April 20, 2006

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HUNTINGTON - The Marshall Thundering Herd will cap its eight-game home stand and 19-game home schedule this weekend when it hosts the first-place Tulsa Golden Hurricane for a critical three-game series at Dot Hicks Field.

A 1 p.m. doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a 1 p.m. single game Sunday. Fans can tune in to all the action live on WMUL 88.1 FM or by logging on to www.marshall.edu/wmul.

The weekend series marks the first meeting between two of Conference USA's newest schools. Last season, Tulsa finished 31-30 with an 11-7 record in the Western Athletic Conference. In three weeks, the Golden Hurricane will host the 2006 Conference USA Softball Championship May 11-13 at Donna J. Hardesty Softball Complex.

Sunday's series finale is Senior Day. Prior to the scheduled 1 p.m. start, the Herd will honor its seven graduating seniors for their contributions to the program for the past four seasons - Noelle Adams (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School), Courtney Kacenga (Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena), Veronica Ralston (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills), Sara Spenia (Las Vegas, Nev./Durango), Amanda Williams (Powder Springs, Ga./Harrison), Jessica Williams (Powder Springs, Ga./Harrison) and Leigh Wintter (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb).

The 2006 Senior Class has enjoyed arguably the greatest run in program history, compiling an overall mark of 137-84 (.620) entering the weekend. They also won the program's first conference championship in 2003 and followed it up with a second one in 2005.

Tuesday, the Herd (27-20, 11-7 C-USA) swept former Mid-American Conference rival Ohio, running its record against its former conference to 6-0 this season. Jessica Williams continued her recent offensive explosion, going 5-for-7 with two RBI in the twin bill. In the last 10 games, Williams is batting a team-best .531.

Freshman J.J. Bitner (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) recorded her first multi-hit performance of the season, going 2-for-4 with two RBI in game two Tuesday. In game one, Abby Harter (Monmouth, Ore./Santiam Christian) won her second straight complete game by an identical 5-1 outcome. Harter (12-9) scattered four hits, while striking out three. In game two, Amanda Luers (Dover, Ohio/Dover) scattered five hits in four innings of shut out relief, earning her third win of the season.

Last weekend, Ashley Mitchell (Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) regained the overall team batting lead with a .362 clip. Sophomore Conference USA Player of the Year candidate Rachel Folden (Baldwin Park, Calif./Diamond Bar) still holds the team and conference lead with 16 home runs and 47 RBI, while batting .353.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (27-15, 11-4 C-USA), which was picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, enters the weekend in first place in the Conference USA standings. Tulsa holds a one-game lead over second-place Southern Miss and is up three games in the loss column over UAB and Marshall.

Wednesday, the 21st-ranked Oklahoma Sooners scored three runs in the third inning to down the Golden Hurricane 3-0 in Norman, Okla.

Offensively, Tulsa is paced by Sara Dyer, who is batting .306 with five home runs and 32 RBI. Katie Torres leads the Golden Hurricane with eight home runs and is tied with Dyer for the team lead with 38 hits.

In the circle, Maren Genow is Tulsa's top pitcher, sporting a 13-7 record with a 2.40 earned run average and 113 strikeouts.

Following its final home weekend of the season, the Marshall Thundering Herd travels to Morehead, Ky., to face Morehead State for a 2 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday. The Herd will then close out the regular season next weekend with a three-game set at Memphis April 29-30.