CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (29-12) returns to St. John Stadium this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Marshall (34-4) on April 14-16.
 
Lookin' Back

• The Chants suffered their second shutout loss of the season against the Troy Trojans, 9-0, in the first game of the series last weekend.
• CCU got off to a quick start in game two versus Troy when Diamond Williams smashed a home run on the first ball of the game.
• CCU almost mounted a comeback in game two after falling behind 6-1 at the end of the first inning. This came with the help of an RBI double by Abbey Montoya, a stolen base by Keirstin Roose, a two-run single from Indya Smith, and an RBI double by Delaney Keith to level the score at 6-6. However, the Chants ultimately fell 8-7 in the contest.
• The Chants picked up a 4-0 shutout victory in the final game of the series. Mady Volpe pitched her first complete-game shutout in the win where she gave up just one hit while pitching four 1-2-3 innings.

Scouting the Opponent

• The Herd has posted a 33-4 overall record and are 9-1 in SBC play.
• Marshall's four losses came against Butler (Feb 11), UT Chattanooga (Feb 18), Liberty (Feb 26), and ULM (April 8).
• The Herd has scored double-digit runs nine times on the season, including in a 17-2 victory over Bellarmine (March 22).
• Marshall is exceeding expectations and is currently ranked second in the Sun Belt after being chosen sixth in the preseason coaches poll.
• The Herd has been making their mark in the NCAA statistical rankings, as they place second in batting average (.361), on-base percentage (.450), and runs per game (7.68).
• Autumn Owens leads the offense for the Herd with a .495 batting average, which ranks her fourth in the nation, and has hit 16 home runs on the season which places her second in the NCAA
• Marshall's starting pitcher Sydney Nester has had a lot of success in the circle, going 19-3 on the season while recording 168 strikeouts and a 0.85 ERA.

History Against

• CCU has a 6-3 all-time series record versus Marshall.
• This will be CCU's first time playing Marshall in Sun Belt Conference play.
• The Chants last faced the Herd at the Battle at the Beach event held at St. John Stadium in 2022 where they split a pair of games on the weekend, winning the first game 4-3 but dropping the second 9-7.
• Head coach Kelley Green will be looking to improve on her 5-1 overall record against the Herd.
• CCU has a 4-1 record against Marshall when playing on its home soil and three of those victories came in one-run games
• Coastal and the Herd have only had one game cut short due to the run rule which was back in 2014 when CCU took a 10-1 win in six innings. This came with the help of two runs being scored off of now assistant coach Amanda Daneker's bat.

For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.