The Marshall Thundering Herd softball team represents Marshall University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference. They are currently coached by head coach Morgan Zerkle. They play their home games at Dot Hicks Field. The Thundering Herd have made three NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2026.
Venue Built in 2008, Dot Hicks Field is a softball facility that features a clubhouse, grandstands, pressbox and concession building, warmup areas, and the playing field. The field is named after Dorothy "Dot" Hicks, who was a donor and former coach of Marshall's volleyball, badminton, women's tennis and women's golf teams. An inaugural double-header took place on March 15, 2008. The Thundering Herd lost to Houston in both games, 17–2 and 10–2 respectively. Marshall set a home-attendance record crowd of 2,768 at The Dot on April 18, 2023, when they hosted and lost 3–1 to #13 ranked Alabama.
Individual awards and honors
Name Year(s) NFCA All-American Selection Autumn Owen (C) 2023 All-American Third Team Mya Stevenson (OF) 2022 All-American Third Team Morgan Zerkle (SS) 2017 All-American Second Team Jordan Dixon (P) 2017 All-American Third Team Rachel Folden (C) 2005 All-American Third Team2006 All-American Second Team2007 All-American Second Team2008 All-American Third Team Conference Player of the Year Sydni Burko 2026 Sun Belt Morgan Zerkle 2017 C-USA Rachel Folden 2008 C-USA Rachel Folden 2006 C-USA Sierra Davenport 2004 MAC Conference Pitcher of the Year Sydney Nester 2022 C-USA Jordan Dixon 2017 C-USA Randi Nielson 2003 MAC Conference Freshman of the Year Aly Harrell 2018 C-USA Elicia D’Orazio 2015 C-USA Rachel Folden 2005 MAC Amanda Williams 2003 MAC Dawn Matoy 1997 Southern Stefanie Cook 1995 Southern Brandi Northrup 1994 Southern Conference Coach of the Year Shonda Stanton 2017 C-USA Shonda Stanton 2005 MAC Shonda Stanton 2003 MAC Louie Berndt 1997 Southern NFCA Golden Shoe Award Elicia D'Orazio 2017 Morgan Zerkle 2015
NCAA Regional appearances NCAA Regional Results+2013 Lexington, KY Regional Lost to Kentucky, 1–2 Defeated Notre Dame, 3–1 Lost to Virginia Tech, 2–32017 Lexington, KY Regional Lost to Illinois, 2–3 Defeated DePaul, 2–1 Lost to Illinois, 2–102026 Durham, NC Regional Lost to Arizona, 5-7 Defeated Howard, 4-2 Lost to Duke, 1-11
Year-by-year results SeasonConferenceCoachOverallConferenceNotes Games Win Loss Tie Games Win Loss Tie 1994 SoCon Louie Berndt 38 17 21 0 6 1 5 0 1995 SoCon Louie Berndt 57 28 29 0 12 4 8 0 SoCon tournament champions 1996 SoCon Louie Berndt 62 38 24 0 15 4 11 0 1997 SoCon Louie Berndt 61 36 25 0 15 8 7 0 1998 MAC Louie Berndt 55 16 39 0 28 5 23 0 1999 MAC Louie Berndt 52 24 28 0 25 8 17 0 2000 MAC Shonda Stanton 52 25 27 0 24 15 9 0 2001 MAC Shonda Stanton 58 35 23 0 24 15 9 0 2002 MAC Shonda Stanton 46 18 28 0 24 11 13 0 2003 MAC Shonda Stanton 58 41 17 0 24 20 4 0 MAC champions 2004 MAC Shonda Stanton 58 31 27 0 24 12 12 0 2005 MAC Shonda Stanton 58 38 20 0 24 20 4 0 MAC champions 2006 C-USA Shonda Stanton 56 33 23 0 24 15 9 0 2007 C-USA Shonda Stanton 58 32 26 0 24 11 13 0 2008 C-USA Shonda Stanton 55 26 29 0 22 11 11 0 2009 C-USA Shonda Stanton 51 31 20 0 21 11 10 0 2010 C-USA Shonda Stanton 55 24 30 1 24 3 20 1 2011 C-USA Shonda Stanton 53 19 33 1 23 5 17 1 2012 C-USA Shonda Stanton 57 36 21 0 24 15 9 0 2013 C-USA Shonda Stanton 58 36 22 0 23 13 10 0 C-USA tournament champions, NCAA Regional 2014 C-USA Shonda Stanton 59 28 31 0 24 13 11 0 2015 C-USA Shonda Stanton 50 35 15 0 22 14 8 0 2016 C-USA Shonda Stanton 56 30 26 0 24 13 11 0 2017 C-USA Shonda Stanton 54 42 12 0 24 20 4 0 C-USA champions, NCAA Regional 2018 C-USA Jennifer Steele 55 25 29 1 23 13 9 1 2019 C-USA Megan Smith 64 42 22 0 24 17 7 0 2020 C-USA Megan Smith 25 18 7 0 0 0 0 0 Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 C-USA Megan Smith 33 20 13 0 16 8 8 0 2022 C-USA Megan Smith 53 35 18 0 24 15 9 0 2023 Sun Belt Megan Smith 55 45 10 0 22 17 5 0 2024 Sun Belt Morgan Zerkle 53 25 28 0 24 10 14 0 2025 Sun Belt Morgan Zerkle 54 31 23 0 24 15 9 0 2026 Sun Belt Morgan Zerkle 57 38 19 0 24 17 7 0 NCAA Regional
Former players
Marshall Thundering Herd Softball Alumni
References
External links Official website