University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Compete in NFCA Leadoff Classic
2/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Lady Eagles Compete in NFCA Leadoff Classic
Jessica Huerta hit two-for-three against Southeastern La., recording a double, a run and an RBI. |
Days/Dates: Friday, Feb. 21 ? Sunday, Feb. 23
Location: South Commons Complex & Stadium, Columbus, Ga.
Series Records: Nebraska ? First Meeting; Stanford ? First Meeting; North Carolina ? USM leads, 1-0.
Southern Miss' Tournament Schedule (All times listed are Central Standard Time):
Friday, February 21
4 p.m. Nebraska vs. Southern Miss
6:30 p.m. Southern Miss vs. Stanford
Saturday, February 22
11:30 a.m.Southern Miss vs. North Carolina
4 p.m. Bracket Play
6:30 p.m. Bracket Play
Sunday, February 23
8 a.m. Bracket Play
10 a.m. Bracket Play
12 noon Bracket Play
The Southern Miss softball team makes its third-consecutive appearance in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, in Columbus, Ga., where some of the nation?s top collegiate softball teams are competing this weekend, Feb. 21-23. Twenty-four teams, 18 ranked in the Preseason USA Today/NFCA Top 25, will play in the location that hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic softball competition. None of the games will have Live Stats on SouthernMiss.com.
The Lady Eagles (5-3) will face No. 4 Nebraska (9-1) on Friday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m., Central Standard Time. A contest against No. 14 Stanford (10-2) will follow, at 6:30 p.m. Pool play for Southern Miss will conclude with a matchup against North Carolina (5-3) on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 11:30 a.m.
Sarah Boyd and Amanda Brown remain as the Lady Eagles top hitters. Boyd is batting .391 (9-for-23), with a run scored, three doubles and four RBIs, and Brown is hitting .333 (7-for-21) with a run and an RBI.
In Wednesday?s contest, Feb. 19, against Southeastern Louisiana, the Lady Eagles were led offensively by freshmen Ashley Brenan, Ashley Davis and Jessica Huerta. The rookie trio collectively recorded four-of-the-six runs and five-of-the-seven hits in the 6-0 win over the Lions.
Davis was the top hitter, batting 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Brenan went 0-for-0 with three runs and four walks, which tied the school record, and Huerta finished two-for-three in the game with a double and a run.
Jessica Holaway pitched her best performance of the season against SLU, recording her sixth shutout as a Lady Eagle. She gave up two hits and one walk, while striking out eight. On the year, the junior has a 3-2 record with a 1.82 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
Nebraska started the season winning its first eight games. The Cornhuskers only loss on the year is to No. 1 UCLA, a 5-1 defeat last weekend.
All-American pitcher Peaches James leads the team with a 5-1 record, a 1.79 ERA and 33 strikeouts in six appearances. Three Cornhusker hitters claim batting averages, over .400, including Lisa Wangler who is hitting .441 with eight runs scored, four doubles, five home runs and 17 RBIs.
After a 3-2 start, Stanford is currently on a seven-game winning streak. The first four victories in the streak were consecutive shutouts.
Lauren Lappin enters the weekend batting .543 for the Cardinal. The freshman has 19 hits on the year with eight runs, one double and seven RBIs.
Senior pitcher Tori Nyberg is undefeated with a 6-0 record. In her seven appearances, she has recorded a 0.55 ERA and 29 strikeouts.
North Carolina started the season 1-3, but the Tarheels have recently turned it around and start the weekend with a four-game winning streak. One of their earlier losses was a 4-1 defeat to East Carolina, after no-hitting the Pirates in a 4-0 victory.
Crystal Cox is the Tarheels ace. She is 3-1 on the year and pitched the no-hitter against ECU. She claims a 1.00 ERA with 33 strikeouts.
Two regular UNC starters are batting .500 after eight games. Tiffany Tolleson is hitting .520 with 10 runs, eight stolen bases and two RBIs. Jaclyn Holden is batting .500 with eight runs, six doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs.
The NFCA Leadoff Classic format consists of six, four-team pools. Following pool play, the top team from each pool, along with two at-large teams will advance to the Gold Championship Bracket.
The remaining four second-place teams, along with four at-large teams will be placed in the Silver Championship Bracket, and the remaining eight teams will be assigned to the Bronze Championship Bracket.
Bracket play begins on Saturday, Feb. 22, with teams playing at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 23, with games at 8 a.m and 10 a.m., and the respective championship games at Noon.
