Softball Begins 2022 Season Journey at Buzz Classic

ATLANTA – The Marshall softball team gets it 2022 season started at the Buzz Classic, Feb. 11-13, hosted by Georgia Tech. The Herd will play five games over three days.

Marshall is set to take on the host Georgia Tech as well as Saint Joseph's and Villanova.

Tournament Details
Marshall Game Notes (PDF)
Friday: vs. Saint Joseph's at 10 a.m. FACEBOOK LIVE | LIVE STATS
             vs. Villanova at 12:30 p.m. FACEBOOK LIVE | LIVE STATS
Saturday: vs. Villanova at 10 a.m. FACEBOOK LIVE | LIVE STATS
                  vs. Saint Joseph's at 6 p.m. FACEBOOK LIVE | LIVE STATS
Sunday: at Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM and online www.marshall.edu/wmul Friday and Saturday will be on Stream 1, Sunday will be on Stream 2. Scott Hall will be on the call.
Series History: First ever meeting with Saint Joseph's and Villanova.
                           Sixth all-time meeting with Georgia Tech, GT leads 5-0.
                           Last meeting vs. Georgia Tech – Feb. 15, 2013 in Atlanta, GT won 7-6.

Marshall finished the 2021 season with a 20-13 record. Despite also playing two games in the Conference USA Tournament, the Herd played fewer games last season than any other league team due to COVID and scheduling restrictions. UTEP, who did not make the postseason tourney, played the next fewest at 37.

Coming off the 2021 season, Marshall looks to replace departed veterans Blakely Burch, Sierra Huerta, Laney Jones and Megan Stauffer.

However, the Herd returns an experienced, and very dangerous lineup. Back for another round with the Green & White are fifth year seniors Aly Harrell, Katie Adams, Armani Brown, Saige Pye and Madison Whitaker. Followed next by seniors Mya Stevenson, Grace Chelemen and Camryn Michallas. Harrell, Pye and Stevenson were all named to the Preseason All-Conference USA team earlier this week, and smashed a combined total of 24 home runs and 72 RBI during the abbreviated season.

Redshirt junior pitcher Cailey Joyce returns after her first season in Huntington in 2021. Junior pitcher Ashley Blessin and sophomores Kay Kay Kenney and Brianna McCown are back as well. Amaya Lee returns after missing all of 2021 with a shoulder injury.

Newcomers to town are led by two transfers in redshirt juniors Sydney Nester and Autumn Owen. Nester, a right-handed pitcher, starred for North Carolina State for three seasons. Owen, a catcher, comes from Gardner-Webb where she nearly rewrote the record book as a freshman in 2019. Owen missed all of last season with an injury. Owen has three years of eligibility remaining while Nester has two years.

The freshman class brings six new faces that possess great talent, add incredible depth, and keep the future looking bright for MUSB. The new class consists of four infielders in Laney and Lauren Love (Matthews, N.C.), Rielly Lucas (Huntington, W.Va.), and Brooklyn Ulrich (Mesa, Ariz.). Alex Coleman (Asheboro, N.C.) is an outfielder and Bub Feringa (Glendale, Ariz.) is a pitcher and a hitter.

Head coach Megan Smith Lyon and her staff enter their fourth season in Huntington. Smith Lyon owns an 80-42 record at Marshall and has 473 wins overall in her collegiate coaching career.

Following the tournament at Georgia Tech, Marshall continues its journey on the road at the Battle at the Beach, Feb. 18-20, hosted by Coastal Carolina.

The Opponents
Saint Joseph Hawks
The Hawks finished the 2021 season with an overall record of 26-20, including a 19-3 league record in the Atlantic 10. Saint Joseph's finished second in the conference standings but unfortunately were eliminated in the league tournament.

Head coach Erin Brooks enters her fifth season at the helm and has a record of 82-81 at Saint Joseph's and has 312 wins overall in her coaching career. Coach Brooks is looking to replace a lot of production in her lineup from last season. The Hawks hit .317 as a team and its top four batters, who all hit over .340, are gone. Out of the 39 homers hit last season, only 13 are back.

The top returning hitter is Payton Baxter. She hit .333 while appearing in 40 games and making 28 starts. Baxter hit five doubles and two homers. The top returning home run hitter is Madison Fife who cranked out five and also drove in 20 runs. Jordan Hinkle combined for seven extra base hits out of her 28 total and slugged .558.

The pitching staff brings back a lot of experience from a year ago as three of the four arms used last season are back. Topping the list is Amanda Herr who finished with an 11-6 record and a 3.51 ERA to lead the team. Saige Stutz led the Hawks in innings with 90 and strikeouts with 60. Stutz tallied a 6-5 record with a 3.73 ERA.

Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats sported a 37-15 record in 2021 and won the Big East Tournament to advance to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history. Villanova traveled to the Arizona Regional in Tucson. The Wildcats lost its first game to Ole Miss (5-1), then defeated UMBC (4-3) before falling again to Ole Miss (6-2) and being eliminated.

Head coach Bridget Orchard is in her fourth season at Villanova with a record of 80-52. She has 832 wins overall in her coaching career. Unlike Saint Joseph's, however, the Wildcats return a very experienced lineup and will look to go for another postseason run.

Out of its top 10 hitters from 2021, only one player is not back this season. Paige Rauch leads the way after piling up numerous awards last season as a senior. She is back for her fifth year and has already been named a Preseason All-American by D1Softball and Softball America. She bat .417 last year with 63 hits, 46 runs, 13 doubles, nine home runs and 44 RBI. All while also being the leading pitcher with a 2.12 ERA, 21-4 record and 189 strikeouts in just over 174 innings.

Ryan Henry clubbed a team-high 13 homers last season and drove in 38 runs. She is also back.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets finished 2021 with an overall record of 20-26 and 11-19 in the ACC. Head coach Aileen Morales is in her fifth season leading her alma mater. She sports a record of 91-90 with Georgia Tech and has 204 wins overall in her career.

Georgia Tech's top two hitters from last season are back. Tricia Awald led the team with a .411 average, 51 hits, 11 homers and slugged .726. Emma Kauf, another returner, led the team in total extra base hits with 19 including 10 home runs while batting .345.

The Yellow Jackets return its top pitcher in Blake Neleman who finished with a 12-8 record, a 3.87 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 106 innings.

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.

---HerdZone.com---

Softball Begins 2022 Season Journey at Buzz Classic

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Players Mentioned

Katie Adams

Ashley Blessin

Armani Brown

Blakely Burch

Grace Chelemen

Alex Coleman

Bub Feringa

Aly Harrell

Sierra Huerta

Laney Jones

Cailey Joyce

Kay Kay Kenney

Amaya Lee

Lauren Love

Rielly Lucas

Brianna McCown

Camryn Michallas

Sydney Nester

Autumn Owen

Saige Pye

Megan Stauffer

Mya Stevenson

Brooklyn Ulrich

Madison Whitaker

Marshall University Athletics