University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Hosts Marshall in Three-Game Conference Series
4/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 5, 2012
Game 1 vs. Marshall | Friday, April 6 | 6:00 p.m. CT | Hattiesburg, Miss.
Ticket Information | | Promotions
Game 2 vs. Marshall | Saturday, April 7 | 10:00 a.m. CT | Hattiesburg, Miss.
Ticket Information | | Promotions
Game 3 vs. Marshall | Saturday, April 7 | 12:00 p.m. CT | Hattiesburg, Miss.
Ticket Information | | Promotions
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - After rain kept them off the field on Wednesday, the Southern Miss softball team will begin a four-game homestand on Friday when they host Conference USA foe Marshall for a three-game series at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
The Golden Eagles (11-20, 3-9 C-USA) are coming off a 1-2 showing against C-USA rival Memphis and will look to earn their first conference series victory of the season this weekend when the Herd (20-15, 8-4 C-USA) comes to town. Topping Marshall will be a tough task as they sport a perfect 6-0 record this season in conference road sets, with sweeps over Memphis and UTEP over the past three weeks.
A pair of pitchers has led the way for Marshall in the circle with Andi Williamson racking up the larger majority of work with 129.1 innings this season. Williamson (14-9) sports a team-best 1.95 ERA with 13 complete games and a league-high 166 strikeouts to 70 walks.
At the plate, the Thundering Herd boasts a potent offense that is hitting at a .277 clip as a team and is led by Melissa Loesing's .356 average. On the base paths, though, is where Marshall might be the most dangerous with 91 stolen bases, good for third-best nationally.
For Southern Miss, the bats have gone quiet as of late with just two active Golden Eagles hitting over the 300 mark in conference play. They will look to rebound this weekend behind the play of senior leader Leslie LeJune, who has turned in a .395 average in C-USA games and a team-high 10 RBI.
In the circle, senior Courtney Ramos and junior Beth Dietrich have gotten most of the work in recent weeks with the duo sporting an ERA of 3.31 and 3.44, respectively. Against Memphis, Dietrich picked up one victory in three appearances, all in relief, and has currently pitched shutout softball for ten innings and has allowed just one run over the last 16.
The Golden Eagles lead the overall series with Marshall 12-7 in a matchup that dates back to 2006. Southern Miss is also 6-3 over the previous three seasons but it was the Thundering Herd that came away with the series victory over the Golden Eagles last season in Huntingdon, W.V.
Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m. and will be just the 10th night game this season for Southern Miss. On Saturday, the teams will wrap up the series with a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m.
Students of the DuBard School will be in the pressbox to take over the public address for the first three innings of tomorrow's game while the Oak Grove Athletic Association softball teams have been invited to participate in the opening game's National Anthem. The Hattiesburg Zoo will also be bringing their furry - and not so furry - friends to Friday's match-up.
At the ticket gate, all kids will be able to enter the park for free with the purchase of an adult ticket, which begin at just $6.
