University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Softball Travels to Nicholls State
4/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 12, 2011
Southern Miss (11-27) at Nicholls State (9-24)
Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2011 - Thibodaux, La.
Field: Colonels Softball Complex - 6 p.m.
Southern Miss: Howard Dobson (McNeese State, '98)
87-113-2 at Southern Miss (Four Seasons); Same
Nicholls State: Jenny Parsons (East Carolina, '96)
163-194 at Nicholls State (6+ Seasons); Same
The Golden Eagles (11-27, 0-12 C-USA) is coming off an 8-5 loss to Tulsa in the final game of a weekend series. Southern Miss scored five runs on six hits. Leslie LeJune led the way with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate while Britney Dinelt was 2-for-3 with her first career grand slam to record all five RBI.
Brittany Lilly leads the team in hitting with a .278 average to go with three home runs and 16 RBI. Britney Dinelt is next with a .276 average followed by Taylor Brown at .257. Dinelt and Jill Mathis lead the team with 17 RBI each while Mathis has a team-leading six home runs.
Sophomore Beth Dietrich (6-13) leads the team in the circle with a 3.47 ERA in 113.0 innings of work. Gabby Luciani (2-4) has pitched 52.1 innings and has 47 strikeouts.
GOLDEN EAGLE/COLONEL SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: This is the 46th meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 1984 season. Nicholls State leads the overall 37-8.
In Thibodaux: 1-14
In Hattiesburg: 7-17
At Neutral Sites: 0-6
Southern Miss' Series Streak: Win 1
First Meeting: Mar. 23, 1984 (L 4-0 in Monroe, La.)
Last Meeting: Feb. 26, 2011 (W 9-1 in Hattiesburg)
SCOUTING NICHOLLS STATE
The Colonels enter the contest with a 9-24 record after an 8-0 loss to LSU on Apr. 6 in Baton Rouge. The Nicholls State team is batting .246 as Megan Gaspard and Ashley Ray lead the team offensively with .304 and .303 batting averages, respectively. Ray leads the 25 RBI and eight home runs.
The Colonels' pitching staff owns a combined 4.03 team ERA that allows a batting average of .324. Ashton Bennett is 5-11 with an ERA of 2.98 in 91.2 innings of work while Carlee Winkleman has pitched 65.1 innings.
Last Time against Nicholls State
The last time the two teams played was Feb. 26 in the Southern Miss Invitational. The Golden Eagles came away with a 9-1 win as freshman Brittany Lilly hit her first career grand slam in collecting four RBI. Southern Miss finished the game with 10 hits.
On Deck
Following the Nicholls State game, the Golden Eagles returns home to host UTEP in a three-game C-USA series, Apr. 16-17. First pitch in the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m., with Sunday's tilt set for 12 p.m.
