Southern Miss
Middle Tennessee
Softball Edged in Final Inning vs. Blue Raiders
3/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Southern Miss softball team led 2-1 heading into the final inning of play, but a two-RBI single gave Middle Tennessee a come-from-behind 3-2 walk-off victory on Sunday afternoon at the Blue Raider Softball Field in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The game, which was pushed back to 2:00 p.m. from its original noon start time, had a pair of rain delays -- 37 minutes and nine minutes -- throughout the course of the game.
Six different batters combined for seven hits on the day led by Tori Dew who notched two base knocks. Lauren Holifield drove home dew with a RBI triple, while Rachel Johnson also drove in a run. Samantha Reynolds scored a run on the day.
In the circle, Samantha Robles took the hard-luck loss. The Texas City, Texas native scattered eight hits (one extra-base hit) in 6.1 innings of work. Robles allowed three runs with a walk and three strikeouts.
Middle Tennessee scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The leadoff batter was hit by a pitch and stole second base to move into scoring position. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner over to third base and a wild pitch allowed the run to score without a hit.
Southern Miss answered in the top of the second inning. With one out, Robles singled to right center field. Bailey Stokes followed with a single. Reynolds, the flex player, entered to run at second base. Kaelyn Christofferson walked to load the bases. R. Johnson singled off of the pitcher's glove to score Reynolds and tie the score at 1-1.
The Golden Eagles took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Dew singled to left field. Holifield followed with a triple off the right field wall to give the Black and Gold a 2-1 advantage.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh inning. With a runner on first and one out, the Blue Raiders doubled to right field just over the head of the Golden Eagles outfielder. Rain caused a delay of nearly 10 minutes and when play resumed, a two-RBI single to right center field gave Middle Tennessee a 3-2 win.
Southern Miss returns to action on Wednesday, March 16 as the Golden Eagles play host to South Alabama. First pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m. Live stats, live audio, live video, and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available throughout the game.
