Southern Miss
Eastern Illinois
Softball Gets Two Wins in Georgia at Owl Classic
2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 28, 2009
KENNESAW, Ga. - Southern Miss scored a school-record run total in a 29-2 victory over North Carolina Central and then ended their day with a 5-3 victory over Eastern Illinois in the rain-shortened Owl Classic here Saturday.
The Golden Eagles are now 8-10-1 on the season, while NC Central falls to 1-16 and EIU holds a 7-4 mark.
After getting rained out yesterday, four different Golden Eagles got things going for Southern Miss in the opening game as they drove in at least four runs and the program surpassed its previous best run total for a game of 24 runs against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 24, 2007.
Alexis Hurley came off the bench with a game-high five RBI, while Courtney Hill, Kristin Pilgrim and Megan Hill added four RBI. Casey Jo Matthews tallied three RBI, while Brandi Alonzo and Leslie LeJune had two each as Southern Miss tallied 21 hits and took advantage of 14 NCCU walks in the contest.
Courtney Hill got the Golden Eagles going in the opening frame by collecting a pair of triples en route to an eight-run first. Hill's second triple of the frame cleared the bases as Southern Miss sent 14 batters to the plate and recorded six hits while taking advantage of two NCCU errors in the process.
The Golden Eagles then scored four runs in the second, seven in the third, sixth in the fourth and four more in the fifth. Megan Hill tallied the only home run of the game, a three-run shot in the fifth, for her team-leading fourth of the season.
Lana Vaughn (1-2) went all five innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts to earn the victory.
In the nightcap, the Golden Eagles got on the board with a pop-up to the infield with runners at second and third. Logan James hit the ball up and the Panther infielders did not communicate, which allowed the ball to drop and Pilgrim to score from third. Pilgrim reached on a double off the left-center wall with two outs.
USM pinch hitter Brittney Jones then extended the Golden Eagle advantage in fourth. With the bases loaded, Jones laced a double into centerfield clearing the bases for a 4-0 Southern Miss lead.
The Panthers cut the gap with a two-run single from Kiley Holtz in the fifth off of USM starter Courtney Ramos, but the Golden Eagles went to the pen and Samantha Davis ended the threat with two quick outs to end the inning.
Southern Miss added another run in the fifth as James reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and then went to third on a single by Ashley Razey and scored when the throw to get Razey at second was wild.
Ramos went 4 1/3 to garner the victory and improve to 6-3 on the season. The freshman allowed both runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Davis retired the first six batters before allowing a run on three hits in the final frame en route to her second save of the campaign. She added three strikeouts.
Because of expected cold weather and potential snow in the area for Sunday, the final day of the competition has been cancelled.
The Golden Eagles remain on the road next week when they play at McNeese State, Tuesday, at 6 p.m., for a single contest and then play at Louisiana-Lafayette for a single game, Wednesday, at 4 p.m.
