Softball Set for Herd March Madness at Dot Hicks Field

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall softball team is back at Dot Hicks Field for the Thundering Herd March Madness tournament as the Norfolk State Spartans, Fairfield Stags and Western Carolina Catamounts come to town, March 11-13.

The Herd's games will all be streamed on ESPN+ with Jake Griffith on the call, as well as also broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online. Links are below. Live stats will be provided for every game.

With the possibility of inclement weather on Saturday, stay tuned to Herdzone.com as well as Marshall softball on social media for any schedule changes. You can find the Herd on Twitter @HerdSB, Facebook at Marshall University Softball and on Instagram at @HerdSB.

Tournament Details
Marshall Game Notes (PDF)
(Home team listed first)
Friday: 9 a.m. – Western Carolina vs. Fairfield LIVE STATS
            11 a.m. – Marshall vs. Fairfield VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
            1 p.m. – Marshall vs. Norfolk State VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
            3 p.m. – Western Carolina vs. Norfolk State LIVE STATS
Saturday: 1 p.m. – Marshall vs. Western Carolina VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
                  3 p.m. – Norfolk State vs. Fairfield LIVE STATS
Sunday: 9 a.m. – Norfolk State vs. Western Carolina LIVE STATS
               11 a.m. – Fairfield vs. Western Carolina LIVE STATS
               1 p.m. – Marshall vs. Norfolk State VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
               3 p.m. – Marshall vs. Fairfield VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online at www.marshall.edu/wmul
Series History: vs. Fairfield – 1st ever meeting
                           vs. Norfolk State – 3rd all-time meeting, Marshall leads 2-0
                           vs. Western Carolina – 2nd all-time meeting, Marshall leads 1-0

The Thundering Herd comes into the tournament with an overall record of 13-5 after sweeping the Thundering Herd Round Robin. Head coach Megan Smith Lyon needs just six more wins to reach 100 in her time with the Herd (94-47). Marshall also needs to hit three more home runs for 200 during the Smith Lyon era (2019-present).

Following the March Madness tournament, the Herd will hit the road for a single game against the Ohio Bobcats on March 16, and then begin Conference USA play with a three-game series at UAB, March 18-20.

Nester No-Hits Mastodons
Sydney Nester was dominant once again to start Marshall off on the right foot during its home-opener against Purdue Fort Wayne on March 3. Nester pitched all five innings of the Herd's 11-0 win with 11 strikeouts and did not allow a hit. It was her first no-hitter in a Marshall uniform and the second of her collegiate career, first since 2019 against College of Charleston while with NC State. The Mastodons did get three runners on in the third off a dropped strike three, one Herd error and a walk. Nester proceeded to strike out the next batter to end the inning and keep the shutout, as well as the no-hitter, going. She retired the next six batters over the last two innings, with four by strikeout.

Offense Sets Hits in an Inning Record
Marshall has been having some explosive innings lately, and the first inning against Purdue Fort Wayne in the home-opener was no exception. The Herd bats set a team record with 10 hits in the first as 14 batters came to the plate, resulting in nine runs. The Mastodons threw a total of 54 pitches.

The 10 hits bested the old record of nine from the 6th inning against Western Michigan, all the way back on May 12, 2005, in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Marshall won that crazy game 13-12. In the 2022 home-opener, the Herd smashed three home runs to drive in seven of the runs, had two doubles and five singles.

Lauren Love opened the inning with a walk and was followed by singles from Aly Harrell (1) and Saige Pye (2). The hit from Pye scored Love for the first run. Two batters later, Rielly Lucas (3) hit a double to left that scored by Harrell and Pye. Next, Katie Adams (4) hit a 2-run homer to right that gave the Herd a 5-0 lead. Two batters later and with two outs, Camryn Michallas (5) kept it going with a single, followed by another base hit from Alex Coleman (6). Love (7) stepped back up to the plate and hit a 3-run homer to right-center. Marshall now led 8-0. Harrell (8) came through with her second hit of the inning with a double and Pye (9) belted a two-run shot to left. The home run was the final run of the inning, however the record-breaking 10th hit came next from Mya Stevenson with a single up the middle.

Nester Sets Herd Record - Fastest to 100 Strikeouts
Sydney Nester is proving to be a wonderful addition to the Herd by dominating in the circle. Through her incredible start, the redshirt junior set a team record as the fastest pitcher in Marshall softball history to reach 100 strikeouts. Nester completed the feat in her 12th outing and 58 innings pitched for the season. Her 100th strikeout came in the sixth inning against Maryland Eastern Shore on March 4. It was her eight of the game. She finished with nine.

The old record was 63 innings by Jordan Dixon in 2015. Dixon accomplished the feat on Feb. 21 against Auburn. It was her 12th outing of the year as well and number 100 came on the very first batter in the first inning.

Herd Tosses Four-Straight Shutouts
Marshall's pitchers and defense was clicking on all cylinders during the Thundering Herd Round Robin, March 3-5. The Herd tallied four-straight shutouts and allowed just one run through five games. The four-straight blankings is the most since four-straight toward the end of the 2019 season, May 4-9. It is also tied for the second-longest streak in team history. Back in 2001, Marshall had five-straight shutouts, April 22-28. The Herd blanked Akron in a doubleheader, then Liberty in another doubleheader and the first of a three-game series with Buffalo.

