Southern Miss Faces Louisville in League Tourney Opener
5/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Southern Miss Faces Louisville in League Tourney Opener
Event: #5 Southern Miss (27-28, 12-12) vs. #4 Louisville (21-24, 12-11), First
Round of the Conference USA Tournament
Date: Thursday, May 8, Noon
Location: Cougar Field (1,200), Houston, Texas
Media: Live Stats on SouthernMiss.com
Series Record: Southern Miss leads the series, 12-3
HOUSTON, Texas ? The Southern Miss softball team begins its fourth appearance in the Conference USA tournament with a matchup against Louisville at noon, on Thursday, May 8. The winner of the tourney opener will face top-seed DePaul at 5 p.m., that evening. The loser will compete on Friday, May 9, at 2:30 p.m., against the loser of the South Florida vs. Houston-UAB winner.
The Lady Eagles have won seven of their last 10 games, including a series win over UAB, last weekend, ending the regular season by taking two-of-three games against the Blazers. Of USM?s last six victories, five were shutouts, and the Lady Eagles have outscored their opponents in the last eight games, 27-11.
Heather Bell leads Southern Miss in hitting with a .283 batting average. She has recorded 19 runs, four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 19 RBIs. Auriel Jenkins follows, batting .266, and claims a team-best 28 runs, 20 RBIs and 18 stolen bases, along with five doubles, two triples and five home runs.
Amanda Brown was the best hitter against Louisville this season. In three games, the senior hit .556 (5-for-9) with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs.
Jessica Holaway leads the Lady Eagles? pitching staff with a 14-14 record and a 1.93 ERA. She has recorded eight shutouts, three saves, 52 walks and 116 strikeouts. The junior has not surrendered a run in her last 20 innings, and in that span, she has given up seven hits. Her last three starts resulted in shutouts.
Danielle Hatfield holds the best winning percentage among the Southern Miss hurlers. The junior is 8-3 on the year with a 2.93 ERA, four shutouts, one save, 18 walks and 35 strikeouts. She claims victories in her last four starts, and in her last 31 innings pitched, Hatfield has surrendered two runs.
Louisville won its first-ever series over Southern Miss this season, winning two-of-three games against the Lady Eagles at Cardinal Park. In the Conference USA Tournament, Southern Miss has won all three meetings with the Cardinals.
Shannon Nord is Louisville?s top hitter with a .344 batting average. She has 20 runs, three doubles, four triples and 11 stolen bases. Keola Calderon also is batting over .300 with a .344 average and claims six doubles, one triple and 23 RBIs.
Jessica Rak is 12-11 on the year with a 2.17 ERA. She has seven shutouts with two split shutouts, one save, 89 walks and 121 strikeouts.