Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
27-10, 9-2
App State
23-12, 4-7
Herd Hits Five Home Runs in 12-4 Route of App State
4/3/2026 6:11:00 PM | Softball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall Softball (27-10, 9-2 SBC) scored five in the 1st and every successive inning it came to bat in a 12-4, six inning victory over App State (23-12, 4-7 SBC) Friday afternoon at Dot Hicks Field.
After three home runs Thursday evening, the Herd slugged five more Friday, catapulting Marshall over the Mountaineers for the league lead with 66 long balls this season, tied for 7th in NCAA DI.
The Marshall offense thundered for 14 hits and 12 runs Friday, sparked by redshirt-sophomore Chandler Hoskins's three hits in her debut in the leadoff spot. Senior Bella Gerlach moved to the cleanup spot and drove in two with two hits.
"Any place in the lineup for the Herd is awesome," Gerlach said. "Everyone is productive and it's nice that anyone in the lineup can produce hits. Being in the cleanup spots means that I can hit them in, gather those RBIs in and support the team."
For more from Gerlach, view HERE.
The big hit in the five-run 1st was a grand slam off the bat of Diamond Leslie. The shot to left center was the second grand slam for the Herd this season and second in the career for the sophomore.
DIME TIME ‼️💎 https://t.co/lFzDIAhlml pic.twitter.com/s2eDOVlpnb
— Marshall Softball (@HerdSB) April 3, 2026
The Herd's offense gave cushion for starter Maddie Veal, who won her sixth-consecutive start. The sophomore struck out four, limited damage against an App State team entering the weekend top three in the league batting average.
Four Marshall hitters had multi-hit games with Hoskins, Leslie, Gerlach and Tia Titi. Following her game-ending solo shot in the 6th, Titi now has four hits in seven plate appearances so far this weekend.
TIA CALLS GAME ‼️ 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬!!
— Marshall Softball (@HerdSB) April 3, 2026
Solo shot and our fifth of the day ends it! pic.twitter.com/QFtqCtsVrw
The Herd played small ball as well, with Abby Darnley driving in runs both via a home run and a safety squeeze in the 3rd to score Paige Simpson.
Just a Darn good safety squeeze!
— Marshall Softball (@HerdSB) April 3, 2026
Abby Darnley with the sac bunt RBI to push across the Herd's seventh run! pic.twitter.com/zPBdPAU8LS
Heading into the series finale Saturday, Marshall is in sole possession of the top spot in the SBC.
UP NEXT
Game three is at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. Lil' Sis Day is the main promotion in the series finale, all members of the program are encouraged to be at the field by 10:30 a.m.
For all the latest information about Marshall Softball, follow @HerdSB on Twitter and Instagram.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Veal, Maddie (8-2)
L: Camryn Fisher (13-6)
Batting:
2B: Makayla McClain 1 ; Taylor Schafer 1
HR: Leah Gore 1
RBI: Grace Barrett 1 ; Taylor Schafer 2 ; Leah Gore 1
SH: Macy Hamby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Makayla McClain 1 ; Dakota Daniel 1 ; Leah Gore 1 ; Julia Girk 1
SB: Dakota Daniel 1
Batting:
2B: Hoskins, Chandler 1
3B: Titi, Tia 1
HR: Hoskins, Chandler 1 ; Gerlach, Bella 1 ; Titi, Tia 1 ; Leslie, Diamond 1 ; Darnley, Abby 1
RBI: Hoskins, Chandler 1 ; Burko, Sydni 1 ; Gerlach, Bella 2 ; Titi, Tia 2 ; Leslie, Diamond 4 ; Darnley, Abby 2
SH: Adkins, Haleigh 1 ; Darnley, Abby 1
SF: Burko, Sydni 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hoskins, Chandler 3 ; Blake, Ava 2 ; Gerlach, Bella 2 ; Titi, Tia 1 ; Simpson, Paige 2 ; Leslie, Diamond 1 ; Darnley, Abby 1