Shutout #1 - vs. Purdue Fort Wayne - Sydney Nester threw a no-hitter and struck out 11
Shutout #2 - vs. Purdue Fort Wayne - Cailey Joyce pitched all 5 innings, allowed 3 hits, no walks and struck out 7
Shutout #3 - vs. Maryland Eastern Shore - Sydney Nester pitched all 7 innings, allowed 3 hits, no walks and struck out 9
Shutout #4 - vs. Winthrop - Sydney Nester pitched all 7 innings, allowed two hits, 1 walk and struck out 11

The Herd was close to a fifth-straight shutout in the final game against Maryland Eastern Shore. Cailey Joyce had another great game throwing all 5 innings, allowed five hits, no walks and struck out six. However, the Hawks scored one run in the top of the fifth. Marshall won 14-1 and outscored its opponents 43-1 in the tournament.

Marshall Offense Has Another Big First Inning
Three times this season, Marshall has gone off for at least nine runs in the first inning. The first was versus Howard at the Camel Stampede on Feb. 25. Marshall went through 14 batters, tallied eight hits and scored nine runs. The second was against Purdue Fort Wayne on March 3. The Herd went through 14 batters again, set a team record with 10 hits and scored nine runs. The third came two days later on March 5 versus Maryland Eastern Shore. Marshall saw 14 batters come to the plate again, had nine hits and scored nine runs. The third time was highlighted by a bases-clearing triple from sophomore Kay Kay Kenney. The right-hander was sent in to pinch hit for Alex Coleman with the bases loaded and ripped a shot down the left field line. The ball curved into the corner and ricocheted off the fence and back into fair territory. Bub Feringa, Rielly Lucas and Autumn Owen all crossed the plate as Kenney recorded her first career triple.

The Opponents
Norfolk State
The Spartans have a 10-9 record and will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday at James Madison, before making the trip to Huntington. Norfolk State had a doubleheader at No. 6 Virginia Tech on Wednesday canceled due to rain.

The Spartans are coming off its co-hosted home tournament, the Spartan-Pirate Clash, with the Hampton Pirates. Norfolk State wen 2-6 with both wins coming over Bryant.

As a team, the Spartans are hitting .270 with 77 total runs and 130 hits. Tuli Iosefa leads with a .360 average and is tied with Imani Moore for the lead in hits with 18. Moore is batting .340. Kenna Higa was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Week on Monday after hitting .500 over the past weekend and is her second weekly honor. Higa is batting .351 this season with 13 hits, 10 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and is slugging .703. Alison Guckin leads the Spartans with 18 stolen bases.

In the circle, Norfolk State has used five different pitchers with four throwing at least 26 innings each. The staff ERA is 3.45 with 103 strikeouts and one shutout. Alexis Robinson leads with a 1.51 ERA, 7-0 record, and has 27 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. Joana Vallejo leads the squad in strikeouts with 31 in 32 innings. She has a 3.94 ERA.

Norfolk State has a team fielding percentage of .927, however the defense has turned in nine double plays.

Head coach James Inzana is in his fifth season leading the Spartans and has an overall record of 83-91.

Fairfield
The Stags come to town with a record of 3-7 and winners of its last two games, including a 4-0 victory over No. 25 USF on Feb. 26. Fairfield did not play this past weekend.

Allie Bridgman tossed all seven innings against the Bulls and allowed just five hits in the shutout. The Stags scored two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. USF left one runner on base in both the sixth and the seventh and eight total for the game.

The team is batting .225 with 32 runs scored on 56 hits. Bridgman leads the Stags at the plate with a .333 average and has one of Fairfield's four home runs. Kaitlin Hoffman has eight hits, is batting .286, and recorded four doubles. Madison Robicheau leads in homers with two.

In the circle, six pitchers have tossed at least two innings and four have thrown 10 or more. The staff sports an ERA of 4.34 in just under 68 total innings. Bailey Taylor has a 2.58 ERA, 1-2 record and 16 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Bridgman is next with a 2.67 ERA, 1-2 record and nine strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

The defense has been solid with just 11 errors over 10 games and a fielding percentage of .962.

Head coach Julie Brzezinski is in her 25th season leading Fairfield with a record of 631-593-5. Overall, in her entire coaching career, spanning 33 seasons, she has 876 victories.

Western Carolina
The program that Marshall head coach Megan Smith Lyon started back in 2005-06, makes its first ever trip to Huntington. Former Herd player, and Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer, Jessica Williams was an assistant coach at Western Carolina after coach Smith Lyon had left from 2008-09. The Catamounts come in with a 9-8 record. Western Carolina last played on Feb. 27 with a 4-2 win over the College of Charleston. A doubleheader at South Carolina State on March 2 was postponed.

The Catamounts have struggled offensively to begin the year with a .206 team batting average; however, the unit has hit 14 homers. Natalie Henry leads the squad hitting .310 with nine hits and two home runs. Myra Twitty and Savannah Rice are tied for the team lead with four home runs each. Twitty hit a three-run shot in the win over College of Charleston in the fifth inning to out the Catamounts up 4-2.

Western Carolina has been very effective in the circle with a staff ERA of 2.12 and an opponent batting average of just .220. Four pitchers have been used with three throwing 20 or more innings. Rice leads in innings with 49.2, has a 2.40 ERA, 4-2 record and 50 strikeouts. Jayme Eilers has recorded 57 strikeouts in 40.2 innings with a 1.38 ERA and a 4-3 record.

Defense has also been a strong point with 14 errors in 17 games and a fielding percentage of .969.

Head coach Jim Clift is in his 11th season at the helm in Cullowhee, N.C., and has 211 wins.

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 Set for Herd March Madness at Dot Hicks Field

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Players Mentioned

Katie Adams

Alex Coleman

Bub Feringa

Aly Harrell

Cailey Joyce

Kay Kay Kenney

Lauren Love

Rielly Lucas

Camryn Michallas

Sydney Nester

Autumn Owen

Saige Pye

Mya Stevenson

Marshall University Athletics