Lady Eagles Host No. 5 LSU
4/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Lady Eagles Host No. 5 LSU
The Southern Miss softball team is in the home stretch of nearing its season?s end, with 10 games remaining on the schedule. LSU comes to Hattiesburg for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 24, starting at 5 p.m.
The Lady Eagles faced the Tigers last Thursday, as LSU swept the doubleheader, with a 10-0 five-inning game in the opener and a 2-0 battle in the finale. The Tigers overtook the series against Southern Miss last week and now lead in overall matchups, 5-4.
The two games on Wednesday will be the 12th and 13th contests this season that feature the Lady Eagles against a Southeastern Conference team. Southern Miss is 3-8 against the SEC, with two wins against Mississippi State and a win against Ole Miss. The losses came against Arkansas (2), Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama (2) and LSU (2).
The doubleheader also will increase the Lady Eagles? season total of games against nationally-ranked opponents to 13.
LSU (40-8) is on a 10-game winning streak, and the most runs the Tigers have given up in a game during this span is three. They have recorded five shutouts in the stint and have blanked opponents in 25 games this season.
Pitching ace Britni Sneed is a major contributor to the Tigers? hurling success. The senior is 22-5 on the year, with a 0.95 ERA, 318 strikeouts and 15 shutouts. Kristin Schmidt is 14-3 this season with a 0.92 ERA, 151 strikeouts and seven shutouts.
As team, LSU is batting .280 and features three players batting over .300. Leadoff hitter Trena Peel is stroking .361 with a national-best 12 triples. Former Lady Eagle Erin Johnson follows with a .320 average, and Christy Connor is the power leader, batting .302 with five home runs and 31 RBIs.
Southern Miss (25-25) is battling a three-game losing streak and, during that frame, has scored only a single run. The Lady Eagles have proven to be a tough challenge against SEC teams, as five games were decided by a margin of one run and two finished with a difference of two runs.
Amanda Brown is batting .355 (11-for-31) against SEC teams, with three doubles and a triple, featuring a .516 slugging percentage. Kenya Peters is .333 in SEC games with four doubles.
Channika Gant leads the team in overall batting, with a .284 average. She claims two home runs and a team-best 19 RBIs. Peters follows, batting .284, with four home runs, 10 doubles and 14 RBIs.
Jessica Holaway is 12-8 on the year, with a 2.34 ERA and 106 strikeouts. Felicia Gonzales is 7-9 with a 3.36 ERA and 102 strikeouts.
Gonzales has faired well in her last four outings, despite claiming a 1-3 record. She faced Alabama twice and held the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide to two runs in each contest, claiming 11 strikeouts combined. She also held LSU to two scores last Thursday, fanning seven Tigers.
Southern Miss will host DePaul in a three-game conference series this weekend. The first-place Blue Demons come to Hattiesburg for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27, at Noon and a single game on Sunday, April 28, at 1 p.m.