Friday, February 25
Hattiesburg, Miss.
4 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Alcorn State
Golden Eagles Set to Host Hub City Challenge
2/24/2022 1:00:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Riding a four-game win streak, the Golden Eagle softball team returns to the Southern Miss Softball Complex for their final home tournament of the 2022 season. The Black & Gold are set to host Alcorn State and Evansville for the Hub City Challenge this weekend.
Southern Miss last took the field for the Golden Eagle Invitational, the second of three tournaments hosted by the Golden Eagles (8-4, 0-0 C-USA) in the month of February. After dropping the first contest of the weekend to Jacksonville State, the Black & Gold rattled off four wins over the likes of ULM, MVSU and Houston Baptist to close the weekend.
Southern Miss is led by three upperclassmen, Destini Brown, Tata Davis and Morgan Leinstock. Brown led her team, along with Hannah Borden with a batting average of .324, while leading the Golden Eagle in runs, with 13, and stolen bases with 10. Davis leads the charge with 13 hits along with two home runs.
Leinstock has been the cornerstone for Southern Miss in the circle, having pitched 45.1 innings thus far in 2022 with an ERA of 1.54. The Scottsdale, Ariz native was stellar for the Golden Eagles last week. In four appearances, she recorded an ERA of .67 and 25 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched with three wins and a complete game shutout against Houston Baptist on Feb. 19.
Southern Miss holds a 6-4 record at home through a pair of tournaments. The Golden Eagles first went 2-3 in the Black & Gold Invitational from Feb. 11-13 before finishing last weekend at home with a 4-1 record. Following this weekend, Southern Miss will have played 12 of its 28 scheduled contests in Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles face off with the Evansville Purple Aces for the first time since 2011. Southern Miss holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, a trio of matchups which dated back to 1999. The Black & Gold defeated the Purple Aces in the only matchup between the teams in Hattiesburg on Feb. 26, 2011 by a dominant score of 10-1.Â
The Alcorn State Braves are a familiar foe to Southern Miss, as the Golden Eagles have found success throughout the 22-game series. The Black & Gold hold a commanding 21-1 series lead on the Braves, holding a 19-game win streak heading into the Hub City Challenge.Â
Southern Miss head coach Brian Levin is 2-0 against Josef Rankin's Braves, having picked up a pair of wins in a doubleheader between the Golden Eagles and Alcorn State in 2020. The Black & Gold hold a stellar record of 16-1 in Hattiesburg against their in-state opponent.
Southern Miss is set to take on the Evansville Purple Aces and Alcorn State Braves in four matchups in the Hub City Challenge from Friday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 27. All matchups will be streamed on CUSA.tv and tickets can be purchased at SouthernMissTickets.com
Follow the Southern Miss softball team on social media, @SouthernMissSB on Twitter, @southernmisssb on Instagram and at facebook.com/SouthernMissSB.
Inside the Matchups | Headlines
Scouting Alcorn State
-The Alcorn State Braves, led by head coach Josef Rankin in his sixth season with the program, comes to Hattiesburg with a record of 7-4 to start the 2022 season.
-The Braves are set to play their first games on the road this weekend, as Alcorn has hosted all 11 matchups of their season thus far.Â
-Rankin's squad enters the Hub City Challenge on a two-game skid, having been defeated by Eastern Illinois and North Alabama on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, respectively.
-Alcorn State is one of five SWAC opponents Southern Miss is slated to face in 2022. The Golden Eagles knocked off SWAC foe, Southern, last week in both games of a doubleheader.
Southern Miss - Alcorn State Series
-The Golden Eagles and Braves have battled 22 times in the all-time series.
-Southern Miss has won the last 19 matchups between the programs, dating back to 2009.
-Head coach Brian Levin is 2-0 against the Braves in his tenure at Southern Miss
Southern Miss, 21 | Alcorn State, 1
  Home: 16-1
Scouting Evansville
-The Evansville Purple Aces enter this weekend with a 6-4 record, including a 1-1 record against Conference USA opponents.
-The Purple Aces travel to their third tournament of the season and have yet to play a home contest thus far in 2022.
-Evansville split a two-game series with MTSU last weekend at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Southern Miss - Evansville Series
-Southern Miss and Evansville are slated to face off for the first time since 2011.Â
-The Golden Eagles hold a 2-1 record over the Purple Aces in a three-game series dating back to 1999.
