Southern Miss
#23 Florida Atlantic
Softball Edged in Finale at No. 23 Florida Atlantic
3/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Southern Miss softball team played almost even with the top team in Conference USA, but were ultimately edged 3-2 by No. 23 Florida Atlantic on the road at FAU Softball Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
Southern Miss posted five hits, including three extra-base hits. Tori Dew, Lauren Holifield, Sarah Evans, Samantha Papp, and Rachel Johnson each recorded hits on the day with Dew, Evans, and Papp registering doubles. Holifield and R. Johnson each drove in runs, while Arielle Pollock and Sydney Pollock scored the Golden Eagles' two runs.
In the circle, the duo of Danielle Block and Jillian Johnson combined for the complete game. Block, who earned the start, worked 3.0 innings allowing three runs on seven hits with a walk. J. Johnson tossed 3.0 innings of relief allowing no runs on no hits with a walk and striking out a pair.
Florida Atlantic was the first team to score, scratching out a run in the bottom of the first inning. The first two batters of the game singled to give the Owls a pair of base runners. FAU attempted a double steal, but Papp threw out the lead runner for the first out of the inning. With a runner on second, Florida Atlantic used a third single of the inning to score a run. On the play, the batter was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double. The Golden Eagles closed out the inning with a groundout, but trailed 1-0 early.
Southern Miss evened the score in the top of the fourth inning. Dew broke up FAU's no-hit bid with a double off the wall in right center field. A. Pollock entered the game to run at second for Dew. She moved to third as Katie Cleary dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Holifield followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring A. Pollock from third and knotting the score at 1-1.
The nationally-ranked Owls responded in the bottom of the fourth. Emily Lochten begin the inning with a double to center field. The next batter drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right center. On the play, the batter advanced to second on the Golden Eagles' throw to the plate. FAU's Tatum Buckley continued the inning with a RBI double to left center field, putting the home team in front 3-1. J. Johnson entered the game to pitch and induced back-to-back popups to the circle for the first two outs before closing out the inning with a groundout to third.
The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to just one run in the top of the fifth inning. Papp doubled to left field to start the inning for the Black and Gold and S. Pollock entered the game to run at second. S. Pollock moved to third base on a groundout to the pitcher. With two outs, R. Johnson dropped a ball into shallow center field just ahead of a charging FAU outfielder for a base hit. S. Pollock came in to score on the play cutting the margin to 3-2.
The Southern Miss pitching and defense limited Florida Atlantic to just one base runner over the final two innings, giving the team a chance for a comeback.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Golden Eagles used a two-out single by Holifield and a double by Evans to place the potential tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. FAU used a strikeout to end the threat and retain the one-run lead.
Southern Miss returns to action this week as the Golden Eagles play a pair of midweek games. The Black and Gold host McNeese State on Tuesday before traveling to Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday. Live stats and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available throughout the games. Drew Granger will provide play-by-play for the live video stream for the home game against the Cowgirls on Tuesday.
