Herd softball improved to 35 wins and five losses on the season in the 5-3 win against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday, April 15. The victory gave Marshall the best start in program history for its first 40 games.

The game was tied 2-2 at the top of the seventh inning as Grace Chelemen hit a deep sacrifice fly ball to score Alex Coleman and Sydney Bickel.

Erica Holt scored the fifth run of the contest in the seventh on an error following the two-run hit from Chelemen.

Savannah Rice started off in the circle for the Herd in five innings of play, and freshman pitcher Bri Godfrey relieved Rice in the sixth. 

Sydney Nester pitched in the final two innings to secure the win, striking out the first Chanticleer at bat and receiving the game winning double play.

“Many players stepped up this weekend, and I am extremely proud of the resilience and grit that our team displayed,” Coach Megan Smith Lyon said after the 3-2 win on April 16.

Marshall started off behind one run in the first inning, but Brooklyn Ulrich had an RBI single to left center field that scored Rielly Lucas. 

In the third inning, Camryn Michallas hit out to left field for her third home run of the season to put the Herd on top 3-1.

Nester allowed one more run in the contest and struck out three Chanticleers in her 20th win of the season. 

Marshall returned home to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday, April 18.