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Herd Begins Quest for Conference USA Championship Thursday Against Southern Miss
May 9, 2006
Conference USA Tournament Notes in PDF Format
TULSA, Okla. - After finishing second in the conference regular season race, the Marshall Thundering Herd begins its quest for the program's first-ever conference tournament title under head coach Shonda Stanton Thursday at the 2006 Conference USA Softball Championship. The Herd (31-22, 15-9 C-USA) will face No. 6 Southern Miss (28-36, 11-13). The second round meeting will begin at approximately 5 p.m. (EDT) at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Thursday's tournament-opening game can be heard live on WMUL 88.1 FM or by logging on to www.marshall.edu/wmul, 20 minutes prior to first pitch. Earlier this season, the Herd lost both series by a two-games-to-one margin. Marshall dropped its inaugural C-USA series at Southern Miss March 11-12. The Herd lost a heartbreaking doubleheader before thumping the Golden Eagles 9-1 in the series finale. The sixth-seeded Golden Eagles began conference play on a torrid pace, posting a 9-4 record, including the series win over Marshall in Hattiesburg, Miss. However, Southern Miss then dropped nine of its last 11 conference games, backing itself into the C-USA Tournament thanks to a Memphis loss Sunday. One month later, the Houston Cougars handed the Herd its first C-USA home series loss of the season. Houston swept the opening twin bill before the Herd turned back the Cougars 5-1 in the finale. The Cougars ended the Herd's eight-game home winning streak, becoming the first C-USA team this season to defeat the Herd in Huntington. Monday, Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year Rachel Folden (Baldwin Park, Calif./Diamond Bar) was declared the C-USA regular season "Triple Crown" winner. Folden leads C-USA in batting average (.382), home runs (18) and RBI (54). Folden's 18 homers tied the C-USA single-season record, set by USF's Holly Groves in 2004. Folden accomplished the feat in 53 games, while Groves hit 18 home runs in 74 games. Senior outfielder Amanda Williams (Powder Springs, Ga./Harrison) also broke the C-USA conference-only doubles record, posting 16 doubles in league play. Williams' 24 doubles rank second in the nation and are just two shy of tying the conference single-season mark. Conference USA will announce the 2006 All-Conference First, Second and All-Freshman Teams Wednesday at 1 p.m. (EDT). For ticket information, please contact the Tulsa Ticket Office at (918) 631-GoTU (4688).
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