University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Team Hosts No. 17 LSU In A Midweek Matchup
3/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 31, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team returns home to host No. 17 LSU in a midweek tilt at 6 p.m., Wednesday.
Southern Miss is 18-16-1 overall and 7-5 in C-USA play after a 3-2 win over Memphis Sunday to win the series. Freshman Ashley Razey hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning in leading the Golden Eagles past the Tigers.
Megan Hill paces Southern Miss on offense this season. The right fielder leads the squad in batting average at .421 to go along with seven home runs, 13 doubles and 33 RBI. Senior Kristen Pilgrim upped her batting average to .359 with seven home runs and 28 RBI after hitting her first grand slam of her career over the weekend. Sophomore second baseman Courtney Hill has notched a .333 batting average with four doubles and four triples and 18 RBI.
Four Golden Eagles have posted a 3.21 earned run average as a staff, with freshman Courtney Ramos (9-7) leading the way with a 2.43 ERA and a team-best 80 strikeouts in 98.0 innings worked. Senior Samantha Davis owns a 3.03 ERA and a record of 8-6, having won her last five outings.
No. 17 LSU comes into the game with a 21-7 record and 8-3 in SEC play. The Tigers have four players batting .300 or better led by Kirsten Shortridge at .386 average, followed by Ashley Applegate and Rachel Mitchell with a .314 and .304, respectively. Shortridge has a team-leading 39 hits, while Mitchell has 23 RBI.
The pitching staff has a team ERA of 2.42, led by Cody Trahan with a 1.87 ERA while working 78.2 innings. Brittany Mack has a record of 8-1 with an ERA of 2.64 in 71.2 innings pitched and a team-high 84 strikeouts.
Following the LSU game, the Southern Miss hits the road for a three-game C-USA series against UCF, April 4-5.
