University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Takes on Western Kentucky to Open Conference Play
3/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss softball team opens Conference USA play against Western Kentucky. The Golden Eagles open the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday slated to start at 11 a.m. with the second game immediately following its conclusion. The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday at noon.
Sundays contest is the first Family Day of the season. Fans can purchase four (4) general admission tickets and a $10 concession voucher for just $25 at southernmisstickets.com.
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend 9-12 overall while WKU is 15-6 overall, neither team has played a league game yet. Southern Miss is looking to bounce back from tough midweek losses against Southeastern Louisiana and South Alabama while WKU picked up two midweek wins.
Following this series, the Golden Eagles take on another SEC opponent in Auburn in doubleheader action on Monday. All games are streamed on CUSA.tv ($) and can be heard on 1400AM The Score.
Keep up with all the latest news and information by visiting southernmiss.com or fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/southernmisssb along with @southernmisssb on Twitter and Instagram.
Series Record (last meeting)
Last season, the Golden Eagles traveled to Bowling Green to take on the Hilltoppers in what became a weather-shortened two-game series. WKU claimed both, 11-6 and 4-1. The Hilltoppers hold a 6-2 all-time record over the Golden Eagles. Both Southern Miss victories came in Hattiesburg and were extra-inning victories.
Scouting the Opponents
Both the Golden Eagles and the Hilltoppers rank in the top five in C-USA team batting averages as Southern Miss ranks fifth with a .274 mark and WKU sits in second at .314. In ERA standings, WKU has a 3.24 for the sixth-best mark while Southern Miss posts a 3.66 good for eighth.
WKU is led by Paige Carter who is hitting a .404 on the season behind 23 hits and 23 RBI giving her a .702 slugging percentage. Maddie Bowlds (.380), Brittany Vaughn (.349), Jordan Thomas (.346) and Kelsey McGiffun (.302) are all hitting in the .300s behind Carter.
In the circle, Kelsey Aikey is sporting a 2.42 ERA with a 4-1 record and 36 strikeouts while Shelby Nunn posts a 2.54 ERA with a 10-4 ERA and 56 strikeouts.
