University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Softball Opens League Play, Hosts Saint Louis
3/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Games 21-23 vs. Saint Louis
Southern Miss Softball Opens League Play, Hosts Saint Louis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss opens 2004 Conference USA softball action with a three-game home series against Saint Louis, set for this weekend at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss (8-12) holds a 12-3 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-1 mark in games played at home. The Billikens (6-5) took last season's series, 2-1, in St. Louis, Mo. Saturday's action features a doubleheader set for 1 p.m., with the second game to begin at 3 p.m. Sunday's single game is scheduled for 1 p.m. All series games will feature a "Live Stats" Internet broadcast, which can be followed on the SouthernMiss.com softball page.
The Lady Eagles took both games in Thursday's doubleheader against Alabama State via the run-rule, winning the opener 16-5 in five innings and the nightcap 10-0 in five innings. The team combined for 26 runs on 32 hits, with nine doubles, two triples and three home runs on the day, with three players -- Diane Hammes, Sue Logan and Ashley Davis -- leading the way with five hits each.
Freshman pitcher Jessica Saunier (1-2) threw her first career no-hitter in her first career win, allowing just four walks with three strikeouts in the second contest. Sophomore Danielle Wymer (1-4) earned the win in the opening game, scattering six hits and allowing five runs, four earned, with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Seniors Danielle Hatfield and Jessica Holaway continue to lead the Lady Eagles in the circle, both sporting 3-3 records. Hatfield has team-best 3.80 ERA, while Holaway stands second with a 4.67 ERA and has team bests in shutouts (2), innings pitched (45.0) and strikeouts (27).
Senior Heather Bell currently leads the team with a .368 batting average with 14 hits, five doubles, one triple and two home runs. Bell also is tops in runs scored (13) and total bases (27), while also being walked five times. Hammes ranks second on the team in hitting with a .308 batting average. The leftfielder is tied for second with 16 hits and also is second in RBIs (9) but has been hitting the long ball as of late, putting three balls out of the park in the last week. She currently is tied with Sarah Boyd for the team lead in home runs with three. Davis leads the team with 13 RBIs, while also ranking first in hits (17).
Saint Louis enters the weekend series on a three-game win streak, one that includes a midweek sweep over Eastern Illinois. The Billikens got strong pitching performances from Kristin Rossi and Elizabeth Nielsen, who both pitched complete games and combined to allow just two runs, one earned, on 12 hits.
For the season, Kalee Reichert leads with a .385 batting average, while AshLeigh Williams and Adrienne May both have a team-high 12 hits. Ashlee Heady sports a team-best 10 RBIs.
