A win against out-of-conference foe Marshall will not help the Bobcats move out of fourth place in the Mid-American Conference East Division, but it will move coach Jodi Hermanek into sole possession of fourth place on Ohio’s all-time wins list.
With 83 career wins, one win in the doubleheader on Wednesday would allow Hermanek to move past Jill Matyueh (2006-2008) on the school’s career list.
Caught up in preparing for the Thundering Herd, Hermanek had no idea where she stood on the list.
“I look at every season as what it’s offering right now and I know this team is a different team than ones I’ve had in the past and that’s what makes each one special,” Hermanek said. “I’m just excited to see where these girls are at right now. All the rest of it is why I do what I do.”
Despite dropping three of four games last weekend against Ball State and Miami, senior shortstop Alexis Joseph said she liked the level of competition, saying the games against Miami felt like the MAC championship.
The Bobcats lost the three games by a total of five runs, including an 11-inning loss to Miami on Sunday.
“I feel like we didn’t really lose the games because it was really good competition,” Joseph said. “I told the girls after the game there’s no reason to hold our heads low about those games.”
In order to have more success than they did last weekend, the Bobcats will likely have to keep the Thundering Herd off the base paths, where they lead Conference USA with 96 stolen bases.
At 344, Marshall ranks sixth in the conference in on-base percentage.
“We just always have to be ready and assume Marshall’s going to run,” Hermanek said. “They’ve always been a team that likes to put runners in motion. We just have to make sure that our catchers really use the techniques they practice all the time.”
Marshall has also had solid pitching so far this season, with a team ERA of 2.50.
Joseph and Hermanek both said that the Thundering Herd are the most complete team they have played up to this point.
Hermanek said Marshall combines many of the strengths shown by previous Ohio opponents this season.
“It’s a really good balance of all the things we expect to see against Marshall wrapped in one package,” Hermanek said.
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