First and Ben

 By Ben Anderson      After winning its first Sun Belt Conference series of the 2026 campaign on the road against the Georgia State Panthers last weekend, Marshall softball aims to continue its winning ways as it welcomes former Southern Conference rival the Georgia Southern Eagles to Dot Hicks Field this weekend for its Sun Belt Conference home opener.       The Thundering Herd has won nine of its last 10 games, including taking two of three against the Panthers, as well as a four-game sweep at Dot Hicks Field in the Marshall March Madness.      Despite winning two of three in Atlanta last weekend, the series opener did not go the Thundering Herd’s way, as it fell 2-1 on a walk-off double — the first walk-off loss for the Herd in the 2026 campaign.      Games two and three provided better results for the Thundering Herd. In game 2, Marshall picked up a 3-1 victory behind a stellar performance from sophomore pitcher M...

 By Ben Anderson      The old saying “time flies when you’re having fun” is true more now than ever for Marshall Track & Field as it begins the outdoor season next week, following a successful indoor season that saw a lot of growth in the team.       The Thundering Herd concluded the indoor season with the women’s team finishing 8th and the men’s team finishing 7th at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships. The factor that stood out to me the most was the teams’ ability to score in multiple events, something that Director of Track & Field Keith Roberts said is crucial for the Thundering Herd to build off of.      “It’s definitely good for the future,” Roberts said in an interview with First and Ben. “You need still need those big hitters and we still need to make sure that we’re continuing to grow. But we definitely have them. They’re in the mix. They’re in the fold. We had even the ones that scored that missed the pod...

 By Ben Anderson      Marshall Track & Field concluded the indoor season at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor championships on Feb. 24 winning four medals and setting the foundation for the upcoming outdoor season.      Leading the way on day one was junior jumper Lara Check, winning gold in the women’s long jump, jumping 6.06 meters to be the only jumper in the event to jump over 6 meters. Marshall Director of Track & Field Keith Roberts said that Check had to battle through adversity and stay discipline with a sharp mentality during the event.      “She had a really good first jump,” Roberts said in an interview with First and Ben. “Then her second hump, she was behind the board. And she knew why. We knew why she was behind the board. And it was a simple fix, but there was no panic. And I could almost tell when I talked to her that the next jump was going to be the winning jump. And sure enough, it was.”      Taking...

 By Ben Anderson      Riding on a four-game winning streak, Marshall Softball officially begins home competition with the Marshall March Madness this weekend at Dot Hicks Field.      The four-team round robin includes the Thundering Herd, the Akron Zips, the Canisius Golden Griffins’, and the Howard Bison.       The Thundering Herd enters the round-robin with a 13-8 record, and ranked 19th in the D1Softball Mid-Major Rankings, with a four-game winning streak following a four-game sweep against UConn, Liberty, and Radford at the Liberty Invitational. Marshall won two of its games via walk-off fashion with a bases-loaded walk in game one against the UConn Huskies, and a walk-off single by Paige Simpson against Radford.      The Thundering Herd has faced very strong competition to start the 2026 season, as its eight losses come against opponents with a combined record of 101-31, that includes two top 25 teams in Florida ...

 By Ben Anderson      A terrific season of hoops for the Marshall Thundering Herd’s men’s basketball teams comes down to Friday night when it welcomes the Georgia Southern Eagles with a chance to claim the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.      The Herd is currently in a four-way tie for first place in the league with Appalachian State, Troy, and South Alabama with a record of 19-11 (11-6). The Herd has a 2-0 advantage over App State, a 1-0 advantage over South Alabama and a loss against Troy.       Marshall earned its chance for the regular season crown on Tuesday night when it took down the Old Dominion Monarchs 97-88 at the Cam Henderson Center.       Marshall shot lights out from the field in the contest, shooting a season-best 59.7 percent from the field with four players scoring at least 18 points. Fricks led the way with 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting including 2-for-6 from behind the arc an...

 By Ben Anderson      The long-awaited Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships has finally arrived for the Marshall Thundering Herd Track & Field team. Last season, the Thundering Herd made plenty of noise with four gold medals coming from the talents of the most decorated athlete in program history Kylee Mastin, along with two silver medals, and two bronze medals. Senior thrower Markayla Moore said that the team attitude that Director Keith Roberts pushes for is what leads to the team’s success.      I think he's really big on making sure we know to not count yourself out,” Moore said in an interview with First & Ben. “Like remember who you are and bring the energy, bring the cheers. He always says, maybe if you didn't do what you wanted to do in your event, go cheer on somebody else so they can do it.”      Moore, has been on a tear for the Thundering Herd this season, having the 2nd-best mark in the Sun Belt Conference and 2n...