With weather moving in and out of the area, the Marshall softball team worked through a late Southern Miss rally in game one to outlast the Golden Eagles 5-4. The Herd was behind 1-0 in game two before darkness fell on Dot Hicks Field forcing officials to postpone the game until 11 a.m. Saturday.
Lil Sis check-in is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., with the presentation being moved in between the pair of games. Teams will finish the second game of the series starting at 11 a.m., which sees Southern Miss up 1-0 in the top of the fourth. The series finale will start following the conclusion of the 11 a.m. contest.
The Thundering Herd improves to 16-28 on the year and 2-13 in Conference USA with the victory in game one, Southern Miss falls to 16-28 and 3-13 in C-USA. Marshall received offensive production off the bats of Taylor Thompson, 2-for-3 and one run scored, and Rebecca Gamby’s home run that plated two.
Erika Bennett made the start on the rubber for the Herd in game one, pitching 5.0 innings while fanning six. Andi Williamson, who entered the contest in the sixth, closed the final two frames in the win – improving her to 6-10.
Game One: Marshall 5, Southern Miss 4
Marshall took command of the board early as Gamby set the tone with her 11th homer of the year as she went yard for a two-run shot to center that scored Jessica Hughes, who was on courtesy of a leadoff double by Alianna Telles.
The Herd made it 3-0 after pinch runner Morgan Cottrell swiped 60 free feet to second and advanced to third on a Golden Eagle error. A perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Melanie Stoehr secured the run, unearned, allowing the Herd to exit the opening frame with insurance.
Heads up on the bases by Melissa Loesing in the second gave Marshall its fourth run of the game as the junior scored from first on a single to right by Telles which followed with another USM error in the field.
Bennett and the Herd defense held Southern Miss off the board through four complete innings but with one out and one runner on board in the fifth, a two-run homer from Taylor Brown made it a 4-2 ball game with Leslie LeJune scoring on the shot.
Immediately following the homer the contest faced a 42 minute rain delay before the continuation of the fifth stanza. A homer in the sixth threatened Marshall’s lead when Michelle Takeda leadoff shot to left closed the gap at 4-3. Williamson then replaced Bennett in the circle, who left after 5.0 innings, scattering four hits and fanning six.
The Golden Eagles gave a late rally with one out in the top of the seventh when Brown reached on a Herd error and moved around to third on a wild pitch. She later scored, unearned, on a RBI-single loop shot in left center from Britney Dinelt to tie it up at 4-4 heading into the final frame.
With the pressure on, Marshall delivered offensively with Thompson leading off with a single bunt followed by the intentional walks of Gamby and Alysia Hively to juice the bases for Jazmine Valle. The sophomore came up big with the game-winning RBI on a single to short to score Thompson and give the Herd the 6-5 victory.
Beth Dietrich was a mainstay in the circle for Southern Miss, after going the distance the loss drops her to 9-14.
Game Two
Walks were costly in game two as Marshall started the game with three in the opening frame. USM took advantage and proceeded to load the bases forcing MU to make an early call to the bullpen for retrieval of Natalee Pulver, who struck out the final batter to escape the frame unharmed. Williamson left the game after one strikeout and five batters faced.
A sacrifice fly by Chanell Thurman lit the board for Southern Miss – Jill Mathis scored from third base on the play giving the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the third.
After approximately an hour and a half of play darkness set in, forcing the second game of the series to be postponed until 11 a.m. on Saturday. The contest will pick up in the top of the fourth with USM leading 1-0.
Marshall softball welcomes all Lil Sis’ to Lil Sis Recognition Day on Saturday when the Thundering Herd closes out the three-game series against Southern Miss with the conclusion of game two at 11 a.m. and the series finale following right after. The Lil Sis’ will be recognized between games on the field and will receive a t-shirt and signed poster upon check-in.
Pizza and an autograph session will also be provided after the conclusion of the game. Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m. on the concourse behind the press box.
Live game video will be available for a fee through All-Access. GameTracker and radio will also be provided for the entire series by accessing the softball schedule page on herdzone.com.