University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Steps Back into Conference Play with Tulsa This Weekend
3/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 23, 2012
Saturday, March 24 | 1:00 p.m. CT
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Saturday, March 24 | 3:00 p.m. CT
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Sunday, March 25 | 1:00 p.m. CT
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team will continue their eight-game homestand when they host Conference USA foe Tulsa in a three-game set at the Southern Miss Softball Complex beginning with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m.
Saturday's games will also be the annual pink game where the Golden Eagles will try to help "Strike Out Cancer." The first 100 fans into the park will also receive a commemorative pink t-shirt with "Strike Out Cancer" rubber bracelets to follow.
Southern Miss (10-14, 2-4) enters the weekend fresh after Wednesday's trip to South Alabama was rained out. True freshman Caroline Walker and senior Leslie LeJune have continued to swing the bat exceptionally well over the past two weeks and will look to carry that momentum into this weekend's contest.
LeJune, a preseason All-C-USA member, stretched her reached base streak to 11 games with a 7-of-14 performance last weekend and raised her average from .308 to .342. Walker, the team's primary shortstop, showed her range last week with a pair of acrobatic diving catches and her .508 slugging percentage is a team-best.
Pitching for Southern Miss was also strong over the past week as Courtney Ramos and Beth Dietrich combined to hold Southern University scoreless with just four hits over two games and Ramos tossed the team's first one-hitter since April 20, 2011. It was also the first time the Golden Eagles had consecutive shutouts since April 2010.
Tulsa (19-6, 5-1 C-USA) touts one of the league's best records and is the premier hitting team in the league with a .325 team batting average. Caitlin Everett (.402) and Samantha Cobb (.393) tout the fourth and fifth highest batting averages in the league and, between them, have combined for 72 total hits this season.
The Hurricane are equally tough in the circle, sporting a 2.35 team ERA - second-best amongst C-USA teams - led by Lacey Middlebrooks (7-2) slim 1.45 ERA. Aimee Creger (2.86) boasts 80 strikeouts in just 63.2 innings of work and is 9-2 in 16 appearances this season. On the year, they have swept East Carolina and took the series victory over Central Florida two weeks ago in Orlando.
Southern Miss is 6-15 all-time against the Golden Hurricane in the series the dates back to 1999. Sunday's game, a single game, will also begin at 1 p.m.
