Hitchcock is right behind with a 3.15 ERA in 40 innings, a 4-3 record and 46 strikeouts. Rutgers is allowing opponents to hit .294 and have given up 61 extra base hits (40 doubles, five triple, 16 home runs). Head coach Kristen Butler is in her second season leading the program and has a 37-37 record.

Bucknell Bison
The Bison enter the weekend with a 6-8 overall record. Bucknell is coming off an 0-5 weekend in Raleigh, N.C. that included losses to Indiana (twice), North Carolina State (twice) and Saint Joseph's. The program's most recent win was 7-4 over Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 16 at Campbell. The team is hitting .271 and has only been outscored by eight runs, 68-60. Sophomore Allyse Volpe is the table-setter for the offense in the leadoff spot with a .372 average, 16 hits, nine runs and is 11-of-12 in stolen bases. Sophomore Nicole Rivait (.324), junior Taylor Wolfgang (.316) and junior Jess Hom (.314) are all batting over .300. Rivait leads the team with three home runs. Freshman Chase Knapp leads with 9 RBI. The Bucknell pitching staff has helped keep the team in games as senior Raeanne Geffert (2.91) and freshman Kaiya Burton (2.90) both have an ERA under 3.00. Geffert has thrown 53 innings, a 4-6 record and 80 strikeouts. Burton has tossed 29 innings, carries a 2-1 record and has 37 strikeouts. Head coach Joey Lye, who is an active member of the Canadian National Team, is in her third season leading the Bison. Her overall record is 61-55-1.

Following the Thundering Herd Round Robin, Marshall travels to Lexington, Ky., for a single game against the Kentucky Wildcats at 6 p.m. on March 11. The Herd then returns home for a three-game series against the FIU Panthers in Marshall's Conference USA opener.

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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Softball to Host Rutgers and Bucknell at Thundering Herd Round Robin

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Blessin

Grace Chelemen

Haleigh Christopher

Aly Harrell

Sierra Huerta

Laney Jones

Saige Pye

Rachel Rousseau

Mya Stevenson

Marshall University Athletics