University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Softballers Host Southeastern Louisiana for Home Finale
5/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 1, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss will host Southeastern Louisiana to wrap up their 2012 home schedule at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
The Lions took a 3-2 decision over the Golden Eagles earlier this season on February 22 in Hammond, but Southern Miss holds a 23-22 advantage in the series that dates back to 1985. The Golden Eagles (13-30) scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning of that game but Southeastern rallied back with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to win the pitcher's duel.
Both teams have seen their season's unfold in a similar manner since that matchup. Southeastern (11-34) boasts a .234 team batting average to the Golden Eagles' .238 success rate at the plate. The teams also feature one hitter above the 300 mark, Caroline Walker (.327) for Southern Miss and Megan McCollum (.317) for SLU.
The similarities between the two ball clubs continue over into the field and pitching staffs with relatively similar overall team marks.
In the field, Southern Miss has a .955 fielding percentage while the Lions have a .950 mark, and in the circle, SLU has posted a 4.81 team ERA - led by Kati Morse (3.79) - to Southern Miss' 3.92 team era, led by Beth Dietrich (3.23).
Following Wednesday's home finale, the Golden Eagles will travel to Houston for a three-game Conference USA series to complete their regular season schedule over the weekend. The Golden Eagles have also qualified for the 2012 C-USA Softball Championship for the fifth consecutive season, held May 10-12 in Birmingham, Ala., at host school UAB.
