Nester Named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week

IRVING, Texas – After a dominating season-opening performance, Marshall softball redshirt junior Sydney Nester was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Nester finished 3-0 with 25 strikeouts and did not allow a run in 14 innings. She gave up only six hits and just one walk with an opponent batting average of .125.

"Sydney definitely made a statement this weekend with her dominant performance in the circle," Herd head coach Megan Smith Lyon said. "Her work ethic, commitment to excellence and competitive mindset have been such a great addition to our team and I am excited to watch her continue to grow this season."

Nester made her Marshall debut Feb. 11-12 at the Buzz Classic. She began her collegiate career at North Carolina State, and after three years and earning her Bachelor's degree, transferred to Marshall in the summer of 2021.

The Hillsville, Virginia, native was in complete control in the circle in her three outings. Nester began the weekend with the start in the season-opener against Saint Joseph's. The right-hander struck out the first two batters she faced, giving the fans an idea of what was in store. Nester finished the game with 13 strikeouts, two-away from her career-high of 15 against the College of Charleston in 2019. She struck out at least two batters in every inning, including sitting down the side in the third. Nester did not allow a hit or a baserunner until a double in the top of the fifth. Marshall's defense recorded the next out to end the inning and strand the runner at second. In the sixth, Nester struck out the first two batters before the Hawk's recorded the second hit of the game. Nester then fielded a grounder back to the circle for an easy out at first to end the inning. The Herd bats then ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with its fifth home run of the contest, tying a program single-game record, to get to the 8-run, mercy rule.

Nester tallied her first complete-game shutout in a Herd uniform and her first double-digit strikeout performance. The win was the Herd's first opening day shutout since a 3-0 win over Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 9, 2007. It was also the first 10-plus strikeout performance by a Marshall pitcher since Jordan Dixon struck out 10 at Virginia Tech on April 21, 2017.

The redshirt junior kept right on rolling Saturday morning with a start against the Villanova Wildcats. Nester sat down 11 more batters as the Herd exacted a little revenge on Villanova with an 8-0 win, bouncing back from a loss on Friday. Through the first two innings, Nester had three strikeouts and allowed just one hit. In the third, the Wildcats loaded the bases with two hits and a hit-by-pitch with one out. Never losing composure, Nester responded by striking out the next two batters to end the inning and the threat. She then struck out the next six batters over the final two innings to end the game with 8-straight strikeouts.

She earned her second complete-game shutout and the seventh overall shutout of her collegiate career. It was also her sixth career game with 10 or more strikeouts. Nester became the first pitcher in team history since 2000 (single game records prior to 2000 are incomplete) to open the season with back-to-back double-digit strikeout performances. Dixon was the last Herd pitcher to toss 10 or more strikeouts in back-to-back games coming on Feb. 25, 2017, with 10 versus Hampton and then 10 more against Towson in a double-header at the Tar Heel Classic, hosted by North Carolina.

Nester finished the weekend by shutting down Saint Joseph's one more time Saturday night as the Herd came back for the win. This time, Nester came on in relief to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Over the final three innings, Nester allowed only two baserunners and had one strikeout as the defense made great plays behind her. She earned the win as Marshall was trailing 4-3 when she entered the game and won 6-4.

Nester became the first Marshall pitcher to earn a win in her first three appearances of the season since Dixon achieved the feat in 2015. It was also the first time that the Herd tallied two shutouts in an opening-season tournament since 2015 when Marshall shutout UMass-Lowell (3-0) and UNC Greensboro (8-0) at the Charleston Challenge, hosted by the College of Charleston.

The Herd opened the year with a 3-1 record and return to action, Feb. 18-20, at the Battle at the Beach, hosted by Coastal Carolina.

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---

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