Southern Miss Softball Defeats McNeese State, 10-4 on Wednesday Night in Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (28-16, 11-7 C-USA) defeated the McNeese State Cowgirls (23-23, 14-4 Southland Conference) by a final score of 10-4 on Wednesday night at Joe Miller Field in Lake Charles, La.

Before pounding out 11 hits in Wednesday night's contest, Southern Miss got off to a bit of a slow start, falling behind to McNeese State, 3-0 in the first inning.

McNeese State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a two-run single by Kaylee Lopez and a Southern Miss fielding error.

Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Southern Miss narrowed the scoring deficit to one run after Samantha Papp and Destini Brown scored on back-to-back McNeese State errors.

The Golden Eagles' bats started to heat up in the bottom of the fourth inning, and they stayed hot for the remainder of the game.

Leadoff hitter Destini Brown who paced the Golden Eagles offense in the contest with four hits, four RBIs, three runs scored, a double, a home run and two stolen bases, tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth inning after smashing an RBI double to left field that scored Caroline Casey.

In the top of the fifth inning, Sarah Van Schaik gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game after stroking an RBI double to right field that allowed Beth Taylor to cross the plate.

After Van Schaik's go-ahead RBI double, Southern Miss went on to score four more runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Samantha Papp followed Van Schaik with an RBI single down the right field line, scoring Van Schaik.

Two Southern Miss at-bats later, Brown followed Papp's lead, and blasted an RBI single down the right field line to score Papp.

With runners on the corners and Chase Nelson at the plate, Brown stole second base and Karley Nichols scored from third base on the throw down to second base.

Nelson capped off the Golden Eagles five-run fifth inning with an RBI double down the left field line that plated Brown.

McNeese State managed to push one final run across in the bottom of the fifth inning after Alayis Seneca singled through the right side and Demi Boudreaux scored.

Leading 8-4 entering the top of the seventh inning, Southern Miss tacked on two additional insurance runs on a two-run home run to left field by Brown.

Brown on her approach at the plate throughout the game against McNeese State
"I was just having fun and not trying to think about anything other than getting the job done. When you are having fun, you do not stress about what could go wrong."

To go along with their high potent offense, Southern Miss ace Abby Trahan gave the Golden Eagles a solid complete-game performance in the circle.

After being touched by McNeese State for three runs in the first inning, Trahan settled in and found a nice rhythm that she used to command the rest of the game.

In 7.0 innings pitched, Trahan scattered nine hits, allowed four runs (three earned), did not issue any walks and struck out two, en route to collecting her 14^th win of the season.

Already a fierce competitor, Trahan found a little extra motivation for Wednesday night's game against McNeese State as she earned the opportunity to pitch close to her hometown of Kaplan, La. for the first time in her collegiate career.

Trahan on earning the start against McNeese State and how she bounced back after the first inning
"It was kind of surreal to be able to pitch that close to my hometown since I have not been able to do that in my collegiate career until tonight. I definitely had some nerves in the first inning, but I knew that my teammates had my back and were counting on me, so I settled down and threw my game."

Game notes

Southern Miss' win against McNeese State on Wednesday night marks the 11^th consecutive win for the Golden Eagles. The 11-game win streak is the longest win streak posted in the history of the Southern Miss softball program since the 2000 season.
After collecting two doubles in Wednesday night's contest, Southern Miss senior first baseman Sarah Van Schaik has now accounted for 15 of the Golden Eagles' 65 doubles this season.
Van Schaik's 15 doubles are currently the most doubles registered by any Southern Miss player this season.
Southern Miss sophomore center fielder Destini Brown is now tied with Tata Davis as the team's home run leader after notching her seventh home run of the season on Wednesday night.
Brown's four hits and four RBIs in Wednesday night's contest each mark a new single-game season high for the McComb, Miss. native in both categories.

Southern Miss will take advantage of an off weekend before traveling to Oxford, Miss on Wednesday, April 24 for a 6:00 p.m. (CT) midweek matchup against in-state SEC opponent Ole Miss (31-11, 9-5 SEC).

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).

Southern Miss Softball Defeats McNeese State, 10-4 on Wednesday Night in Lake Charles

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Team Stats

Destini Brown

Chase Nelson

Sarah Van Schaik

Samantha Papp

Players Mentioned

Destini Brown

Caroline Casey

Chase Nelson

Karley Nichols

Samantha Papp

Beth Taylor

Abby Trahan

Sarah Van Schaik

Players Mentioned

Destini Brown

Caroline Casey

Chase Nelson

Karley Nichols

Samantha Papp

Beth Taylor

Abby Trahan

Sarah Van Schaik