University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Softball Heads To Sunshine State Tournament
2/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Tournament Notes
Lady Eagle Softball Heads To Sunshine State Tournament
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Even though Wednesday's scheduled doubleheader was postponed, the Southern Miss Lady Eagles don't have too long to wait until playing again as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take part in the Sunshine State Tournament, hosted by No. 16 Florida State.
In addition to Southern Miss (1-1) and Florida State, the tournament features No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 22 South Carolina, Illinois and Western Kentucky.
The three-day event begins Friday with Southern Miss taking on Illinois at 9 a.m., CT. The Lady Eagles then face South Carolina at 1 p.m., before taking on Western Kentucky and host FSU on Saturday, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The team then battles Oklahoma at 9 a.m., Sunday.
Southern Miss' tournament games will feature an Internet "Live Stats" broadcast. The "Live Stats" broadcast can be accessed by clicking the appropriate link on the right side of the softball home page on SouthernMiss.com.
Sophomore Ashley Davis leads the Southern Miss offense into the tournament after putting up a 4-for-4 performance on opening day. Davis finished with two singles, a double and a grand-slam home run, which helped propel the team to a 7-0 second game win over the Louisiana Monroe. Seniors Erica King and Auriel Jenkins both had two hits last week.
On the mound, senior Danielle Hatfield came up with a masterful performance in game two last week, pitching a complete-game, three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts. Senior Jessica Holaway took the opening loss after pitching four innings and allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits. Sophomore Danielle Wymer also saw action on the mound last week, pitching two innings of relief and allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits.
Illinois enters the game with a 3-2-1 record after taking a share of the LSU Tiger Classic with tournament participant Oklahoma. Lindsey Hamma leads the Fighting Illini at the plate with a .471 batting average, while Sherri Taylor is the top pitcher, sporting a 1-1 record and a 1.84 ERA. The Lady Eagles have played Illinois just once, falling 3-1 in 2001.
South Carolina currently ranks No. 22 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and is No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. The Gamecocks are 4-0 this season after sweeping both Charlotte and North Carolina last weekend. The team is led by Southeastern Conference Hitter of the Week Samantha Jennings, who finished 7-for-13 and hit .538 in the four games, to go along with six runs and seven RBIs. The pitching trio of Stacey Johnson, Melania Henkes and Aleca Johnson combined for a 0.29 ERA last week and had 22 total strikeouts. The Gamecocks hold a three games to none advantage of Southern Miss all-time, including the last win, 3-0, in 2001.
The tournament is the first action of the season for Western Kentucky. The team posted a 30-32 record in 2003, including a 5-9 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. Both the top hitter and top pitcher return for the Hilltoppers. Renita Pennington had 71 hits and a .374 average last season, while Allison Silver was 15-15 with a 1.66 ERA on the mound. Saturday's game will be the team's first-ever meeting against Southern Miss.
Host Florida State enters the event on a 4-0 streak heading into a Wednesday doubleheader against Mercer. The team also ranks 19 and 16 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, respectively. Elisa Vasquez has a team-high .500 batting average, to go along with six hits and seven RBIs. Pitcher Jess van der Lind is tops on the team with a 0.00 ERA, 25 strikeouts and a 2-0 record. The Seminoles have faced Southern Miss nine times total, leading the series 6-3. Southern Miss won the last game, however, taking a 4-1 victory in 2000.
Oklahoma enters the tournament as the highest-ranked team, notching a No. 4 spot in both of the major polls. The Sooners are 5-0-1 after sharing the LSU Tiger Classic title with Illinois last weekend. April Valdez leads all starters with a .562 batting average and is second with nine hits. Kristin Vesely has a team-high 10 hits, while Heather Scaglione has two home runs on the year. Nicole Denes sports a team-high 3-0 pitching record, while fanning nine batters and holding a 2.61 ERA. Jessica Johnson is 2-0 but leads the team with a 0.52 ERA. She also has nine strikeouts this season. Southern Miss and Oklahoma have met five times total, and the Lady Eagles have a 3-2 series lead after winning the last meeting, 2-1 in 2001.
Following this weekend's games, Southern Miss returns home to host Southeastern Louisiana in a single game on Wednesday, Feb. 18. First pitch for that game is set for 6 p.m.
