Softball Concludes Regular Season Road Play, Travels to East Carolina
4/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 30, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team plays its final road games when the Golden Eagles travel to East Carolina for a three-game Conference USA series. The Saturday doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m. (central) and the single game on Sunday is slated for an 11 a.m. start.
Southern Miss comes into the game with a 22-22 record overall and 6-12 in league play. Junior Jill Mathis leads the team offensively with a .319 batting clip while senior Megan Hill is next at .300. Mathis and sophomore Leslie LeJune lead the team with 45 hits apiece and Hill leads the team with 29 RBIs, three triples and eight home runs. LeJune leads the team with 35 runs scored. The Golden Eagle pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.03 with a combined 252 strikeouts. Freshman Gabby Luciani owns a team-low 2.14 ERA in 150.2 innings with 147 strikeouts and a 10-8 record. Courtney Ramos owns a 7-9 record while working 100.1 innings and 66 strikeouts.
East Carolina comes into the weekend having won nine of its last 11 games, including a nine game winning streak. The Pirates are 31-16 overall and 10-5 in league play. Charina Sumner and Marina Gusman-Brown pace the Pirates offensively, with a team-best .347 and .323 batting average, respectively. Sumner has a team-high 51 hits, while Gusman-Brown leads the team with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. East Carolina's pitching staff leads the league with an ERA of 1.74. Toni Paisley has a team and league-low 1.23 ERA and a 22-9 record in 205.1 innings of work and 271 strike outs. Faith Sutton is 9-7 in 103.2 innings of work with 87 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.70.
Southern Miss and East Carolina have played 26 times in a series dating back to 1985. Southern Miss leads the overall series 16-10 against East Carolina including a 3-1 win against the Pirates last season.
Following the East Carolina series, Southern Miss returns home to close out the regular season with a five-game homestand, beginning with a doubleheader against Northwestern State, May 5.