Southern Miss
Southern University
Golden Eagles Travel to Baton Rouge for Doubleheader Against Southern
2/15/2022 5:24:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Following a season-opening tournament at home, the Southern Miss softball team travels to Baton Rouge, La. for a doubleheader against the Southern Lady Jaguars on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Black & Gold look to pick up a pair of wins in their first two road matchups of the season before hosting the Golden Eagle Invitational this weekend.
Southern Miss takes on Southern for the 11th and 12th time in program history this Wednesday. The Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-0 C-USA) have found success in the all-time series against the Lady Jags, with a 10-0 record and a 2-0 record in Baton Rouge. Head coach Brian Levin holds a 5-0 mark against Southern in his tenure with Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles defeated Southern in a trio of games last February. Southern Miss first beat the Lady Jags in Baton Rouge, 8-0 on Feb. 20 before hosting a pair of wins by scores of 9-0 and 6-1 in Hattiesburg on Feb. 21. Junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock shut out Southern on Feb. 21, recording seven strikeouts in the five-inning game.
Southern Miss looks to improve upon its performance at the Black & Gold Invitational on Feb. 11-13. The Golden Eagles finished the home tournament with a record of 2-3 against the likes of North Alabama, Samford and Saint Louis.
The Golden Eagles opened their season with a pair of wins on Feb. 11 against North Alabama (8-6) and Saint Louis (6-2). Freshman Alexis Dittmer recorded two home runs in her first two collegiate at bats for Southern Miss in its 8-6 win over North Alabama.
Strong pitching from Leinstock in the Saint Louis contest propelled the Golden Eagles past the Billikens, while a grand slam from graduate student Tata Davis dealt a 2-0 record.
Graduate outfielder Destini Brown made program history on Feb. 11, as she secured her 82nd-career stolen base, breaking the record held by Chrystal Stevens since 2000. She would go on to steal two more bags, upping her career total to 84 in her collegiate career.
Southern Miss was unable to ride the momentum from day one of the tournament throughout the rest of the weekend, as the Golden Eagles suffered losses to Samford and North Alabama to fall to a 2-3 record.
Head coach Brian Levin leads his team into their first road contests of the 2022 season before returning to the Southern Miss Softball Complex this weekend for the Golden Eagle Invitational.
The Golden Eagles take on Southern on the road tomorrow in a pair of contests slated for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Fans can stay updated on the action by checking for updates on Twitter, @SouthernMissSB.
Inside the Matchups | Headlines
Scouting Southern
-Southern is led into Wednesday's doubleheader by first-year head coach, Brittney Williams.
-Williams is a two-time graduate and former student-athlete at Western Kentucky, a Conference USA counterpart to Southern Miss.
-The Lady Jaguars opened the 2022 season at the Best on the Bayou tournament in Monroe, La. Southern went 0-5 on the weekend.
-Southern was bested by Syracuse, as well as USM's future opponents Jacksonville State, Evansville, ULM and Conference USA foe LA Tech.
-The Lady Jags were outscored 68-14 in their opening weekend. Their closest contest came against Evansville in a 6-5 loss.
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Southern Miss - Southern Series
-The Black & Gold face off with Southern for the sixth-consecutive season, dating back to 2017.
-Southern Miss hold a 10-0 all-time series lead on the Lady Jags, which dates back to 2010.
-Head coach Brian Levin 5-0 against Southern in his tenure, with a run differential of 43-1 in those matchups.
-Morgan Leinstock pitched a five-inning shutout in Southern Miss' 9-0 win over the Lady Jags on Feb. 21, 2021. She recorded seven strikeouts in the shortened game.
Southern Miss, 10 | Southern, 0
    Home: 8-0
    Away: 2-0
    Neutral: 0-0
D Brown Makes History
-Graduate student Destini Brown broke Chrystal Brown's long-standing stolen bases record on Friday, Feb. 11 in Southern Miss' season-opener against North Alabama.
-The McComb, Miss. native racked up three steals in the first five games of the Black & Gold's season and now sits at 84 career bases stolen over her sparkling tenure.
-Last season, Brown led Conference USA in stolen bases with 35 and finished the 2021 season ranked No. 9 in the nation in the statistic.
-The 2021 C-USA First Team selection will look to extend her record throughout the 2022 season.
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Freshmen, Welcome to the Show
-Southern Miss features nine freshmen on a roster of 19 and will look to many of them for major contributions throughout the 2022 season.
-Freshmen Alexis Dittmer and Scout Jennings made their presence felt in Southern Miss' opening game, combining for three home runs in an 8-6 victory over North Alabama.
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Leinstock brings the Heat
-Junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock will be relied on for big performances in 2022.
-The Scottsdale, Ariz. native recorded the fourth 100+ pitch game of her career against Saint Louis in a 6-2 win, which saw her strikeout eight batters.
-Leinstock is the veteran presence in the bullpen for Southern Miss, having made 29 appearances in 2021 and 125.1 innings of experience for the Black & Gold.
