Marshall University Athletics
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Marshall Softball Opens Home Slate With Thundering Herd Invite
2/29/2024 10:25:00 AM | Softball
Herd hosts Butler, Purdue and Radford over the weekend
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall's softball team opens its home schedule over the weekend with five games at the renovated Dot Hicks Field.Â
The first two will be a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Friday with Coach Morgan Zerkle's Herd facing Purdue before matching up with Butler.Â
This weekend's Game Program can be found HERE. For home promotions all season long, click HERE. Dot Hicks Field features lights, a new videoboard, and an array of upgrades throughout the facility ahead of the 2024 season. For important related info, click HERE.
Weekend Information
Date: Mar. 1-3, 2024
Opponents: Butler, Purdue, Radford
Place: Huntington, West Virginia
Stadium: Dot Hicks Field
Listen: WMUL
Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @HerdSB
As a programming note, all games this week will be exclusively aired on the radio by 88.1 WMUL-FM - The Cutting Edge.Â
Coach Morgan Zerkle
- On June 26, 2023, Morgan Zerkle was named the 5th head coach in the history of the Marshall softball program.
- Zerkle - the Milton, West Virginia native - collected an abundance of team-records for Marshall as a player from 2014-17. Zerkle has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio).Â
- On coaching for Marshall, Zerkle said, "I am feeling immense gratitude, joy, pride and emotion as I come back to Huntington – my home – to lead the Herd, I can't wait to get started."
PRE-GAME NOTES
- Marshall's Sydney Bickel had nine hits last weekend, going 9-for-16 from the plate (.563). The Preseason All-Conference Shortstop has three home runs and is sporting a team-high .447 average with a team-best 21 hits.Â
- Bickel has been a big part of the Herd defensively as well. MU posts the second-best fielding percentage in the conference (.975) with all 15 games coming on dirt infields.
- Freshman pitcher Kaleea Washington picked up her first two collegiate wins last weekend in Arizona. Washington is one of three pitchers who have won a game in the circle this season for the Herd (Bub Feringa and Savannah Rice).
ABOUT THE BUTLER BULLDOGS
- Butler is 7-8 on the season, dropping an 8-6 result to Marshall's opponent from last weekend, Drake. The Bulldogs also swept a doubleheader against SBC-foe Georgia State.
- Junior Ella White leads the team in hitting with a .432 average, with two home runs and eight RBI.
ABOUT THE PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
- Purdue is 7-5 with a pitching staff composing a team ERA of 2.99. Freshman pitcher Julia Gossett leads the staff with a 1.11 ERA over 26.1 IP.
- The Boilermakers are the fourth Big Ten team the Herd will face this season (Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State). MU has a 2-2 record against Big Ten opponents in 2024.Â
ABOUT THE RADFORD HIGHLANDERS
- Radford is 7-6, coming off a weekend where they faced third-ranked Georgia and 21st-ranked Virginia Tech.Â
- Sophomore outfielder Lexie Roberts leads a trio of players with an above-.300 average. Her .450 avg. with 18 hits leads the Highlanders.Â
For all the latest information about Marshall softball, follow @HerdSB on Twitter and Instagram.
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