University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Softball Team Opens Home Schedule This Weekend
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 19, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team opens its home schedule, hosting the Second Annul Mizuno Classic, Feb. 20-21 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Teams included are Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin, Alcorn State, Notre Dame and Southern Miss.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for high school age and under. Games are slated to start at 9 a.m., with Louisiana Tech against Stephen F. Austin, followed by Alcorn State and Stephen F. Austin at 11:30, LA Tech and Notre Dame at 2 p.m., Southern Miss versus Alcorn State at 4:30 p.m., and the night cap features Southern Miss and Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
Southern Miss is coming off a 9-1 win over Southern University. The Golden Eagles bring a 5-0 record into the Classic and is off to its best start in school history. For the first time since 2004, Southern Miss received votes in the polls (10 points in the USA Today/NFCA Poll). Six Golden Eagles are batting over .300 led by Leslie LeJune with a .444 batting clip followed by Megan Hill at .429, Alexis Hurley at .417, Jill Mathis at .400, Logan James at .357 and Christina Roosmalen at .333. LeJune leads the team with eight hits while eight players have recorded at least two or more RBI and two or more runs scored. The Golden Eagles pitching has a team ERA of 0.88 with 29 strikeouts. Courtney Ramos owns a 3-0 record while freshmen Beth Dietrich and Gabby Luciani each have a 1-0 record. Dietrich has yet to give up an earned run, pitching 8.0 innings and has an ERA of 0.00. Ramos has a worked 12.2 innings and has an ERA of 1.11 ERA and Luciani has a 1.35 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched. Southern Miss is out-hitting its opponents .310 to .197 with 40 hits including 19 for extra bases.
Alcorn State enters the weekend with a 1-1 record and returns 12 letterwinners, including eight position starters and four pitchers and welcomes eight newcomers. Alcorn was picked to finish third in the Eastern Division of the SWAC voted on by the conference coaches. Junior Christine Garcias led the team a year ago in batting with a .374 clip with a team-high 49 hits, followed by sophomore Adrianna Harrington at .310. Elise Powell finished with an 11-6 record and a 2.30 ERA. Southern Miss leads the series with Alcorn State, 2-1. Alcorn defeated the Golden Eagles last season in Hattiesburg.
Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 1-5 record. The Fighting Irish returns 13 letterwinners, including seven position starters, one pitcher and welcomes five newcomers. Freshman Amy Buntin leads the team with a .417 batting average and followed by three other players batting over .300. Jody Valadivia comes in with a 1-2 record and a 4.55 ERA while pitching 20.0 innings. She struck out 26. Southern Miss and Notre Dame have met only once in 2002 with the Fighting Irish winning 6-0.
Stephen F. Austin comes in with a 1-5 record. The Ladyjacks return nine letterwinners including seven position starters, two pitchers and welcomes six newcomers to the 2010 squad. SFA was picked to finish second in the Southland Conference voted on by the league coaches. The Ladyjacks placed five players on the preseason first team all-conference. Jessica Arana and Briana Bishop lead the team with a .417 and .313 batting average, respectively. Monika Covington has pitched 21.0 innings with 14 strikeouts and a 5.33 ERA. Former Southern Miss coach Gay McNutt is in her third season with the Ladyjacks. SFA leads the series with Southern Miss, 4-2.
Louisiana Tech enters the weekend with a 2-0 record following a double-header sweep of Southeastern Louisiana. The Techsters return 15 letterwinners, including six starters and welcome four newcomers to the 2010 squad. Tech was picked fifth in the WAC by the league coaches. Senior Amberly Waits has a .667 batting average and a team-high four hits. Junior Meghan Krieg has a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 7.0 innings with six strikeouts. LA Tech leads the series with Southern Miss, 13-11. The Techsters defeated Southern Miss last season in the Mizuno Classic, 2-0.
Following the Mizuno Classic, the Golden Eagles will travel to Mobile, Ala., to play South Alabama in a single game. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m.
