Struggling Herd hits the road
“I challenge our team to be up for it, to get back, to make each other better and have a little bit better attention to detail.” -Head coach Shonda Stanton
More stories from Adam Polsky
Morgan Zerkle waits for a pitch against the University of Kentucky March 11, 2014 at Dot Hicks Field in Huntington.
Marshall University’s softball team will look to snap its cold streak against Furman University this weekend in Greenville.
The Thundering Herd is 18-10 (4-5) after dropping back-to-back games in a three game series against University of North Carolina at Charlotte last weekend.
This was the fourth time this season the Herd fell in consecutive contests.
Marshall head coach Shonda Stanton said she is disappointed her team’s effort does not match its talent.
“I think that’s the one thing that’s disappointing,” Stanton said to Herd Zone. “As talented as we are, we don’t have that mindset and we don’t have that fight in us, and I think it was exposed this weekend.”
The Paladins are 15-13 (1-2) after losing their last contest on a walk off homerun against University of South Carolina, 2-1.
Stanton said she knows the toughest part of the season is ahead but expects her team to rise to the occasion.
“It’s not going to get any easier with the opponents that we’re going to face,” Stanton said. “I look forward to the challenge. I challenge our team to be up for it, to get back, to make each other better and have a little bit better attention to detail.”
Despite the overall struggles against Charlotte, junior Shaelynn Braxton was a bright spot, and won C-USA Player of the Week as a result.
In four games, she racked up six hits in 12 bats including nine runs batted in. Four of those RBIs came courtesy of a grand slam in Thursday’s matchup against Ohio.
Braxton leads the team in RBIs on the season with 31.
“(Braxton) is such a special hitter who always plays hard and competes,” Stanton said. “We know we can count on her to always make a significant impact, and she is one of those athletes who is really fun to watch play.
Braxton is the third Thundering Herd player to be awarded C-USA POTW honors. She joins sophomore outfielder Morgan Zerkle, who won twice, and pitcher Jordan Dixon.
First pitches for Saturday’s games are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. while the final game of the series is scheduled to begin at noon Sunday.
The Herd will return home after this weekend to host Wright State Tuesday in a two-game series.
Adam Polsky can be contacted at [email protected].
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