University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Jenkins Powers Southern Miss To Split With Ole Miss
3/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Files associated with this release:
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Jenkins Powers Southern Miss To Split With Ole Miss
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- With two runners on and two outs, Auriel Jenkins blasted a home run off the scoreboard in left field to spark a sixth-inning, come-from-behind rally in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader, helping Southern Miss to the non-conference split with Ole Miss at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Down 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Eagles (12-14) scored four runs on three hits and took advantage of two Ole Miss errors to take the second game win. Jenkins' blast tied the game at five runs apiece, and Melissa Prouty scored after Sue Logan hit into an error for the winning run.
Senior Jessica Holaway then came in to face the minimum in the final frame, picking up her first save of the season and preserving the victory for Southern Miss starter Danielle Wymer (3-4).
In the opening game, the Lady Eagles had a pair of runners on with two outs in the final inning, but could not get them across, settling for the 4-3 loss to the Rebels (7-17).
"(The second game victory) was huge," Southern Miss Head Coach Gay McNutt said. "We battled back in the first game, but we came up short. We wanted to get more out of pitchers and our offense, and we did that in the second game.
The Lady Eagles tallied a combined 17 hits on the day, scoring three runs on nine hits in the opener and six runs on eight hits in the nightcap. Ole Miss finished with 14 hits overall, seven in each contest.
Diane Hammes led all players with five hits over the two games, including a perfect 4-for-4, one RBI performance in game one. Jenkins, Logan, Jessica Huerta, Charity Butler and Ashley Davis all finished with two hits each. Davis also had a two-run home run in the opener.
Freshman Jessica Saunier (1-3) took the opening-game loss, giving up three runs, two earned, in the first inning before giving way to Holaway, who finished out the game allowing one run on five hits in 6.2 innings of work. Wymer worked through six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits with three strikeouts and five walks in the game-two win. Holaway earned the save, giving up just one hit in the final inning.
For Ole Miss, Mandy Ott and DeDe Justice both had three hits, while Andrea Brahs finished with a pair of RBIs. Mary Jane Callahan threw six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits in the game one win. Dana Brill, who picked up the save in the opener, took the second-game loss, giving up six runs, one earned, on eight hits.
Southern Miss returns to action with a home doubleheader, Thursday, against Louisiana Tech. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. The team then travels to Tampa, Fla., to take on USF in the second league series of the year.
