Marshall University Athletics
Friday, April 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4:00 PM ET/3:00 PM CT
Marshall University
12-4, 1-0
10
at
4
Middle Tennessee
15-17, 1-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Marshall
5
0
0
0
1
0
4
10
9
1
Middle Tennessee
1
2
0
1
0
0
0
4
8
1
Kat Sackett (#20) greeted at home after hitting her first of two home runs in game one
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Softball Splits Day One at Middle Tennessee
4/10/2021 12:34:00 AM | Softball
Harrell is tied for 2nd all-time in career home runs with 35
Box Scores (PDF) Game One | Game Two
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Marshall softball team took game one, 10-4, but fell in game two, 9-8, in the 10th inning at Middle Tennessee on Friday afternoon. Senior Aly Harrell hit her 35th career home run in game two and is now tied for second all-time in program history with teammate Mya Stevenson and Shaelynn Braxton (2013-15, '17).
The Thundering Herd is now 12-5 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders are now 16-17 and 2-4 in conference play.
Game One: Marshall 10, Middle Tennessee 4
The Herd received two, three-run home runs from freshman Kat Sackett to help lead to the win. Marshall exploded for five runs in the first inning, one in the fifth and four in the seventh. Senior Megan Stauffer came on in relief in the second inning and went the rest of the game to earn the win.
Junior Grace Chelemen led off the game with a hit-by-pitch on the very first pitch. Two batters later, graduate Sierra Huerta was hit by a pitch as well. Senior Katie Adams then delivered a single into centerfield that scored both Chelemen and Huerta. Later in the inning, with Adams at third and Stevenson at second, Sackett drilled a line drive shot over the fence in center. Marshall led 5-0.
The Blue Raiders scored one in the first, two in the second, and one in the fourth to cut the Herd lead down to one, 5-4.
In the fifth, Chelemen led off the inning with a single and later scored on a double down the right field line from Adams, her seventh double of the season.
The Marshall offense got rolling again in the top of the seventh to add some insurance runs. Harrell led off the inning with a single, and then junior Chloe Lee came in to run for Harrell at first. Lee moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Huerta, and then later advanced to third. Stevenson drove Lee home with a single to center. Freshman Kay Kay Kenney had also come in to pinch run for Adams, and with Stevenson on base, Sackett smacked another laser drive over the fence in right for her second, three-run home run of the game. The Herd led 10-4.
Stauffer and the Herd defense made the plays in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game. Freshman Paige Halliwill made a great catch in right-center at the fence to end the game. Stauffer threw 5.1 innings, a career-high for her in a Marshall uniform. She allowed four hits, one run and struck out three. Stauffer also made a great defensive play to end the bottom of the fifth.
Sackett set a career-high with six runs driven in. Adams tallied three RBI and Stevenson had the other. Adams, Sackett and Halliwill recorded two hits each. Chelemen Stevenson and Sackett scored two runs apiece. Huerta was hit by a pitch twice in the contest giving her six for the season and 42 in her career.
Game Two: Middle Tennessee 9, Marshall 8 (10 innings)
The second game of the doubleheader was an exciting contest that featured just about everything. Marshall came out on fire in the first inning with six runs while also taking advantage of two errors by the Blue Raiders. Aly Harrell hit a two run shot in the first, scoring Grace Chelemen, to get things started. Along with putting her into a tie for second all-time, it was also Harrell's team-leading fifth home run of the season. Sierra Huerta, Katie Adams, senior Madison Whitaker and Paige Halliwill all crossed the plate in the first. The Herd had 11 batters come to the plate in the inning.
After a three-up, three-down inning for both teams, Middle Tennessee scored six runs in the bottom of the second with also 11 batters coming to the plate. Following the second, both teams received key hits and great defensive plays throughout the rest of the contest.
The Blue Raiders scored a run in the fourth to take the lead, 7-6.
In the top of the sixth, Marshall scored two runs to take back the lead at 8-7. Kat Sackett led off the inning with a single to center. Chloe Lee came in to run at first. Madison Whitaker grounded into a fielder's choice with everyone safe to put two runners on base. Halliwill had a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Freshman Kay Kay Kenney came in to pinch hit and sent a sacrifice fly to center that scored Lee to tie the game. After a walk to Chelemen and a hit-by-pitch on Harrell, senior Armani Brown drove a single to left that scored junior Rachel Pennington, who was in to run for Whitaker.
The Blue Raiders tied the game in the bottom of the sixth at 8-8. In the bottom of the seventh, Middle Tennessee had the bases loaded with two outs and a chance for the walkoff. A Blue Raider batter sent a sinking fly ball into left-center that was caught by Chelemen who came diving in at the last second and held on for the final out. The amazing catch sent the game into extra innings.
Sophomore pitcher Ashley Blessin entered the game in the fourth and pitched the final six innings. Blessin made a couple of great defensive plays to help close things out in extra innings. However, the Blue Raiders loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth before Lexi Cushing finally drove in the game-winning run.
The Herd finished the game with 10 hits. Chelemen had three hits, one run, two RBI and one walk. Brown had two hits.
Game three of the series is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The final game of the weekend is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on CUSAtv as well as broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM and online at www.marshall.edu/wmul.
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!
