Softball Opens League Play at UAB

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Marshall softball team heads south to begin Conference USA play against the UAB Blazers on March 18-20. The three-game series is set for one game per day at Mary Bowers Field.

Game one is Friday with first pitch at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET. Saturday is set for 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET and Sunday is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET.

The Thundering Herd enters league action with an overall record of 16-6. The Blazers are 14-10 overall and 2-1 in C-USA play. All three games will be streamed on CUSAtv as well as broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM. Links are below.

Series Details
Marshall Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Stream will be on CUSAtv: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL-FM with audio streamed online www.marshall.edu/wmul with Scott Hall
Series History: 41 all-time meetings, UAB leads 22-18-1
Last Meeting: March 10-11, 2018 in Birmingham – Series ended 1-1-1. UAB won game one, 2-1, Marshall won game two, 9-6 in eight innings, and game three ended in a 1-1 tie with the game called in the 10th inning due to a predetermined drop dead time.

Marshall is coming off an 8-7 loss at Ohio on Wednesday. The Herd still recorded 11 hits in the game, its fifth-straight with 10 or more hits. The last time Marshall had a streak of five games with double-digit hits was May 3-9, 2014. It is also one away from tying the program best of six-straight since 2000. The record of six in-a-row was also accomplished during the 2014 season, coming from April 2-9.

As a team, Marshall is batting .347 with fifth-year senior Aly Harrell leading the way hitting .484. The Gahanna, Ohio, native is 16th in the NCAA in batting average and ranks third in on base percentage at .619. Harrell needs just two more walks to become Marshall's all-time leader, and is 10 hits away from becoming the 12th member of the Herd 200 Hits Club.

Senior Mya Stevenson cranked her 46th career home run in the loss to Ohio. Stevenson is the Herd's active career leader and is second all-time in program history. She is hitting a home run at a rate of once every 3.17 games throughout her career. The solo shot on Wednesday was also her sixth of the season, putting her into a tie with fifth-year senior Saige Pye for the team lead.

Redshirt junior pitcher Sydney Nester is among the NCAA leaders in several categories including second in shutouts (seven) and second in strikeouts (144). Nester has a 10-3 record with 11 complete games in 13 starts. The Hillsville, Virginia, native is the second fastest to reach 10 wins in team history, reaching the mark in her 16th outing against Fairfield. Jordan Dixon earned her 10th win in 2015 in 14 outings and her 11th start.

The Opponent
The Blazers took 2-of-3 at FIU, March 11-13. UAB dominated the first two games with scores of 8-0 and 13-1. The Panthers came through in the third game with a 1-0 win holding the Blazers to just three hits after surrendering 22 combined in the first two contests. The loss ended a 7-game win streak for UAB. A midweek game against Colgate was canceled due to rain.

The Blazers are batting .274 as a team with Bella Wiggins leading the way at .356. Faith Hegh is batting .338, but leads UAB in hits (24), doubles (seven) and triples (three). Sierra Frazier leads with 20 RBI and Lily Crowe has four of the team's 10 home runs.

Five pitchers have seen time in the circle this season with four throwing at least 28 innings. Sarah Cespedes has the most innings with 50.1 and sports a 7-2 record with a 4.29 ERA. Makenna Pierce has a 3.00 ERA, 3-1 record and 34 strikeouts in 42 innings.

The Blazer defense has a team fielding percentage of .957 and has turned 15 double plays.

Head coach Joe Guthrie is in his second season at the helm and has a record of 45-29.

Following the series against the Herd, UAB will face Alabama on Wednesday, March 23, before getting back into C-USA play at Southern Miss, March 25-27.

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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Players Mentioned

Aly Harrell

Sydney Nester

Saige Pye

Mya Stevenson

Marshall University Athletics