Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
45-9
#3 Seed South Alabama
39-14
Marshall Advances to Finals After Dramatic 3-2 Win Over South Alabama
5/12/2023 10:45:00 PM | Softball
Marshall faces Louisiana in the Championship Game Saturday at 2 p.m. eastern.
LAFAYETTE, La. — The Marshall softball team's 45th win of the season came in the form of a dramatic, final at-bat win over the South Alabama Jaguars, 3-2.
Freshman Bri Godfrey went 3-for-3 at the plate, driving in the go-ahead run with two outs in the bottom of the 6th. It was the freshman's first-career three hit performance.
"She's a talented freshman who has the normal freshman moments," Marshall head coach Megan Smith Lyon said. "She stepped in big time for us today, her confidence and normal freshman jitters were not an issue today, and I can't imagine it will be tomorrow, she came through big for us."
It was Godfrey who ran down a line drive in the 7th to seal the win for Sydney Nester, who outdueled Olivia Lackie in the circle. Nester went seven complete innings, allowing just four hits and two earned runs.
MU got to Lackie in the bottom of the 3rd with a pair of two-out RBI hits up the middle from Alex Coleman and Autumn Owen to draw first blood, making the score 2-0 after three.
The Jaguars leveled the scoring in the 4th with a two-run home run to left, and threatened to take the lead with the first two runners reaching base in the 5th, but Nester retired the next three batters with a flyout, strikeout, and groundout.
USA replaced Lackie with Jenna Hardy in the 5th. Camryn Michallas and Rielly Lucas reached base in the 6th with a walk and a hit, setting up Godfrey's go-ahead single.
UP NEXT
Marshall faces the top seed and hosts Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns are ranked number 24 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. UL has also won the previous three Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championships.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nester, Sydney (27-7)
L: Hardy, Jenna (17-8)
Batting:
2B: Cordova, Odalys 1
HR: Stagner, Gabby 1
RBI: Stagner, Gabby 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Ortiz, Victoria 1 ; Stagner, Gabby 1
CS: Brasher, Mackenzie 1
Batting:
RBI: Coleman, Alex 1 ; Owen, Autumn 1 ; Godfrey, Bri 1
SH: Ulrich, Brooklyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coleman, Alex 1 ; Michallas, Camryn 1 ; Godfrey, Bri 1
