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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Marshall University is back to its winning ways in the Conference USA softball championship tournament.Marshall began defense of the 2013 tournament title Thursday with a 4-0 defeat of UAB at the FAU Softball Stadium."We just beat a very impressive, very solid UAB ballclub," Marshall head coach Shonda Stanton said. "You're talking about a team that had the 10th strongest schedule in the nation. They were the No. 2 seed coming in."Seventh-seeded Marshall (27-30) advanced to the semifinal round at 2 p.m. Friday against sixth-seeded East Carolina. The Pirates (28-19) beat third-seeded FIU in the first round, 5-1.Marshall and East Carolina played a three-game series March 21-22 in Greenville, N.C., and the Thundering Herd won two.Freshman Jordan Dixon pitched MU past UAB (31-25). Dixon allowed only eight hits, walked one and struck out nine in her 19th win of the season."Jordan pitched phenomenally," Stanton said. "We made plays behind her."Marshall broke from a scoreless tie in the fifth inning.Emileigh Cooper singled to begin the rally, but was out on a fielder's choice that put Kristina Braxton on base. Morgan Zerkle bunted for a single and Kaelynn Greene's single loaded the bases.Back-to-back singles by Shaelynn Braxton and Savanah Webster put two Marshall runs on the scoreboard. Raquel Escareno followed with a two-run single."We went toe-to-toe through four innings," Stanton said. "In the fifth inning our kids continued to battle, continued to fight."Marshall had 10 hits with Shaelynn Braxton going 3-for-4. Greene and Webster were both 2-for-4.The Blazers were led by Caitlin Alford with three hits in four at-bats.East Carolina started quickly in its victory with four runs in the first inning.Shelby Johnson of the Pirates was 3-for-4 while pitchers Caroline Umphlett and Sarah Christian combined to toss a seven-hitter.FIU finished the season with a 33-20 record.In game one of Thursday's second session top-seeded Tulsa (48-7) scored in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 1-0 win against eighth-seeded Charlotte.North Texas, seeded fifth, went 10 innings to get a 5-4 victory over fourth-seeded Florida Atlantic.