Southern Miss
Baylor
Big Inning Lifts Golden Eagle Softball Over Baylor
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 10, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Megan Hill tallied a bases-clearing double to cap a four-run, third inning to lead Southern Miss to a 4-3 non-conference softball victory over Baylor here Tuesday night at the USM Softball Complex.
The Golden Eagles improved to 11-13-1 on the season as they played their first home game since Feb. 22.
"We finally played a game from start to finish," said Southern Miss coach Howard Dobson. "It was nice to see our kids come out and play together. They could have gone south at the beginning of the game, but they stayed with the game plan."
Down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third, the Golden Eagles got a one-out walk from Chanell Thurman and then Stephanie Shiflet delivered a bunt single. After a popout, Leslie LeJune reached base on a strikeout in which the third strike was dropped by the Baylor catcher.
Kristin Pilgrim then added a bases loaded walk to plate Southern Miss' first run before Hill, who had two of the Golden Eagles' five hits, laced a pitch just inside the leftfield line at the fence that cleared the bases to give the home team the lead.
USM starter Samantha Davis (3-5) threw a complete game as she allowed three runs (two earned) on 10 hits and fanned five while walking just one.
"I can't say enough about the way threw tonight," Dobson added. "She had command of all of her pitches, hit her spots and kept the hitters off balance. She showed a lot of guts tonight."
Baylor collected three hits and took advantage of a pair of Southern Miss errors in its three-run third.
Lady Bear starter Whitney Canion went the distance for BU allowing four unearned runs on five hits with four walks and nine strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 10-7.
The Golden Eagles continue their five-game homestand, Wednesday, when they entertain Nicholls State for a 6 p.m., single game at the USM Softball Complex.
