Marshall softball’s postseason resume was strong enough to survive a late-season stumble.
Despite entering Selection Sunday after losing three straight games, the Thundering Herd earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Softball Tournament for the first time since 2017, securing a spot in the Durham Regional hosted by No. 12 national seed Duke.
Marshall (37-17) will face Arizona at 2:30 p.m. Friday in its regional opener.
The selection marks just the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the first since 2017, when current Marshall head coach Morgan Zerkle helped lead the Herd to an at-large berth at Kentucky as an All-American shortstop during her senior season. Marshall’s only other NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2013.
Now, nine years later, Zerkle has guided Marshall back to the national stage in just her third season as head coach.
The Thundering Herd finished second in the Sun Belt Conference, which placed three teams into the NCAA Tournament field for the second time in the last three seasons. Marshall built its postseason case around one of the most explosive offenses in program history, finishing with 89 home runs, a .279 team batting average and a .520 slugging percentage.
Sophomore Sydni Burko emerged as one of the nation’s top power hitters, batting .382 with 21 home runs and 44 RBIs while earning Sun Belt newcomer and player of the year honors.
Burko headlines a lineup that features four players with at least 10 home runs, including Ava Blake (17), Bella Gerlach (14) and Diamond Leslie (10).
Inside the circle, Marshall leaned on a balanced pitching staff led by Jules King, who enters postseason play with a 16-7 record, 156 strikeouts and six saves across 149 innings pitched. Paige Maynard and Maddie Veal combined for 20 additional victories as the Herd posted a 3.06 team ERA this season.
While Marshall’s resume was strong enough to secure an at-large bid, the Thundering Herd enters the NCAA Tournament looking to reverse a late-season slide.
Marshall has lost three consecutive games and is 4-6 over its last 10 contests while being outscored 15-3 during its current skid. The Herd was shut out in each of its last two games, including last week’s loss to Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Marshall is 2-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and will be seeking its first NCAA Super Regional appearance.
Durham Regional Schedule
All games played at Smith Family Stadium, Durham, North Carolina. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Friday
Game 1: No. 3 Duke (39-13) vs. Howard (28-17), noon
Game 2: No. 6 Arizona (35-16) vs. Marshall (37-17), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 6 p.m.
Sunday
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 2:30 p.m.
Note: The winner of the Durham Regional will meet the winner of the Fayetteville Regional (No. 2 Arkansas, No. 7 Washington, Fordham and South Florida) in the Super Regional three-game series.