Marshall Thundering Herd softball
College softball team
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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.[2][3]
| Marshall Thundering Herd | |
|---|---|
 2026 Marshall Thundering Herd softball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1994 |
| University | Marshall University |
| Head coach | Morgan Zerkle (2nd season) |
| Conference | Sun Belt |
| Location | Huntington, West Virginia, US |
| Home stadium | Dot Hicks Field (capacity: 325) |
| Nickname | Thundering Herd |
| Colors | Kelly green and white[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2013, 2017, 2026 | |
| Conference tournament championships | |
| 1995, 2013 | |
| Regular-season conference championships | |
| 2003, 2005, 2017 | |
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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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 Team 2006 All-American Second Team 2007 All-American Second Team 2008 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[8] | Elicia D'Orazio | 2017 |
| Morgan Zerkle | 2015 | |
NCAA Regional appearances
| NCAA Regional Results |
|---|
| 2013 Lexington, KY Regional Lost to Kentucky, 1–2 |
| 2017 Lexington, KY Regional Lost to Illinois, 2–3 |
| 2026 Durham, NC Regional Lost to Arizona, 5-7 |
Year-by-year results
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall | Conference | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
