University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball To Host No. 13 Louisiana-Lafayette Tuesday
4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 3, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team plays its second to last non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, concluding a seven-game homestand as it hosts No. 13 Louisiana-Lafayette in a 6 p.m., contest. Louisiana-Lafayette is the third ranked team to visit Hattiesburg this season.
The game can be heard on the Southern Miss ISP Sports Network by logging onto SouthernMiss.com, with Jason Baker providing the play-by-play. Live stats will also be available on SouthernMiss.com.
This will be the third meeting between the two schools this season, as Louisiana-Lafayette claimed the first two, 9-0 and 15-0 on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 respectively, at the Ragin' Cajun Invitational in Lafayette, La. Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series 31-3.
Louisiana-Lafayette will make its first trip to Hattiesburg since the 2002 season, claiming a doubleheader 2-1 and 3-1. Southern Miss has lost seven-straight to the Ragin' Cajuns, the last victory coming in the 1999 season, a 8-4 win on April 25, 1999 at the Lady Vol Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn. Southern Miss' last victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in Hattiesburg came in 1988, a 2-1 victory.
Southern Miss enters the game with a 21-23 overall record, 7-2 mark in Conference USA, following a league series sweep over UCF. The sweep was the team's first in Conference USA since sweeping Saint Louis last season.
As a team, Southern Miss hits .245, with 265 hits, 171 runs, 56 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 137 RBIs, 127 walks and 75 stolen bases.
Sophomore Jennifer Fox continues to lead the team in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.341), hits (42), home runs (six), RBIs, (30) and total bases (68). Senior Charity Butler, the current Conference USA Hitter of the Week, leads the team with 13 doubles, which ties for the fifth best single-season performance in school history, ranking second with 41 hits and .311 batting average. Senior Ashley Brenan leads the team with 29 runs, 30 walks and 20 stolen bases, ranking second with five home runs.
In the circle, Southern Miss has a 3.42 ERA, with 20 complete games and five shutouts. In 291 innings of work, the five armed staff has allowed 284 hits, 183 runs, 142 earned, walked 171, struck out 197, while holding opposing teams to a .255 batting average.
Freshman Lacey Gros picked up two wins against UCF over the weekend, and leads the team with an 11-10 record and 13 complete games. In 135 innings of work, she has a 2.96 ERA, with 102 hits, 69 runs, 57 earned, 93 walks, 123 strikeouts, while holding opposing hitters to a .209 batting average. Senior Danielle Wymer earned her fifth victory of the season in game two against UCF, and has a 5-4 record, 3.75 ERA and a team-best two shutouts. Freshman Samantha Davis and sophomore Krystal Crooks each have single saves on the year.
Louisiana-Lafayette enters the game with a 29-6 overall record and brings a No. 13 national ranking to Hattiesburg. The Ragin' Cajuns are on a six-game winning streak, following a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday.
The Ragin' Cajuns hit .332 as a team, with 305 hits, 279 runs, 52 doubles, three home runs, 65 home runs, 255 RBIs, 137 walks and 17 stolen bases.
Danyele Gomez leads the team with a .464 batting average, 52 hits, 49 runs, nine doubles, 17 home runs, which also leads the nation and 114 total bases. Lacey Bertucci leads the team with 44 RBIs, also ranking second on the team and third nationally with 15 home runs.
In the circle, Louisiana-Lafayette has a 1.53 ERA, 32 complete games and 18 shutouts. In 214.2 innings of work, the two armed staff has allowed 142 hits, 61 runs, 47 earned, walked 57, struck out 240, while opposing teams are hitting just .182 on the year.
Krystal Lewallen leads the team with a 16-4 record, 1.51 ERA, 18 complete games and seven shutouts. In 125.1 innings of work, she has allowed 94 hits, 39 runs, 27 earned, walked 32, struck out 134, while holding opposing hitters to a .203 batting average. Ashley Kirchberg has a 13-1 record and 1.70 ERA, 14 complete games and a team-high 10 shutouts.
Following Tuesday's game, Southern Miss returns to action, on the road at Memphis this weekend for a three-game series. Game times are set for 1 and 3 p.m., on Saturday, with the series finale at 1 p.m., on Sunday.
