University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Host UAB in Three-Game C-USA Series
3/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Lady Eagles Host UAB in Three-Game C-USA Series
The Southern Miss softball team will face UAB this weekend in a Conference USA three-game series. A single game will start on Friday, March 29, at 5 p.m., and a doubleheader will begin on Saturday, March 30, at 1 p.m. All three games will be held at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Both teams rank in the top three of the league standings. Southern Miss (15-18, 6-3 in C-USA) has the most wins among all conference teams and starts the weekend in third place.
UAB (22-8, 5-1) is off to its best start ever and claims a half-game lead over C-USA preseason favorite DePaul. The Blazers are 9-1 in their last 10 games, stringing together a 10-game winning streak before losing to East Carolina, 3-1, last Tuesday.
The Lady Eagles hold an all-time record of 6-1 against UAB. Last season, Southern Miss won the series against the Blazers, two games to one.
Three Blazers are hitting over .300, with Beth Mullins stroking a .377 average and claiming two home runs and 14 RBIs. Kai Paul is batting .337 and leads the team with 23 RBIs, and Candice Hithe holds a .303 average and a team-best 20 stolen bases.
All three UAB pitchers claim ERAs under 2.00. Kerri Foster is 8-3 on the year with a 1.02 ERA and 45 strikeouts. Megan Stephenson is also 8-3, with two saves, throwing a 1.32 ERA and 58 strikeouts, and Kelli Thompson is 6-2 with a 1.44 ERA and 44 strikeouts.
Kenya Peters is the Lady Eagles? top hitter. Batting .304, she claims four home runs and seven RBIs. Channika Gant has improved at the plate, batting .357 in the last five games. She is second on the team with a .273 season average.
Jessica Holaway leads USM pitchers with a 7-5 record. She is throwing a 2.22 ERA with 75 strikeouts. The sophomore collected her second shutout last Saturday, a 4-0 victory against South Florida.
Friday?s contest will be the third game the Lady Eagles have held at the new Complex. A doubleheader against Arkansas opened the facility on March 21.
The home span continues for Southern Miss. Next week, Ole Miss (Apr. 2) and Mississippi State (Apr. 3) come to Hattiesburg for doubleheaders. Both twinbills will start at 5 p.m.
