Herd Softball Escapes Boston 13-12; Falls to Charlotte 8-0
Herd will face Seton Hall at 11 a.m. on Saturday
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charlotte, NC (HNN) – The Marshall University softball team (8-3) escaped Boston University 13-12 in the first game of the UNC Charlotte Green & White Tournament. The Herd then fell to UNC Charlotte 8-0 in the second game at DL Phillips Complex.
“We played poorly today, so we were fortunate to come out with a split,” said head coach Shonda Stanton. “I was please in the first game that we continued to fight and give ourselves a chance to win it.”
Big hits were the highlight of game one on Friday, as Marshall handed Boston (0-1) its first loss of the season in a 13-12 victory. MU used six runs scored in the bottom of the seventh to capture the win.
The Thundering Herd started with a strong offensive surge on the bases in the bottom of the first when Marcena Bertoldo doubled to left field. Bertoldo then moved to third on a passed ball and would steal home in a Rebecca Gamby at-bat. Melanie Stoehr also registered two stolen bases in the play.
Boston evened the score at 1-1 in the second inning after a Kelley Engman blooper to left center scored Caitlin Rentler from second.
The Terriers claimed a 4-1 lead in the third on a Rentler home run to left center that plated Jayme Mask and Rachel Hebert.
MU closed the gap at 4-2 in the bottom of the inning when Bertoldo laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Melissa Loesing. Bertoldo would be the top hitter for the Herd, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI.
“I continue to see bright spots with individual performances,” Stanton said. “Marcena had another good day hitting; she is doing great things in the two-spot and rising to that challenge. I am pleased with the individual highlights throughout the games but overall as a team we played poorly.”
The rally was short lived as BU answered with four runs in the fifth to stretch an 8-2 lead. Mask scored, unearned, on an April Setterlund single up the middle, followed by Erica Casacci scoring in the next at-bat. Setterlund then scored on a fly out to left to put the score at 7-2. Hebert made it 8-2 when she came home on a Taylor Cowan fly to center.
Not to be outdone, the Herd posted four runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Samantha Spurlock came home, unearned, in a Loesing at-bat to put the score at 8-3. Alianna Telles followed with a single through the left side to plate Jazmine Valle. Bertoldo then hit a round-tripper to score Loesing and shrink the BU lead to 8-6.
Boston continued a slew of offensive productivity by tacking on another four runs in the sixth. Rachel Moeller scored, unearned, on a Mask double to left; followed by Mask scoring on a Casacci single through the right side to push the BU lead to 10-6. Casacci came home on a Hebert single and Setterlund was plated in a Rentler at-bat to cap the inning at 12-6.
Marshall didn’t let down as Victoria Marvin crossed the plate in the sixth by a Valle hit. With the score at 12-7, the Herd came up with a big rally in the bottom of the seventh, producing six runs to win the game 13-12.
Telles was pushed into scoring position off a well-placed bunt by Bertoldo - Telles would score in the next at-bat, unearned. Two batters later, Bertoldo would make the score 12-9 when she scored off a Gamby double to left.
Spurlock answered with a single up the middle to plate Caitlyn Jackson, inching the Herd closer to a victory at 12-10. Valle came through again at the plate with a single up the middle to score Jessica Hughes and Gamby. Spurlock scored the final run of the game for the 13-12 win on a Loesing sacrifice bunt.
Katie Murphree tallied nine strikeouts, before coming out of the circle after 5.0 innings of work. Rachel Rillo came in during the top of the sixth to throw one strikeout as freshman Jessica Ferrick would record the win in her first career appearance. Ferrick closed the seventh inning with two strikeouts.
Boston pitcher Cassidi Hardy is 0-1 after pitching 5.0 innings in the loss. Engman pitched 1.2 innings and allowed five hits.
In game two against tournament host UNC Charlotte (7-0), the 49ers jumped to a three-run lead in the second, as Keri Palma came home on a Lorena Vela at-bat. Natalyn Blanton made it 3-0 with a single through the right side that scored Briana Gwaltney and Vela.
“Anytime you have more errors than hits, you are not going to will a ball game,” said Stanton. “Tomorrow is a new day and I look for us to come out stronger and better defensively. Offensively we need to be more aggressive.”
The Niners put up a fourth run in the third as Kendra McCall scored on a Marshall error. Charlotte recorded the 8-0 mercy rule in the fifth after the 49ers put up the final four runs to cap the game.
Gwaltney singled up the middle to plate Carol Buchan for the fifth run. The final three runs came when Blanton homered to right to bring around Vela and Gwaltney, each went unearned.
Jackson (2-2) pitched 4.2 innings in the loss while striking out four Charlotte batters. Emily Jeffery (6-0) captured the win after 5.0 innings of work.
“I felt like we were timid defensively, which led to a lot of mistakes,” Stanton said. “At the plate we took too many strikes. Tomorrow we need to be aggressive on both sides of the play.”
Gamby and Jackson were the top hitters for MU, each going 1-for-2 at the plate, respectively.
Marshall will play Seton Hall at 11 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a second game at 3/5 p.m., with the opponent being decided later in the day.
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