Marshall University softball split its doubleheader with Saint Francis University Tuesday taking the first game 9-2 before dropping the second 4-0.

In the 9-2 victory, Jordan Dixon earned the win as the starting pitcher going the full seven innings, while allowing just three hits and two earned runs to go with eight strikeouts. It was Dixon’s conference-leading 15th win of the season.

Dixon did her part on the mound, but she was backed by solid run support with catcher Taylor McCord leading the way at the plate going 3-3 and knocking in two RBIs.

McCord’s offensive productivity was matched by center fielder Kaelynn Greene, who went 3-4 at the plate and scored two runs.

While McCord and Greene provided base runners, it was right fielder Raquel Escareno who played the role of clean up duty as her three-run home run in the fifth inning gave Marshall a seven-run advantage heading into the latter innings. 

“We started off fast there in game one and played so well,” head coach Shonda Stanton said. “We had 12 hits. KG (Greene) and Elicia (D’Orazio) were big at the top, and Rocky (Escareno) with her senior leadership gave us a big hit. And, of course, Dixon was strong again in the circle. We did so many things well there in game one.”

However, with a chance to secure the two-game sweep, Marshall’s bats fell flat totaling just five hits in the shutout loss.

Greene maintained her offensive potency in the second contest, connecting for two hits and reaching base in all three of her at-bats, however, the rest of the team combined to muster just three hits in 20 at-bats as Marshall left eight batters on base for the game.

St. Francis pitcher Ketarah DeVries delivered a gem on the mound, pitching a complete game while striking out seven batters in her sixth win of the season.

Marshall used a trio of pitchers with Ali Burdette pitching the majority of the innings. Burdette pitched 4.1 innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs over the course of 21 batters faced. Dixon followed up her strong performance in the first contest with a relief effort where she allowed three hits and earned run to go with four strikeouts in two innings pitched.

Marshall will hit the road 2 p.m. Saturday when it begins a three-game series with conference opponent University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Herd will then play Wright State University in a doubleheader next week, before returning to Dot Hicks Field April 9.