Lady Eagles End Season With Loss to Louisville
5/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Files associated with this release:
Lady Eagles End Season With Loss to Louisville
HOUSTON, Texas ? Late-inning heroics benefited the Southern Miss softball team this afternoon, but the Lady Eagles fell victim to them in a 6-5 loss to Louisville this evening. The loss eliminated Southern Miss from the Conference USA Tournament and ended its season at 28-30.
The Lady Eagles held a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. After Louisville (24-25) put Shannon Nord and Nicole Sparks on the bags, Sara Bausher whacked a two-out single to left field and scored Nord for the tying run. Facing a 2-2 count, Lisa Estes stroked a grounder just beyond second baseman Ashley Davis? glove and allowed Sparks to score the winning run.
Southern Miss advanced to this evening?s contest after an eight-inning victory over tourney-host Houston, 7-6. Auriel Jenkins repeated her three-hit accomplishment from the afternoon game as she batted 3-for-4 with two runs against the Cardinals. Jessica Huerta hit 2-for-3 with her second home run of the day, two runs and one RBI.
Both Nord and Bausher led Louisville in hitting, as each hit 3-for-4. Nord claimed two runs and Bausher finished with two RBIs. Sparks and Estes each batted 2-for-3, as Sparks tallied two runs and an RBI, and Estes collected two RBIs. Louisville outhit Southern Miss, 12-8.
Sarah Boyd gave Southern Miss the 5-4 advantage in the top of the seventh, as her hard grounder to first, with one out, allowed Jenkins to reach home from third for the go-ahead run. Boyd ended the game hitting 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Huerta, who smashed her first home run of the season against Cougars this afternoon, popped a solo shot over right center field, knotting the score, 4-4, in the top of the sixth.
The Lady Eagles added two runs in the fourth, when Heather Bell smashed a two-run homer well-beyond centerfield. It gave Bell the team lead in home runs on the year with six, which is the most the junior has hit in a season. Huerta also scored on the monster blast.
Louisville scored four runs in the third inning and claimed a 4-1 lead. Sparks sparked the rally with an RBI single, plating Michelle Vasquez. Aja Sherman?s sacrifice fly allowed Nord to go home, and Basher and Estes produced back-to-back scoring singles to give Louisville the three-run advantage.
The scoring began for Southern Miss in the third when Boyd singled to right center and scored Jenkins.
Krystle Herold (8-11) came in relief in the fourth inning and collected the win. She recorded three hits, two runs and one walk.
Jessica Holaway (15-16) ended the year with a loss. She came in relief in the bottom of the seventh, pitching two-thirds of the inning and surrendering two hits.
Danielle Wymer was the starting pitcher for Southern Miss. The freshman went 2.2 innings and collected six hits four runs and one walk. Danielle Hatfield relieved Wymer in the third, going 3.1 innings and recording four hits, two runs, one walk and one strikeout.