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Marshall softball team took game one, 10-4, but fell in game two, 9-8, in the 10th inning at Middle Tennessee on Friday afternoon. Senior Aly Harrell hit her 35th career home run in game two and is now tied for second all-time in program history with teammate Mya Stevenson and Shaelynn Braxton (2013-15, '17).
The Thundering Herd is now 12-5 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders are now 16-17 and 2-4 in conference play.
Game One: Marshall 10, Middle Tennessee 4
The Herd received two, three-run home runs from freshman Kat Sackett to help lead to the win. Marshall exploded for five runs in the first inning, one in the fifth and four in the seventh. Senior Megan Stauffer came on in relief in the second inning and went the rest of the game to earn the win.
Junior Grace Chelemen led off the game with a hit-by-pitch on the very first pitch. Two batters later, graduate Sierra Huerta was hit by a pitch as well. Senior Katie Adams then delivered a single into centerfield that scored both Chelemen and Huerta. Later in the inning, with Adams at third and Stevenson at second, Sackett drilled a line drive shot over the fence in center. Marshall led 5-0.
The Blue Raiders scored one in the first, two in the second, and one in the fourth to cut the Herd lead down to one, 5-4.
In the fifth, Chelemen led off the inning with a single and later scored on a double down the right field line from Adams, her seventh double of the season.
The Marshall offense got rolling again in the top of the seventh to add some insurance runs. Harrell led off the inning with a single, and then junior Chloe Lee came in to run for Harrell at first. Lee moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Huerta, and then later advanced to third. Stevenson drove Lee home with a single to center. Freshman Kay Kay Kenney had also come in to pinch run for Adams, and with Stevenson on base, Sackett smacked another laser drive over the fence in right for her second, three-run home run of the game. The Herd led 10-4.
Stauffer and the Herd defense made the plays in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game. Freshman Paige Halliwill made a great catch in right-center at the fence to end the game. Stauffer threw 5.1 innings, a career-high for her in a Marshall uniform. She allowed four hits, one run and struck out three. Stauffer also made a great defensive play to end the bottom of the fifth.
Sackett set a career-high with six runs driven in. Adams tallied three RBI and Stevenson had the other. Adams, Sackett and Halliwill recorded two hits each. Chelemen Stevenson and Sackett scored two runs apiece. Huerta was hit by a pitch twice in the contest giving her six for the season and 42 in her career.
Game Two: Middle Tennessee 9, Marshall 8 (10 innings)
The second game of the doubleheader was an exciting contest that featured just about everything. Marshall came out on fire in the first inning with six runs while also taking advantage of two errors by the Blue Raiders. Aly Harrell hit a two run shot in the first, scoring Grace Chelemen, to get things started. Along with putting her into a tie for second all-time, it was also Harrell's team-leading fifth home run of the season. Sierra Huerta, Katie Adams, senior Madison Whitaker and Paige Halliwill all crossed the plate in the first. The Herd had 11 batters come to the plate in the inning.
After a three-up, three-down inning for both teams, Middle Tennessee scored six runs in the bottom of the second with also 11 batters coming to the plate. Following the second, both teams received key hits and great defensive plays throughout the rest of the contest.
The Blue Raiders scored a run in the fourth to take the lead, 7-6.
In the top of the sixth, Marshall scored two runs to take back the lead at 8-7. Kat Sackett led off the inning with a single to center. Chloe Lee came in to run at first. Madison Whitaker grounded into a fielder's choice with everyone safe to put two runners on base. Halliwill had a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Freshman Kay Kay Kenney came in to pinch hit and sent a sacrifice fly to center that scored Lee to tie the game. After a walk to Chelemen and a hit-by-pitch on Harrell, senior Armani Brown drove a single to left that scored junior Rachel Pennington, who was in to run for Whitaker.
The Blue Raiders tied the game in the bottom of the sixth at 8-8. In the bottom of the seventh, Middle Tennessee had the bases loaded with two outs and a chance for the walkoff. A Blue Raider batter sent a sinking fly ball into left-center that was caught by Chelemen who came diving in at the last second and held on for the final out. The amazing catch sent the game into extra innings.
Sophomore pitcher Ashley Blessin entered the game in the fourth and pitched the final six innings. Blessin made a couple of great defensive plays to help close things out in extra innings. However, the Blue Raiders loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth before Lexi Cushing finally drove in the game-winning run.
The Herd finished the game with 10 hits. Chelemen had three hits, one run, two RBI and one walk. Brown had two hits.
Game three of the series is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The final game of the weekend is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. Both games will be streamed on CUSAtv as well as broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM and online at www.marshall.edu/wmul.
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---
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stauffer, Megan (2-0)
L: DODD (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Adams, Katie 1
HR: Sackett, Kat 2
RBI: Adams, Katie 3 ; Stevenson, Mya 1 ; Sackett, Kat 6
SH: Huerta, Sierra 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chelemen, Grace 2 ; Lee, Chloe 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 1 ; Adams, Katie 1 ; Kenney, Kay Kay 1 ; Stevenson, Mya 2 ; Sackett, Kat 2
SB: Stevenson, Mya 1
CS: Burch, Blakely 1
HBP: Chelemen, Grace 1 ; Huerta, Sierra 2
Batting:
HR: HILL 1
RBI: HILL 3
SH: KING 1 ; TATH-SLEZAK 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HILL 1 ; KING 1 ; HERRING 1 ; TATH-SLEZAK 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
6
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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