Southern Miss Tops UAB in Saturday Doubleheader

Saturday, April 13

Birmingham, AL

1:00 PM

Southern Miss

24-16, 9-7

UAB

15-24, 5-10

Southern Miss

UAB

Southern Miss Tops UAB in Saturday Doubleheader

4/13/2019 11:25:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score

The Golden Eagles are now riding an eight-game win streak.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (25-16, 10-7 C-USA) defeated the UAB Blazers (25-16, 5-11 C-USA) in both games of Saturday's doubleheader at Mary Bowers Field in Birmingham, Ala.

The Golden Eagles kicked off the series against their C-USA rival UAB by picking up a 2-0 victory in game one and then followed it up with a 7-4 victory in game two.

With their two wins against UAB on Saturday, Southern Miss earned the series victory and also extended their win streak to eight games, becoming the first Southern Miss softball team to post an eight-game win streak since 2004.

Game one of Saturday's doubleheader proved to be a pitchers' duel between Southern Miss starting pitcher Abby Trahan and UAB starting pitcher Emily Kachel. Due to solid pitching from both sides, runs came at a premium in the contest.

Southern Miss center fielder Destini Brown put the Golden Eagles on top, 1-0 in the top of the third inning when she cranked a solo home run over the right field wall.

The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth inning when Madison Rayner showed great discipline at the plate and drew a bases-loaded walk that allowed Samantha Papp to score.

Reigning C-USA Pitcher of the Week Abby Trahan gave the Golden Eagles another masterful pitching performance in the circle. The junior went the distance, notching her fifth complete-game shutout of the season. In 7.0 innings pitched, Trahan scattered eight hits, did not issue a walk, struck out five and earned her 12^th win of the season.

Game two started off much differently than game one as the Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Brown stole home.

Southern Miss extended its lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning after Lacey Sumerlin ripped an RBI single up the middle, scoring Brown. After entering the game as a pinch runner for Chase Nelson at second base, Caroline Casey scored on passed ball on batter later.

UAB would not go down without a fight though as they rallied for three runs to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning via RBI singles by Faith Hegh, Jenna Olszewski and Claire Blount.

The game remained tied, 3-3 until the top of the fifth inning when Brown launched her second solo home run of the day, giving the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead.

Rayner followed Brown later in the inning with a solo shot of her own, tacking on the fifth run of the game for the Golden Eagles.

UAB's Natalie Erwin narrowed the scoring deficit to one run in the bottom of the sixth inning after sending a solo home run over the left field fence.

In the top of the seventh inning, Southern Miss used long balls from Lacey Sumerlin and Tata Davis to extend its lead to 7-4.

Bailie Springfield who entered the game in relief of Kaylan Ladner in the bottom of the sixth inning retired the side in the bottom of the seventh inning to preserve the game two victory for the Golden Eagles. Springfield was credited with the save, marking the second of the season for the junior right-hander.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Kaylan Ladner also proved to be a bright spot for the Golden Eagles in game two. Ladner entered the game in the bottom of the third inning, replacing starter Makenna Pierce and pitched her way out of several tough spots over the course of the game.

After tossing 2.0 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits, Ladner earned her fifth win of the season.

Southern Miss will be back in action tomorrow when they take on UAB in the series finale at 1:00 p.m. (CT). The Golden Eagles will be playing for their second consecutive C-USA series sweep of the season.

For all of the latest Southern Miss softball news, fans can follow the official Southern Miss softball Twitter account (@SouthernMissSB), Instagram account (@southernmisssb) and Facebook account (Southern Miss Softball).