July 25, 2008

Coming into the highly anticipated 2008 season, the Marshall Thundering Herd softball team set high goals and expectations in its attempt to claim the program’s first Conference USA Championship and make its first trip to the NCAA Regionals.

To back up its lofty goals the Thundering Herd returned one of the fiercest line-ups in the nation.  By returning all nine starters from the 2007 team, including the Herd’s all-time record holder in home runs, RBIs and hits, Rachel Folden, the team was poised to take the conference by storm.

The Herd began its campaign on the road against 2007 Women’s College World Series participant No. 8 DePaul in the season opener at the Red/Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia.  En route to its victory over the highest ranked opponent in program history, Marshall’s freshman first baseman, Melanie Stoehr battled for a walkoff base on balls in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete the upset over the Blue Demons.

Fresh off its adrenaline- rush victory over DePaul, Marshall swept by College of Charleston in a pair of games by a combined score of 21-3 to begin the season 3-0.  After rolling to its best start since the 1999 season, the Herd hit a road block when it fell to host Georgia, 7-4.  A heartbreak loss stunned Marshall when the Blue Demons earned its revenge with a 6-5 victory.  After posting a two-out rally in the fourth inning, the Herd took its 5-1 lead into the fifth inning, but the Blue Demons would cut the lead to two in the fifth before scoring four unanswered sixth inning runs to capture the win.  A 4-2 loss to host Georgia capped the showcase and put the Herd at 3-3 after its first tournament of the season.

The Herd continued its non-conference road tournament journey when it traveled to Auburn, Ala., for the Tiger Invitational.  A devastating 4-2 loss against the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb opened tournament play and it looked like another defeat was at hand for the depleted Herd before it mounted a five-run come-from-behind victory against McNeese State, 8-7.  Trailing 7-2, a one-run sixth inning cut the Cowgirl lead, but it was the Herd’s three hits and McNeese State’s three errors, which sealed the fourth victory of the season for Marshall.  The Herd continued after its emotional victory with an 11-3 mercy-rule victory over Furman.

A pair of losses to host Auburn and Evansville followed the two-game winning streak, but then it was a trip to the West Coast, which put the Herd back on the winning track.  A 4-2 victory began the rain-shortened University of San Diego Tournament over 2008 NCAA Regional participant, Nevada.  Another two-run victory against host San Diego preceded a 12-1 eight-run rule cruise over UC Riverside.

With a three-game winning streak intact, the Herd traveled to its fourth consecutive road tournament, the 2008 Frost Classic hosted by UT-Chattanooga.  For a second straight weekend, rain played a factor in the cancelation and postponing of contests.  After losing four-straight contests at the Frost Classic, Marshall bounced back when it traveled to Memphis, Tenn., for the conference opener.  En route to the pair of victories over Memphis (rain cancelled the third game of the series), the Herd was led by seniors Samantha Rodriguez and Folden, who both hit home runs, while Folden chipped in two doubles to pace Marshall to record its first road sweep since 2005.

With a record of 10-10, Marshall finished its road journey at Louisville and was swept by the Big East member by a combined score of 13-2 to fall to 10-12 overall.

After traveling nearly 4,470 miles one-way, the Herd finally returned home to unveil its brand new state-of-the-art facility, Dot Hicks Field.  With chair back seats, press box, concession stand and a field turf playing surface, the new softball field proved to be one of the best and toughest places to compete in the conference.  However, last year’s C-USA champion Houston made the trek to spoil Marshall’s home opener.  The excitement and return of many alumni could not stop the 13th-ranked Cougars in a road sweep of the Herd.

Falling to 10-15 and 2-3 in conference action, Marshall regrouped before its seven-game road swing starting at
UTEP and finishing against perennial powerhouses Arizona and Arizona State.

Marshall took care of business in the opener against UTEP, cruising to a 6-0 win.  Sophomore ace Caitlyn
Jackson improved to 5-9 and earned a combined shutout with the help of reliever Autumn Mitchell, who entered the game to pitch the remaining two innings.  Offensively, Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and junior outfielder Rachael Sofie added three hits to guide the Herd to win No. 11.  The Miners returned in the second game to capture an 8-6 win despite a valiant Herd comeback attempt.  Jackson, Rodriguez and Kelly Nielson contributed offensively with at least an RBI apiece.

In the pivotal third game, the Herd scored seven runs from seven hits and really focused on not leaving any runners on base.  Junior shortstop Nielson demonstrated this mentality by cracking her first career grand slam to culminate the Herd comeback in the fifth inning scoring five runs resulting in a 7-5 victory, claiming the series.  For her effort, Nielson was awarded the C-USA Co-Hitter of the Week Award.

