Softball Plays Host to Jacksonville State This Weekend

Live Stream: C-USA TV (Game 1) C-USA TV (Game 2) C-USA TV (Game 3)
Live Stats: SIDEARM Sports
Radio: 92.7 The Score FM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss softball team (12-6) will play host to Jacksonville State (10-7) this weekend in a three-game series at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in Hattiesburg.

Southern Miss and Jacksonville State will kick off the series with a 4:00 p.m. contest on Friday, and then follow it up with a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Game two of Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 1:30 p.m.

The Last Time on the Diamond
Southern Miss traveled to Montgomery, Ala. this past weekend to compete in the Alabama State Tournament held at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex, and went 2-2 in the tournament.

Southern Miss kicked off its weekend with a 10-1 win against Mercer (9-12) on Saturday morning, and then fell to Eastern Kentucky (17-2) in a 1-0 nail-biter later that day. On Sunday, Southern Miss dropped its first contest of the day to Mercer, 5-2 and then bounced back by capturing a 10-2 run-rule victory (six innings) over Alabama State (7-13).

Noteworthy Moments in the Alabama State Tournament
Southern Miss vs. Mercer (Feb. 29)

In the top of the third inning, senior shortstop Lacey Sumerlin notched her eighth double of the season.
Sophomore left fielder Madison Rayner hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning, marking her first home run in 2020.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Makenna Pierce tossed the first complete game of her Southern Miss career.
Rayner and Sumerlin registered multiple hits each in the contest.
Freshman catcher Hannah Borden, junior center fielder Destini Brown and junior third baseman Alyssa "Tata" Davis all collected multiple RBIs in the game.

Southern Miss vs. Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 29)

Rayner, Sumerlin and junior first baseman Karley Nichols manufactured the Golden Eagles' three hits in the game.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Kaylan Ladner pitched her fourth complete game of the season.

Southern Miss vs. Mercer (Mar. 1)

Sumerlin tallied multiple hits and multiple RBIs in the contest.
Sumerlin belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, and it marked her second home run this season.

Southern Miss at Alabama State (Mar. 1)

Sumerlin registered her team best ninth double of the season after drilling a leadoff double to left center in the top of the fourth inning.
Davis roped a triple in the top of the second inning, and it marked her second triple of the season.
Davis recorded her sixth multi-RBI game this season, and is now tied with Borden for the most multi-RBI games recorded by a Golden Eagle in 2020.
After crushing a two-run home run to left center in the top of the fifth inning, Rayner registered her second home run of the season.
Rayner extended her hitting streak to 10 games, which is currently the longest active hitting streak on the Golden Eagles' squad.
Rayner posted her seventh multi-hit game of the season, marking the most multi-hit games recorded by any player on Southern Miss' roster this season.
Rayner logged her first multi-RBI game of 2020.
Rayner extended her on-base streak to 12 games, which is currently the longest on-base streak on the Southern Miss squad.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Savanna Wood earned her fourth win of the season. Wood's four wins are currently the most wins recorded by any Southern Miss pitcher this season.

Southern Miss in the NCAA Division I Softball Top 25 Team Statistical Rankings
1^st – Walks (94)
3^rd – Triples per Game (0.72)
4^th – Runs per Game (7.83)
9^th – On-Base Percentage (0.438)
9^th (tied) – Doubles per Game (2.00)
15^th (tied) – Doubles (36)
16^th – Slugging Percentage (0.541)

Golden Eagles in the NCAA Division I Softball Top 25 Individual Statistical Rankings
2^nd – Hits Allowed per Seven Innings (2.19), Makenna Pierce
2^nd – Triples per Game (0.28), Madison Rayner
2^nd (tied) – Triples (5), Madison Rayner
6^th (tied) – On-Base Percentage (0.600), Madison Rayner
7^th (tied) – Doubles (9), Lacey Sumerlin
9^th – Runs per Game (1.33), Madison Rayner
16^th (tied) – Doubles per Game (0.50), Lacey Sumerlin
20^th – Slugging Percentage (0.913), Madison Rayner
22^nd (tied) – Walks per Game (0.83), Hannah Borden

Breaking Down the All-Time Record
Southern Miss leads the all-time series against Jacksonville State, 12-3. The Golden Eagles are 6-2 when hosting the Gamecocks at home in Hattiesburg, 4-1 in contests played on the road, and 2-0 in neutral site matchups.

The Last Meeting
The last time that Southern Miss and Jacksonville State met on the softball field was on February 24, 2019 in a doubleheader that was played at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Jacksonville State took game one of the doubleheader, 5-4 and Southern Miss won the second game, 10-4.

The Opponent
Jacksonville State is led by six-time OVC Coach of the Year Jana McGinnis, who is currently in her 27^th season at the helm of the Gamecocks' softball program. McGinnis is a 1991 graduate of Jacksonville State, and a former member of the Gamecocks' women's basketball team.

Jacksonville State posted a 4-0 record in its own tournament (Jacksonville State Invite) this past weekend. On Friday, Jacksonville State defeated Samford (8-11), 6-2 and UTSA (13-8), 14-7. Jacksonville State also captured a 4-3 victory over UTSA on Sunday, as well as a 3-2 victory over Samford.

Campus Connections
Jacksonville State junior left-handed pitcher Reagan Watkins played her freshman season at Southern Miss (2018).

Watkins and Southern Miss sophomore right-handed pitcher Makenna Pierce pitched on the same staff at Daphne High School (Daphne, Ala.).

Game Promotions
All three games of Southern Miss' series versus Jacksonville will feature the BOGO Baseball/Softball Ticket promotion.

On Friday, Southern Miss will hold Disney Day, and it will also be Go Gold Friday.

BOGO Baseball/Softball Ticket – Buy one baseball ticket to any game during the series versus Little Rock and receive a FREE general admission ticket to any game of the softball series versus Jacksonville State.

Disney Day – The game will feature a kids Disney costume contest. In addition, all Southern Miss players will have Disney themed walk-up songs and Disney themed music will be played throughout the game.

Go Gold Friday – Fans are encouraged to wear their best GOLD Southern Miss gear to Friday's game.

Game Info
Southern Miss' series versus Jacksonville State will be streamed on C-USA TV and SIDEARM Sports live stats will also be provided. The Voice of Southern Miss softball, Jason Baker, will be on the call for the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on 92.7 The Score FM. Mackenzie Hamilton will provide color commentary for the broadcast. At the end of each day, a full recap of the game(s) will be posted to SouthernMiss.com along with final stats.

Ticket Info
Fans can purchase tickets to all home Southern Miss softball games by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office Monday-Friday from the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., by calling (800) 844-TICK (8425), online at SouthernMissTickets.com, or at the main gate of the Southern Miss Softball Complex on game day one hour prior to the first pitch.

*All times are listed in Central Time (CT)*

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).

Softball Plays Host to Jacksonville State This Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Borden

Destini Brown

Kaylan Ladner

Karley Nichols

Makenna Pierce

Madison Rayner

Lacey Sumerlin

Savanna Wood

Softball Plays Host to Jacksonville State This Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Borden

Destini Brown

Kaylan Ladner

Karley Nichols

Makenna Pierce

Madison Rayner

Lacey Sumerlin

Savanna Wood

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