Southern Miss
North Texas
Rally Falls Short at North Texas
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
DENTON, Texas - The Southern Miss softball team dropped a 4-2 decision on the road to North Texas on Sunday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium in Denton, Texas. The Golden Eagles (15-10, 1-5 Conference USA) rallied from a four-run deficit, but were unable to overcome the Mean Green (10-14, 3-3 C-USA) advantage.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles outhit the Mean Green, 8-to-7, but were unable to get a timely hit, leaving nine runners on base. Southern Miss was led by Mallory Hayden and Morgan McKeever who each recorded multiple hits on the day. Hayden finished the game 3-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored, while McKeever boasted two hits. Bailey Stokes scored the second run of the game for the Black and Gold off of a RBI by Kaelyn Christofferson.
In the circle, Jillian Johnson was charged with the loss. The true freshman allowed four runs on four hits and a walk. The Mean Green took advantage of two pitches, hitting a pair of two-run home runs in the contest. Johnson gave way to Danielle Block who logged an impressive 3.2 scoreless innings. Block held the hot-hitting Mean Green offense to just three singles while walking none and striking out one to give the Golden Eagles a chance to attempt a comeback.
North Texas was the first team to score, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the second and third. In the second, UNT's Bryana Wade hit a two-run home run to left center field to put the home team on the scoreboard. In the third, the Mean Green used a two-run homer by Kat Strunk to extend their lead to 4-0.
The score remained 4-0 until the top of the sixth inning. Hayden doubled to left field to start the inning. She moved over to third as the Mean Green pitcher was called for an illegal pitch. Stokes followed with her team-leading 24th walk of the season. With runners on the corners, Southern Miss took advantage of a wild pitch to score Hayden from third and move Stokes into scoring position. Stokes moved to third on an illegal pitch and came around to score on a RBI groundout by Christofferson.
The Golden Eagles were unable to extend the game in the seventh, dropping the 4-2 decision.
Southern Miss returns to action on Wednesday, March 18 as the Golden Eagles travel to Mobile, Ala. for a midweek game with No. 24 South Alabama. Live stats and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available throughout the game.
