STATESBORO - Marshall's Sydney Nester hurled a three-hit shutout and the visiting Thundering Herd collected a 4-0 Sun Belt softball victory over host Georgia Southern on Thursday evening at Eagle Field.
Marshall improves to 41-9 overall and 15-5 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while Georgia Southern falls to 17-32 overall and 6-16 in the league with the loss, the 10th straight for the Eagles. The series continues on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest at Eagle Field.
The Thundering Herd scored a single run in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Camryn Michallas. The lead extended to 2-0 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Autumn Owen, then Marshall capped the scoring in the sixth on a two-run single by Bub Feringa.
Nester (24-7) retired 11 of the last 12 batters she faced in collecting the three-hit shutout, walking two while striking out five.
Alana Barnard (1-10) took the loss for the Eagles in the circle, giving up seven hits and four runs in five-plus innings of work, walking one while striking out five.