University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Set To Host UTEP in Three-Game Series
4/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 15, 2011
Saturday & Sunday, Apr. 16 & 17, 2011 - Hattiesburg, Miss.
Field: USM Softball Complex - 1 & 3 p.m.; 12 p.m.
Southern Miss: Howard Dobson (McNeese State, '98)
88-113-2 at Southern Miss (Four Seasons); Same
UTEP: Kathleen Rodriguez (St. Mary's (TX), '94)& James Rodriguez (St. Mary's (TX), '93)
182-242-1 at UTEP (7+ Seasons); 350-400-2 (10+ Season)/273-304-2 (9+ Seasons)
The Golden Eagles (12-27, 0-12) are coming off a 6-3 mid-week non-conference win at Nicholls State. Southern Miss tallied 11 hits with Brittany Lilly leading the way going 3-for-3 at the plate. Courtney Hill and Michelle Takeda added two hits each. Britney Dinelt blasted her third home run of the season.
Southern Miss is batting .225 as a team. Offensively, Lilly leads the team in hitting with a .307 average to go with a triple and three home runs. Dinelt is next with a .275 batting average and a team-high 18 RBI.
Sophomore Beth Dietrich (6-13) leads the team in the circle with a 3.50 ERA in 114.0 innings of work. Gabby Luciani (2-4) has pitched 52.1 innings followed by Courtney Ramos at 47.0 innings.
Scouting the Miners
The Miners enter the contest with a 16-26 record overall and 1-11 in C-USA after losing their three-game series to Houston last weekend. The UTEP team is batting .274 as Chelsea Troupe and Kia Moore lead the team offensively with .404 and .347 batting averages, respectively. Troupe leads the league in six offensive categories, including a league-high 14 home runs.
The Miners' pitching staff owns a combined 6.10 team ERA that allows a batting average of .324. Courtney Auger has done the bunk of the work in the circle for UTEP with 107 .1 innings pitched with an ERA of 4.96 and a record of 8-12. Megan Atchison is 3-7 and has pitched 55.0 innings.
Golden Eagle/Miner Series History
Series Record: This is the 16th meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 2006 season. UTEP leads the overall series 9-5-1.
In El Paso: 3-7
In Hattiesburg: 2-2-1
At Neutral Sites: 0-0
Southern Miss' Series Streak: Loss 4
First Meeting: Mar. 25, 2006 (W 14-1 in El Paso)
Last Meeting: Apr. 3, 2010 (L 3-8 in El Paso)
On Deck
Southern Miss will step out of league play in a mid-week contest against Alcorn State on Apr. 20. The Athletic Department will have a formal dedication ceremony to mark the completion of softball stadium which includes player and coaches' locker room, training room, grand stand and bleacher seating, press box, permanent concession stand and bathrooms. The dedication ceremony will start at 4 p.m.
