Southern Miss
Southern
Bats Come Alive as Softball Takes Win over Southern
4/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Freshman Destini Brown had what could arguably be her best game as a Golden Eagle as Southern Miss took the 8-2 win against Southern on Tuesday evening. The Golden Eagles pick up win number 16 and move to 16-29 on the season. This also marks the fifth win over the Jaguars since beginning the series play.
Brown, a McComb, Miss. native, went 2-for-4 on the night with two homeruns and three RBI. This marks her twelfth multi-hit game on the season and her first three RBI game of her career.
Joining Brown in the multi-hit club is another freshman, Karley Nichols, who was 2-for-3 with one run and senior Ciarra Cherry who had an almost perfect game going 3-for-4 and one run of her own.
The Golden Eagles combined for 12 hits on the night, the most since Southern Miss defeated Saint Louis at the Ole Miss Classic earlier this year. Along with the multi-hit club, Alyssa Davis, Samantha Papp, Sarah Van Schaik, Chase Nelson and Rebekah DiLavore all tallied hits against the Jaguars. Freshman Devyn Holt saw action for the first time this year and scored a single run after coming in for Nelson in the sixth inning.
Kim Crowson (8-9) got the start, her 19th in the circle and pitched four complete innings, allowing two runs (both unearned) and had three strikeouts. Left-handed pitcher Reagan Watkins came in relief and pitched two innings allowing no runs and had a career high five strikeouts. Jillian Johnson finished the game with a single inning and allowed no runs and had a strikeout of her own.
After being held scoreless through the first two innings the Golden Eagles scored in the next four straight. Van Schaik with an RBI double scored Nichols followed by a sac fly from Papp in the bottom of the third inning gave the Black and Gold a 2-0 lead and the momentum.
In the top of the fourth, the Jaguars put up two unearned runs off a fielding error and a double steal to tie the game up, 2-2. However, Brown stepped up and crushed a solo dinger over the right center wall to take back the lead 3-2 and Southern Miss maintained the lead from then on.
With the score, 4-2, Cherry singled up the middle and put runners on the corners when Nelson hit a fly ball to left field. Papp scored on the sac fly and Brown followed with a hard hit ball to right field that got by the defender to score not only Cherry but herself as well. That marks her second career homerun and first inside the park homerun in Wendy Hogue's coaching era at Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles added another run in the bottom of the sixth to secure the win, 8-2.
Southern Miss has the weekend off from C-USA play and will return to the field when they take on nationally-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa on April 18 at 6 pm.
