AKRON, Ohio- The Marshall University Thundering Herd softball team won its first game of the Mid-American Conference softball tournament Thursday, 2-1 over the Falcons of Bowling Green State University. The top seeded Herd faced the fifth seeded Falcons in the second round after receiving a first round bye. BGSU defeated Northern Illinois University 7-2 in the first round.

“It’s great to get that first one under our belt,” head coach Shonda Stanton said. “You’ve got to hand it to BG. It was a well played ball game and they fought hard. Our defense came up big for us, getting us out of some jams today.”

Bowling Green (26-25-1) threatened with a pair of hits in both the first and second innings, but the Herd defense was solid and prevented an early score. Marshall’s bats remained relatively silent with only one hit, a double by Amanda Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.), in the first three innings of play.

The top seeded Herd (41-15) took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when De’Shaun Drake (Spring Valley, Calif.) snapped MU’s single season home run record with her 8th round-tripper on the year. The senior gave the Herd the 1-0 lead as her deep fly ball cleared the fence in right field with two outs in the fourth.

“Being in the tournament just makes everything that much more special,” Drake said. “It felt good to come out and start off the tournament hitting the ball hard.”

Libby Voshell led off the sixth with a double for Bowling Green and moved to third on a wild pitch. With one out, BG’s Jenifer Kernahan, despite another spectacular play by Marshall shortstop Jessica Williams, was able to leg out a hit and the Falcon’s tying run to crossed the plate.

Marshall’s sister act helped the Herd come right back to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jessica Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.) doubled to leadoff the inning and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sierra Davenport (Tucson, Ariz.). MAC Freshman of the Year, Amanda Williams then hit a ground ball to the Falcon first baseman and with her speed Jessica Williams was able to avoid the tag and score the go ahead run. That’s all the Herd would need as they held BG in the seventh and took the 2-1 victory.

The MAC’s pitcher of the year, Randi Nielson (Tucson, Ariz.) picked up her school record 23rd win of the season with the complete game victory. She gave up seven hits and struck out four batters on her way to becoming Marshall’s single season wins leader.

The Williams sisters, Drake and Karri Britt (Huntington, W.Va.) each had a single hit in the contest for the Herd.

Marshall advances in the winners bracket and will square off against the number two seeded Broncos of Western Michigan University Friday at 5:00 p.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.