University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Powers Past DePaul In Saturday Doubleheader
4/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Files associated with this release:
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Southern Miss Powers Past DePaul In Saturday Doubleheader
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss picked up a pair of Conference USA softball wins over visiting DePaul in Saturday's doubleheader at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
The Lady Eagles (26-22, 13-4 in C-USA) edged the Blue Demons 2-1 in the first game before exploding for a 12-4, run-rule victory in the second game. Over the span, Southern Miss reeled off 14 runs on 16 hits and blasted three home runs -- two by Ashley Brenan and one by Ashley Davis -- to move into a tie for second place in league standings, coupled with USF's split today with Houston. Both teams trail league-leader Louisville by two games.
Pitchers Jessica Holaway (13-5) and Danielle Wymer (7-6) picked up the respective victories. Holaway took the first game with a complete-game performance in which she allowed just one run on seven hits and had five strikeouts. Wymer was the game two victor, throwing 3.1 innings and giving up four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. Holaway earned the save in game two -- her third of the season -- after pitching the final 1.2 innings without giving up a run and striking out three.
"Our team knows how important every game is," Southern Miss Head Coach Gay McNutt said. "We are just taking it one game at a time. The first game was a little too close for comfort, but we exploded in the second. I was very pleased with our performance today."
DePaul (20-22-1) finished with five runs on 15 hits for the day and committed five errors. Sarah Martz (15-11) took the game one loss, throwing six innings with two runs on four hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Kate Sheaks (1-4) took the game two loss after tossing 1.1 innings and giving up five runs on four hits with one walk. Tracie Adix and Leslie Scott also pitched in the game, combining for seven runs, six earned, on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts in three total innings.
In the opener, Southern Miss benefitted from Brenan's home run in the first and Davis' blast in the sixth, edging the defending C-USA champions.
That momentum shifted into game two where the Lady Eagles notched seven runs in the second inning and then used Brenan's 3-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the fifth to pick up the run rule win. In the game, Brenan led the team with four RBIs, while Jessica Huerta added two RBIs.
Charity Butler led Southern Miss with four hits on the day -- three in game two -- while Davis and Brenan both added three hits. Huerta and Sue Logan tacked on a pair of hits in the doubleheader. Brenan led all players with five RBIs.
For DePaul, Saskia Roberson, Dana Kenney, Sheaks and Sarah Douglas all had a pair of hits. Roberson had four RBIs on the day.
The two teams complete the weekend series with a final game on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
