Marshall Softball added three transfers to the Herd for the upcoming 2019-2020 season on Tuesday.  Head Coach Megan Smith announced that these transfers include junior pitcher Megan Stauffer, senior catcher/third base Haleigh Christopher and junior fielder Saige Pye.

“We are thrilled to have all three of these exceptional players and young women as a part of our program,” coach Smith said per Herd Zone. “We had such a strong group of seniors leave our program this Spring and the addition of experienced players like Megan, Haleigh, and Saige will add depth and fill in gaps to help us continue to be successful in the Spring. We are all excited to see them compete as a part of The Herd!”

Stauffer, a native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, comes to Marshall after spending two seasons at Monmouth University and sitting out the 2019 season. While pitching for the Hawks, Stauffer earned nine wins, including seven in 2018. She has tallied 39 appearances with 15 starts and a 3.54 ERA over 122.2 innings. In 2018 she earned the win in the Hawk’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener with a complete-game against Fairfield. Later in the year Stauffer won back-to-back appearances against Princeton and Saint Peter’s and then again over Marist and Siena. The right-hander also pitched one inning against Tennessee in the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for Monmouth (2018).

 Christopher is from Huntington and attended Spring Valley High School, before spending her first three collegiate seasons at the University of Charleston. The standout slugger put up extensive power numbers while playing for the Golden Eagles. She hit 42 home runs over her career, tallying nearly half or more than half of her team’s home run totals for the year. As a freshman in 2017 Christopher smacked 15 of Charleston’s 38 total homers for the year and also led the team with 21 doubles and 62 RBI. In 2018, Christopher delivered with 11 of the team’s 18 homers and again led with 41 RBI. Finally in 2019, the right-hander hit 16 of UC’s 28 home runs and drove in 51 more runs. For her career, Christopher has tallied 175 hits, scored 84 runs, 38 doubles, drove in 154 runs and hit .372. Charleston finished with 30 or more wins twice in her three seasons.

 Pye, a native of Stockton, California, comes to the Herd from Georgia Tech. Pye was a standout at Saint Mary’s High School and Bear Creek High School including a ranking of fifth in the nation and leading the state of California for freshman in 2014. The right-handed hitter was twice named league MVP in 2014 and 2015 and was also a three-time San Joaquin all-area first team selection. She appeared in 32 games over two seasons at Georgia Tech and started six contests. Pye made her collegiate debut against Lipscomb on Feb. 9, 2018 as the designated player. She recorded her first collegiate home run against Pittsburgh as a freshman in 2018. In 2019 Pye drove in one run, earned one walk and stole one base in limited action.

Sydney Shelton can be contacted at [email protected].