Marshall University Athletics
Friday, March 5
Huntington, W.Va.
1:30 PM
Marshall University
3-0
7
vs
6
Bowling Green
7-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Bowling Green
0
3
1
0
0
0
2
6
6
2
Marshall
0
4
0
0
1
2
X
7
7
0
Photo by: Sydney Shelton
Clutch Hitting and Pitching Leads Softball to Win over Bowling Green
3/5/2021 9:26:00 PM | Softball
McCown retires seven batters in first career outing
Box Score (PDF)
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team received timely power hitting and a great performance in the circle from freshman Brianna McCown to pick up the 7-6 win over the Bowling Green Falcons, Friday at Dot Hicks Field.
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The Herd improves to 3-0, while the Falcons fall to 7-6.
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"Really proud of our fight," Herd head coach Megan Smith Lyon said. "We are proving to be a team that no matter the situation, we will fight. I think you saw that today. We didn't have a great start from Ashley (Blessin) which is unusual, but I thought the highlight of the game was our bounce-back in the second when we came back and made up for it. We just continued to fight.
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"Bowling Green has a super-talented pitcher in Payton Gottshall and we knew she was going to be tough. It was great to see our hitters make adjustments and be successful off of her. I can't say enough of Bri (McCown) and her gutsy performance going out there her first time in a tough situation. I thought she showed a lot of poise, looked a little like a freshman in the beginning but settled in. I thought she really gutted out a very good performance."
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Marshall fell behind 3-0 after the top of the second. Sophomore pitcher Ashley Blessin started in the circle and was pulled in the second for McCown. The freshman right-hander ended the inning with her first career strikeout, stranding a runner at third.
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The Herd offense came storming back in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of two Falcon errors as well as graduate Sierra Huerta's 38th career hit-by-pitch, that led off the inning. Huerta scored the first run, coming home after a dropped ball in right field, from the bat of senior Madison Whitaker. Marshall had the bases loaded with senior Grace Chelemen at third, redshirt senior Blakely Burch at second and Whitaker at first, with freshman Paige Halliwill at the plate. Halliwill emptied the bases with a double to left-center to give the Herd the lead.
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Bowling Green's ace, Payton Gottshall then entered the contest, coming off a near perfect game earlier in the day against Valparaiso, and got the Falcons out of the inning.
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Bowling Green tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the third. From there McCown settled in and retired the next three batters.
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The tie was finally broken in the bottom of the fifth as senior Aly Harrell belted her first home run of the season and 31st of her career. McCown continued to deal with two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard, before Marshall added two more.
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In the bottom of the sixth, both Huerta and Burch went deep with solo home runs to build the Herd's lead out to three, 7-4. Gottshall was pulled for Harlie Vannatter who finished the game.
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Bowling Green scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to make it a one-run game. Senior Laney Jones entered the circle for Marshall and finished the game to earn the save.
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McCown in her first collegiate outing earned her first win and struck out seven. Halliwill had three RBI for the Herd and Harrell finished with two hits. Huerta and Burch scored two runs each. Marshall tallied seven hits as a team and no errors.
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The Herd returns to the field on Saturday for day two of the Thundering Herd Round Robin. Marshall first plays against Valparaiso at 11:30 a.m., and then versus Saint Francis at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed on CUSAtv.
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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.
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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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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team received timely power hitting and a great performance in the circle from freshman Brianna McCown to pick up the 7-6 win over the Bowling Green Falcons, Friday at Dot Hicks Field.
Â
The Herd improves to 3-0, while the Falcons fall to 7-6.
Â
"Really proud of our fight," Herd head coach Megan Smith Lyon said. "We are proving to be a team that no matter the situation, we will fight. I think you saw that today. We didn't have a great start from Ashley (Blessin) which is unusual, but I thought the highlight of the game was our bounce-back in the second when we came back and made up for it. We just continued to fight.
Â
"Bowling Green has a super-talented pitcher in Payton Gottshall and we knew she was going to be tough. It was great to see our hitters make adjustments and be successful off of her. I can't say enough of Bri (McCown) and her gutsy performance going out there her first time in a tough situation. I thought she showed a lot of poise, looked a little like a freshman in the beginning but settled in. I thought she really gutted out a very good performance."
Â
Marshall fell behind 3-0 after the top of the second. Sophomore pitcher Ashley Blessin started in the circle and was pulled in the second for McCown. The freshman right-hander ended the inning with her first career strikeout, stranding a runner at third.
Â
The Herd offense came storming back in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of two Falcon errors as well as graduate Sierra Huerta's 38th career hit-by-pitch, that led off the inning. Huerta scored the first run, coming home after a dropped ball in right field, from the bat of senior Madison Whitaker. Marshall had the bases loaded with senior Grace Chelemen at third, redshirt senior Blakely Burch at second and Whitaker at first, with freshman Paige Halliwill at the plate. Halliwill emptied the bases with a double to left-center to give the Herd the lead.
Â
Bowling Green's ace, Payton Gottshall then entered the contest, coming off a near perfect game earlier in the day against Valparaiso, and got the Falcons out of the inning.
Â
Bowling Green tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the third. From there McCown settled in and retired the next three batters.
Â
The tie was finally broken in the bottom of the fifth as senior Aly Harrell belted her first home run of the season and 31st of her career. McCown continued to deal with two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard, before Marshall added two more.
Â
In the bottom of the sixth, both Huerta and Burch went deep with solo home runs to build the Herd's lead out to three, 7-4. Gottshall was pulled for Harlie Vannatter who finished the game.
Â
Bowling Green scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to make it a one-run game. Senior Laney Jones entered the circle for Marshall and finished the game to earn the save.
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McCown in her first collegiate outing earned her first win and struck out seven. Halliwill had three RBI for the Herd and Harrell finished with two hits. Huerta and Burch scored two runs each. Marshall tallied seven hits as a team and no errors.
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The Herd returns to the field on Saturday for day two of the Thundering Herd Round Robin. Marshall first plays against Valparaiso at 11:30 a.m., and then versus Saint Francis at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed on CUSAtv.
Â
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.
Â
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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---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McCown, Brianna (1-0)
L: GOTTSHALL, Payton (7-2)
S: Jones, Laney (1)
Batting:
2B: WEBER, Sophie 1
3B: EVERETT, Logan 1
HR: DEES, Sammy 1 ; GODBOLT, Maycee 1
RBI: DEES, Sammy 1 ; EVERETT, Logan 1 ; WEBER, Sophie 1 ; SORGI, Nikki 1 ; GODBOLT, Maycee 2
SH: HAMM, Payton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DEES, Sammy 1 ; McNULTY, Marlie 1 ; EVERETT, Logan 1 ; WEBER, Sophie 1 ; GONZALEZ, Sarah 1 ; GODBOLT, Maycee 1
SB: GONZALEZ, Sarah 1
Batting:
2B: Halliwill, Paige 1
HR: Harrell, Aly 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Burch, Blakely 1
RBI: Halliwill, Paige 3 ; Harrell, Aly 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Burch, Blakely 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Harrell, Aly 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 2 ; Chelemen, Grace 1 ; Burch, Blakely 2 ; Whitaker, Madison 1
CS: Brown, Armani 1
HBP: Pye, Saige 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
3
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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