Softball Set to Play Middle Tennessee
4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team is set to play Middle Tennessee in a three-game Conference USA series at the Southern Miss Softball Complex beginning on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Because of expected weather, game times for the weekend have been altered.
The two teams will now attempt to play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 2:00 p.m. with a single game on Monday slated for 11:00 a.m.
The new game times are subject to change based on weather throughout the weekend.
Live stats, live video and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will still be available throughout the series.
Southern Miss enters the weekend 16-26 overall and 2-13 in C-USA, while Middle Tennessee is 15-23 overall and 2-16 in league play.
The two teams have met four times in program history with the Golden Eagles holding a 3-1 advantage in the series.
The first meeting between the two teams came in 2001 with the Black and Gold notching a 4-3 victory over the Blue Raiders in the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C.
The two teams played for the first time as conference foes last season as Southern Miss posted a 2-1 series win against Middle Tennessee at the Softball Complex.
The Golden Eagles won the first game 9-2, before falling in 6-3 in 11 innings to the Blue Raiders. Southern Miss posted a 5-4 win in the finale to claim the Conference USA series.
Southern Miss enters the weekend after a doubleheader on the road against in-state opponent Ole Miss, while Middle Tennessee had a pair of midweek contests canceled due to inclement weather.
True freshman Samantha Reynolds led the team against the Rebels on Wednesday. Reynolds led all players with four hits, including three doubles on the day. Reynolds also scored a run and stole a base. Selena Estrada and Rachel Johnson each had a pair of hits on the day, while Katie Cleary, Shelbee Rodgers, Mallory Hayden, Kaelyn Christofferson and Sarah Evans each added base hits. Estrada and Christofferson each had doubles in the game, while Morgan McKeever drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Scouting the Opposition:
The Blue Raiders fell in all three contests against a hot Marshall team over the weekend. Samantha Nieves hit .667 (6 for 9) from the plate with a home run and a double. Morgan Harris and Kristin Uselton both led the team with three RBI. Harris hit two home runs over the weekend in consecutive games, giving her a team-high four homers.