Super start for Herd softball

HUNTINGTON, W.Va — The accolades are building the Marshall softball team, who earned its 27th win of the year in a 4-0 shutout to sweep Southern Miss. The team’s 27 wins through 30 games are better than any previous 30-game start in the program’s 30-year history. The 17 consecutive wins tie a program record with Tuesday’s upcoming game against Northern Kentucky providing an opportunity to break the mark set in 2017.

Win number 27 came on the right arm of Sydney Nester, who has held Sun Belt Conference opponents scoreless through 20 innings of work. Nester pitched her second complete game in as many days against the potent Golden Eagles offense, striking out 10 USM batters Sunday, allowing just four hits. The redshirt-senior pitcher has 16 wins on the year, 143 strikeouts, and seven shutouts, all categories which lead the Sun Belt Conference.

The Marshall bats - whose 4-0 Sun Belt Conference record remains the only undefeated record in the league after two weeks - provided Nester insurance in the 2nd. Brooklyn Ulrich’s bases-loaded walk scored Bub Feringa to open the scoring.

The Herd had to claw out more runs in the 4th and 5th off USM’s ace with a pair of productive at-bats from Grace Chelemen, Bub Feringa, and Alex Coleman.

Coleman’s RBI groundout scored Lauren Love, who collected two hits on the afternoon, the only batter to do so for either side in the pitcher’s duel.

It was a duel in which Nester won with a ground out in which Camryn Michallas stepped on the third base bag to seal the win and the series sweep.

UP NEXT

Marshall aims for its program-record 18th win in a row against the NKU Norse in non-conference midweek action from Dot Hicks Field on Tuesday, March 28. First pitch from Huntington will be at 2:00 p.m.

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