Southern Miss
Florida Atlantic
Softball Falls In Doubleheader with FAU
5/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team honored the 2000 Women's College World Series team prior to a doubleheader with Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. The Owls spoiled the celebration as FAU posted a 12-0 win in game one before notching a 5-1 victory over the Golden Eagles in the night cap.
Offensively, the Black and Gold recorded eight hits on the day, including a pair of hits by Bailey Stokes and Kaelyn Christofferson. Stokes led the power attack for the Golden Eagles as one of her hits was a home run to left field - her team-leading fourth home run of the season. Sarah Evans, Arielle Pollock, Katie Cleary and Morgan McKeever each notched hits on the day, with Evans' hit going for a double. Priscilla Burns and Samantha Reynolds also reached base on the day with walks.
Evans was also hit by a pitch, giving the junior 19 in her career. The 19 HBPs ties Evans for 10th all-time in school history with Allison Bullard (2005-08) and Jennifer Fox (2005-08). She is now one shy of tying Jessica Huerta (2003-06) and Chrystal Stevens (1999-00) for eighth all-time.
In the circle, two pitchers saw action against the FAU hitters. Shelbee Rodgers got the ball in game one. The senior was charged with the loss surrendering 13 hits in 6.0 innings of work. She allowed nine runs (eight earned runs), walking six and striking out one. Danielle Block saw time in both games, taking the loss in game two. She scattered 12 hits in 8.0 innings of work. Block surrendered eight runs (four earned runs) with four walks and three strikeouts on the day.
Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic conclude the series with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the Softball Complex. The game will be Senior Day for the Golden Eagles and the Black and Gold will honor its two seniors prior to the game. Live stats, live video and in-game tweets will be available throughout the game.
Game 1 Recap
In game one, Florida Atlantic jumped out to an early lead and Southern Miss was unable to overcome the deficit, dropping the 12-0 decision.
FAU was the first team to score, plating a run in the top of the first inning. The Owls led off the game with a bunt single. The runner advanced to second on a groundout and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. The runner came home to score on a wild pitch, taking a 1-0 lead.
The Owls added three runs in the second inning. The leadoff batter was hit by a pitch to place a runner on base After two outs, Florida Atlantic used back-to-back triples to score two runs. A third consecutive hit scored the third run of the inning.
Florida Atlantic added an insurance run in the third inning. The leadoff batter singled through the right side. With two outs, FAU used a double to place two runners in scoring position. The Owls used a wild pitch to score the lead runner and the Golden Eagles closed out the inning with a foul out.
The score remained 5-0 until the seventh inning when the Owls scored seven runs on four hits and three Golden Eagle miscues. The inning was highlighted for FAU by a solo home run by Laura Mann.
Game 2 Recap
The second game of the day saw a much more competitive contest between the two teams.
Florida Atlantic once again jumped out to an early lead. The Owls started the game with back-to-back bunt singles and a sacrifice bunt to move two runners into scoring position. FAU loaded the bases with a full count walk. The next batter singled up the middle to score two runs. On the play, the batter advanced to second on the throw, leaving the Owls with a pair of base runners. Another walk loaded the bases once again and the lead runner came home to score on a passed ball. The Golden Eagles ended the inning with a ground out, leaving the score 3-0.
Southern Miss chipped into the lead in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Stoke belted a solo home run to left field to put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard. The home run was the team-leading fourth of the season for the sophomore transfer.
FAU responded in the top of the third inning with a solo home run by Melissa Martinez, extending the advantage back to three runs.
The Golden Eagles had several opportunities, but were unable to capitalize. In the fourth inning, the Black and Gold used a walk by Evans and a single by Stokes to put a runner in scoring position, but were unable to chip into the lead. In the fifth inning, Southern Miss was able to load the bases. Christofferson started the rally with a single to left field. Reynolds drew a two-out walk and Cleary followed with a single through the right side of the infield. Florida Atlantic used a strikeout to end the inning, stranding the tying run on base.
The Owls added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning. FAU used a triple and a single to score a run and extend the lead to 5-1.
