Marshall Softball Signs Two Pitchers

7/9/2001

Marshall University softball coach Shonda Stanton announced Tuesday, July 3, that De’Shaun Drake has signed a National Letter of Intent and Sarah Chamberlain has transferred from Wichita State to play softball for the Thundering Herd this spring.

“We are really excited to sign such quality pitchers,” said Stanton. “We lost our top pitcher from last year and these two, along with Sierra Davenport and Randi Nielson (another Marshall recruit), will give us one of the deepest staff’s in the Mid-American Conference.”

Drake, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif., led the Howard Lady Hawks to a 41-17 record last season and a trip to the NJCAA Region V tournament. Drake was an All-Region performer and was named Most Valuable Player in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.

Chamberlain, who was recruited heavily a year ago, chose the Shockers over Marshall. While at Wichita State, the right-handed pitcher went 9-19 with a 2.52 earned-run average and tossed nine complete games. Chamberlain started 30 games for the Shockers and logged 172.0 innings pitched. The 5-foot-11 inch sophomore was a four-year letterwinner at Moses Lake High School in Washington.

“Sarah is a great kid,” said Stanton. “We had hoped to sign her a year ago, but she opted for Wichita State. We expect her to step into our program and perform at a high level.”

"We really believe that we will have the best pitching staff in the Mid-American Conference," she said. "We shouldn’t lose games because of our pitching. We’re going to have to work hard as coaches and learn how to effectively use so many quality pitchers."

Not only will the Herd have depth with its pitching staff, but it will have pitchers who bring different styles to the team. That’s what Stanton hopes will give Marshall the best staff in the conference.

"Most schools have four pitchers, but not four quality pitchers," she said. "We will have four quality pitchers who can start everyday or we could use all four in one game. Obviously, we want to use them as effectively as possible.

"Unless somebody surprises us, I think hands down we will have one of the best pitching staffs in the MAC."