University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Host South Florida in C-USA Series
3/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Lady Eagles Host South Florida in C-USA Series
Jessica Holaway picked up her fourth shutout in her last outing against Ole Miss. The junior has surrendered five runs in her last 33 innings pitched. |
Dates: Saturday, March 22, at 1 p.m. (doubleheader); Sunday, March 23, at 1 p.m.
Location: Southern Miss Softball Complex (500)
Media: Live Stats on SouthernMiss.com
Series Record: Southern Miss leads the series, 9-7
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? The Southern Miss softball team hosts No. 21/23 South Florida in a three-game Conference USA series, this weekend. The teams face off in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22, with game one beginning at 1 p.m., and conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, March 23, at 1 p.m.
The Lady Eagles (12-16, 0-3) are looking for their first conference win of the season. Southern Miss lost all three games in its opening league series against Houston on March 5-6.
Winning five of their last seven games, the Lady Eagles hope the recent success will ignite further victories in their three-game tilt against the Bulls. Ranked 21st in the USA Today/NFCA weekly poll and 23rd in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, South Florida (33-8, 5-1) will be the fifth ranked opponent that Southern Miss has faced this season.
Auriel Jenkins held a seven-game hitting streak before finishing 0-for-3 in the Lady Eagles? second game against Ole Miss, last Wednesday, March 19. The junior is batting .306 with 16 runs, two doubles, two triples, eight stolen bases, four home runs, 13 RBIs, and a .556 slugging percentage.
Sarah Boyd leads Southern Miss with a .311 batting average, seven doubles and 15 RBIs. She has two home runs on the season and six runs scored.
Jessica Holaway picked up her fourth shutout in her last outing against Ole Miss. The junior has surrendered five runs in her last 33 innings pitched. On the year, she is 6-9 with two saves, a 1.92 ERA, 30 walks and 64 strikeouts.
South Florida has produced nine wins in its last 10 outings. Earlier this season, the Bulls strung together a 14-game winning streak, demonstrating how they have overcome last season?s 24-33-1 final record. Big victories on USF?s schedule so far include a 5-4 win over then-No. 8 Oklahoma and a 5-4 win over then-No. 17 Notre Dame.
Hitting .297 as a team, South Florida features five batters hitting over .300. Courtney Lewellen leads the squad with a .385 batting average and claims 12 runs scored, six doubles, one home run and 21 RBIs. The Bulls also have demonstrated speed on the basepaths, stealing 64 bases in 79 attempts, and three USF players have recorded double-figure base swipes this season, with Shelly Riker holding the top rank with 15 stolen bases.
Leigh Ann Ellis, a transfer from Tennessee, has been impressive in the pitcher?s circle for the Bulls. The junior threw back-to-back no-hitters last week and is currently 17-4 on the season with a 0.90 ERA, seven shutouts, three saves and 179 strikeouts in 28 appearances.
Southern Miss will be off until next weekend when they compete at Louisville, March 29-30. The doubleheader against the Cardinals will start on Saturday, March 29, at 1 p.m., Central Standard Time, and a single game will begin on Sunday, March 30, at 1 p.m.