The next two weeks would provide necessary growing pains for the young Herd who lost its next four games against two teams ranked in the top 10.

Continuing its spring break road trip, Marshall headed west from UTEP to play No. 1, Arizona State.   The Sun Devils shut out the Herd in the opener before enforcing the mercy-rule in the nightcap, 13-1.  Following the doubleheader against Arizona State, the Herd ventured to the 2007 National Champion, Arizona.  A 9-1 loss preceded an 11-5 loss in the doubleheader night game.  In the second game, Marshall cut the Wildcat lead to 4-2, before Arizona scored six runs in the fourth, but again the Herd managed to stage a minor comeback scoring three late runs.  Both Rodriguez and Folden homered in the contest with Folden's against ESPY winner and Wildcat ace, Taryn Mowatt.

As the Herd returned home and back to school, the Knights of Central Florida awaited for a three-game series at the new Dot Hicks Field.  UCF ace Allison Kime was too much for Marshall, limiting the Herd to two hits.  Much of the same occurred in the final two games.

Backed behind 3-for-4 performances from Folden, Sofie and Jackson in an 11-0 victory, the Herd brought itself back from the depths with a sweep of Big 10 member and 24th-ranked Ohio State.  Jackson was credited with her first career shutout after pitching six solid innings for the Herd. It was also Folden in the second game that went 2-for-5 with three more RBIs to finish with seven RBIs on the day, which resulted in the 6-1 victory.

After the non-conference series, Marshall returned to league action against East Carolina.   Again, rain played a factor in another cancellation, but the Pirates and the Herd still managed to compete in two contests.  This time it was Nielson who was clutch with six RBIs in two games.  She had two RBIs in the opening 5-3 win and recorded four more on two hits (including a double) in the 6-3 series finale.

A home split against Ohio University followed the East Carolina sweep, putting the Herd at 18-24 heading into a three-game contest versus UAB.  The Herd won the UAB opener in dramatic fashion with a two-run homer from Stoehr to end a 10-inning marathon.  The Blazers evened the conference showdown to one with a 3-0 victory in the second game.  Again it came down to a rubber match, but another shutout performance by Jackson led to a decisive 11-0 win.

A road sweep over Morehead State placed the Herd four games below .500.  After a 2-1 heartbreaking loss to Southern Miss in the series opener, Mitchell pitched a seven inning shutout in the second game to even the series.   Rodriguez hit her 11th homer and Folden slammed her 15th to force a deciding third game.  Tied at two, the Herd, backed by another Folden home run, scored three unanswered runs to claim the series win over the Golden Eagles.

Marshall extended its win streak to three before dropping two-straight against Tulsa at home.  The bats came alive in the series finale scoring 25 runs in two games against Georgetown.

With the regular season completed and a 26-28 record in the books, the Herd now geared up for the long awaited conference tournament.  The trip to Houston turned out to be unfortunate as the Herd squared off against East Carolina, a school it previously swept. The Pirates had other things on their mind and prevailed in the night cap of the first round of the tournament.  A 2-1 lead was short lived when East Carolina out-scored the Herd, 6-1, in the final three innings to eliminate Marshall from the tournament and ending its season at 26-29.

Despite its premature departure from the tournament and sooner ending than expected, the season remained a success from individual standpoints.  However, with an end to any season a team must say goodbye to its seniors.  With the senior class being relatively small in numbers, it was the stats that were large for these three.  Four-time All-American and the Conference USA Player of the Year, Folden ended her senior campaign with 17 home runs, 20 doubles and a .902 slugging percentage, all team highs.  Rodriguez completed her final year with 13 homers, a team-high 44 RBIs and two triples.  The final senior, Deanna Tourville, matched her career-high in home runs with seven.

The awards also came in bunches for the Herd.  Folden garnered the highly coveted Player of the Year Award along with her fourth-straight first team All-Conference selection.  Rodriguez tabbed C-USA First Team honors, and junior Sofie racked up her first career honor as a second team member.  Stoehr captured a freshman team accolade, while Nielson was awarded the conference Co-Newcomer of the Year.

It will remain a season to remember, maybe not for the amount of wins, but for the individuals that competed everyday and worked hard to uphold the tradition that Marshall softball has now become.  A precedent has now been set for the team that was not started by the farewell seniors but instilled by them for the student-athletes left to continue the legacy that is Marshall softball.