“It feels amazing. I think our team’s worked very, very hard to get to this moment,” Marshall second baseman Bailynn Parsons said. “We’ve been putting in the effort, putting in the time on and off the field, and I think that it really paid off today. We’ve been waiting for this, and it feels amazing to finally get it and know that feeling. It’s all uphill from here.”

“It’s hard to actually put it into words. They’ve worked so hard through adversity,” Marshall head coach Stacey Baedke said. “That second game was closer than we would’ve liked, but they pushed through … That’s what I know we can do, and I hope we can keep it going.”

Marshall rosters just one senior this year, Moen, and four juniors. As such, when the Tigers snapped the 30-game skid with the win over Worthington, it was many of the girls’ first time playing in a varsity win.

The Tigers were excited in the outfield huddle, sharing high-fives all around after picking up a pair of wins. Baedke said that in the huddle, the coaches talked to the players about how proud they were of them, enjoying the moment and hopefully being able to build on the success in their other home games later this week.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall shortstop Jennifer Lee (center) claps after hitting a double during a Big South Conference softball game against Worthington, Tuesday in Marshall.

“They definitely have proven what I know they can do, and now they know what it feels like to get those wins,” Baedke said. “I think they’re just going to be hungry for more, and have that chip on their shoulder and give it all they’ve got.”

Following Tuesday’s sweep, the Tigers have scored five or more runs in three of their first 10 games this year after hitting that mark just four times in 21 games last year. They also had 10 or more hits in both of Tuesday’s games, showing marked improvement in the batters box from just a year ago.

“We’ve all just wanted it so badly that now we’re really fighting for it and putting in the work,” Parsons said of the team’s success at the plate. “I think that the great team chemistry that we all have, I think it’s just finally clicking… and I think everyone can really see that on the field.”

Marshall is now 2-8 on the season and next takes on Windom on Thursday at 5 p.m.

GAME 1 (4 inn.)

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall first baseman Jaylah Morgan fields a throw at first base during a Big South Conference softball game against Worthington, Tuesday in Marshall.

Marshall 16, Worthington 0

Moen limited the Trojans to one hit and one walk in her shutout outing, striking out a batter while throwing just 44 pitches.

“I think I was hitting my spots pretty well, and obviously my defense was tremendous behind me,” Moen said. “I think that and the fact that we scored so many runs kept the energy up in the dugout.”

The Tigers set the tone for the day early in the game. Jennifer Lee and Brynlee Dieken drew back-to-back walks to start the game, and Dallmann started the game’s scoring with an RBI single.

Still, the Tigers weren’t done putting numbers on the board yet. Bailynn Parsons drew a walk to load the bases, and Bitker capitalized with a three-run double.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall pitcher Sarah Dallmann throws from the circle during a Big South Conference softball game against Worthington, Tuesday in Marshall.

Haylee Kirchner then reached base by getting hit by a pitch before a pair of wild pitches scored her and Bitker, and Claire Kruse and Aaliyah Podratz each drew walks before an RBI single by Lee and a two-run single from Dallmann capped off a nine-run inning.

Bitker and Dallmann each finished the game with three hits, including two doubles and six RBIs for Bitker and three RBIs for Dallmann. Lee also reached base four times with two singles and two walks, capitalizing on those plays with four stolen bases and four runs scored.

With two outs in the second, Marshall rallied again. Kruse singled, stole second, and scored on a throwing error by Worthington after Podratz singled. Lee then walked before Dieken hit a two-run single to bring the score to 12-0.

In need of four runs to trigger the four-inning mercy rule, the Tigers were more than happy to end the game early. Singles by Lee and Dallmann, with a Dieken walk in between, loaded the bases with one out. Another walk to Parsons pushed across one run and Bitker finished off the win with a two-run double to trigger the mercy rule.

GAME 2

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall second baseman Bailynn Parsons (8)celebrates with her teammates after the Tigers' Big South Conference softball wins over Worthington, Tuesday in Marshall.

Marshall 7, Worthington 1

Kirchner scored the go-ahead run when she walked, advanced to third on a Jaylah Morgan double and went home on a passed ball in the second inning. Kruse also followed up by fouling off pitches to work a 13-pitch walk, and she stole second after catching the defense sleeping, but a line-out double play prevented the Tigers from doing further damage.

The Tigers built on their lead an inning later when Lee singled and Dieken walked, with a wild pitch and a Dallmann sacrifice fly plating the two runners.

Dallmann finished the game with a pair of hits, a walk and a pair of RBIs at the plate, and Morgan logged a game-high three hits with a double and an RBI.

“I was mixing up my pitches and throwing them off, but I also have to give credit to my defense because they backed me up on those,” Dallmann said of her pitching.

Dallmann also had a major defensive impact, striking out seven batters in a complete-game effort. She held the Trojans to six hits and a walk, fruiting just one unearned run.

Morgan singled in the fourth before scoring on a Lee double, and Dallmann singled in Lee. The Tigers went on to tack on one last insurance run in the seventh when Kirchner singled and went home on a Morgan single.

Worthington scored its lone run of the doubleheader when an error with two outs sent a runner home.

BATTING

J. Lee: 2-2, 2 BB, RBI, 4 SB, 4 R; B. Dieken: 1-1, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB; S. Dallmann: 3-4, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB; B. Parsons: 0-2, RBI, 2 BB; R, SB; K. Bitker: 3-4 (2 2B), 6 RBI, R; J. Morgan: 0-2, BB; H. Kirchner: 0-2, HBP, R, SB; C. Kruse: 1-2, BB, 2 R, 2 SB; A. Podratz: 1-2, BB, RBI, 2 R.

PITCHING

A. Moen: W, 4 IP, H, BB, SO.

GAME 2 BOX SCORE

BATTING

J. Lee: 2-5 (2B), RBI, SB, 2 R; B. Dieken: 0-3, 2 BB, R; S. Dallmann: 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; B. Parsons: 1-3; A. Moen: 1-1; H. Kirchner: 1-3, BB, 2 R; J. Morgan: 3-4 (2B), RBI, R; C. Kruse: 0-1, BB, SB; K. Cowden: 0-1, BB; A. Podratz: 0-3, BB, SO.

PITCHING

S. Dallmann: W, 7 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 7 SO.