University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Hosts MVSU in Home Opener
2/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team is set for its home opener this weekend as the Golden Eagles welcome the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State to Hattiesburg. The home opener is slated for Friday, Feb. 20 at 6:00 p.m. The two teams conclude the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 21, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Friday's game is part of #GoGoldFriday and the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free gold t-shirt. Fans attending Saturday's games can use their softball ticket for free admission to the Southern Miss women's basketball game against Charlotte. Following Saturday's games, Southern Miss players will sign 2015 schedule posters.
Southern Miss enters the home opening weekend with a 5-4 overall record. The Golden Eagles finished the Lion Classic II last weekend with a 3-1 record with a pair of run-rule victories and a shutout win.
Collectively, the Black and Gold hit .425 during the tournament with six doubles, three triples, five home runs (including a grand slam), 46 runs scored and 45 RBI. As a team, boasted a .650 slugging percentage and .504 on-base clip. Six different players batted .400 or better on the weekend and fifteen (15) different players had at least one hit on the weekend. In addition, the team was a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases and five different players had a stolen base.
Mississippi Valley State comes to Hattiesburg with a 1-8 overall record. The Devilettes opened the season at the 2015 Bulldog Kickoff hosted by Mississippi State. MVSU played in the Mardi Gras Classic hosted by Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend.
Southern Miss is 50-12 (.806) all-time against current members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and 3-0 under first-year head coach Wendy Hogue. This season, the Golden Eagles opened up 2015 play with a 7-4 victory over Jackson State at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala. The following weekend in the Lion Classic II in Hammond, La., the Black and Gold opened the tournament with a 24-1 win in five innings over Arkansas-Pine Bluff before notching a 4-0 win against UAPB the following day.
The Golden Eagles are 3-2 all-time against the Devilettes with all five meetings coming in tournament play. The three-game series will mark the first time the two teams have met on the softball diamond outside of a tournament setting.
The two teams last met in 2012 at the Gold Pub & Grill Classic in Hattiesburg with MVSU recording a 6-1 victory over Southern Miss in the contest. Southern Miss won the first two meetings in series claiming a pair of 5-0 wins at the 2005 Mercer Classic and the 2008 Louisiana Classic. The Devilettes edged the Golden Eagles, 5-3, in the second meeting of the 2008 Louisiana Classic for their first victory in the series. The Black and Gold notched a 2-1 win in the 2011 Southern Miss Invitational.
Live stats and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available throughout the weekend.
Scouting the Opposition:
Like Southern Miss, Mississippi Valley State enters the weekend without playing a home game. The Devilettes dropped games against Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee (2x) in the opening weekend, while posting a 6-5 victory over Austin Peay. MVSU was swept in the Mardi Gras Classic, falling to No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette (2x), Idaho State (2x) and Central Arkansas.