-Southern Miss won the lone home game against the Purple Aces by a score of 10-1 on Feb. 26, 2011.
Southern Miss, 2 | Evansville, 1
  Home: 1-0
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 91 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.Â
-The 2021 C-USA First Team selection will look to extend her record throughout the 2022 season, currently averaging .71 steals per game.
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.
-Jana Lee, Natalie Taylor and Paige Kilgore all recorded their first career home runs in Baton Rouge, La.
-Southern Miss freshmen now account for six of the Black & Gold's 10 home runs from the 2022 season.Â
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.
-She finished last week with three wins, with a shutout along with an ERA of 0.67 and just two earned runs in 27 innings pitched.Â
-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.
Home, Sweet Home
-The Golden Eagles are set to spend the first three weekends of its season at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in a trio of tournaments.
-Southern Miss hosted the Black & Gold Invitational on Feb. 11-13 and Golden Eagle Invitational from Feb. 18-20. The Golden Eagles close out tournament play this weekend with the Hub City Challenge on Feb. 25-27.
-The Golden Eagles finished their last tournament with a four-game win streak, the first at the Southern Miss Softball Complex since February of 2021.
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Southern Miss last took the field for the Golden Eagle Invitational, the second of three tournaments hosted by the Golden Eagles (8-4, 0-0 C-USA) in the month of February. After dropping the first contest of the weekend to Jacksonville State, the Black & Gold rattled off four wins over the likes of ULM, MVSU and Houston Baptist to close the weekend.
Southern Miss is led by three upperclassmen, Destini Brown, Tata Davis and Morgan Leinstock. Brown led her team, along with Hannah Borden with a batting average of .324, while leading the Golden Eagle in runs, with 13, and stolen bases with 10. Davis leads the charge with 13 hits along with two home runs.
Leinstock has been the cornerstone for Southern Miss in the circle, having pitched 45.1 innings thus far in 2022 with an ERA of 1.54. The Scottsdale, Ariz native was stellar for the Golden Eagles last week. In four appearances, she recorded an ERA of .67 and 25 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched with three wins and a complete game shutout against Houston Baptist on Feb. 19.
Southern Miss holds a 6-4 record at home through a pair of tournaments. The Golden Eagles first went 2-3 in the Black & Gold Invitational from Feb. 11-13 before finishing last weekend at home with a 4-1 record. Following this weekend, Southern Miss will have played 12 of its 28 scheduled contests in Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles face off with the Evansville Purple Aces for the first time since 2011. Southern Miss holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, a trio of matchups which dated back to 1999. The Black & Gold defeated the Purple Aces in the only matchup between the teams in Hattiesburg on Feb. 26, 2011 by a dominant score of 10-1.Â
The Alcorn State Braves are a familiar foe to Southern Miss, as the Golden Eagles have found success throughout the 22-game series. The Black & Gold hold a commanding 21-1 series lead on the Braves, holding a 19-game win streak heading into the Hub City Challenge.Â
Southern Miss head coach Brian Levin is 2-0 against Josef Rankin's Braves, having picked up a pair of wins in a doubleheader between the Golden Eagles and Alcorn State in 2020. The Black & Gold hold a stellar record of 16-1 in Hattiesburg against their in-state opponent.
Southern Miss is set to take on the Evansville Purple Aces and Alcorn State Braves in four matchups in the Hub City Challenge from Friday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 27. All matchups will be streamed on CUSA.tv and tickets can be purchased at SouthernMissTickets.com
Follow the Southern Miss softball team on social media, @SouthernMissSB on Twitter, @southernmisssb on Instagram and at facebook.com/SouthernMissSB.
Inside the Matchups | Headlines
Scouting Alcorn State
-The Alcorn State Braves, led by head coach Josef Rankin in his sixth season with the program, comes to Hattiesburg with a record of 7-4 to start the 2022 season.
-The Braves are set to play their first games on the road this weekend, as Alcorn has hosted all 11 matchups of their season thus far.Â
-Rankin's squad enters the Hub City Challenge on a two-game skid, having been defeated by Eastern Illinois and North Alabama on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, respectively.
-Alcorn State is one of five SWAC opponents Southern Miss is slated to face in 2022. The Golden Eagles knocked off SWAC foe, Southern, last week in both games of a doubleheader.
Southern Miss - Alcorn State Series
-The Golden Eagles and Braves have battled 22 times in the all-time series.
-Southern Miss has won the last 19 matchups between the programs, dating back to 2009.
-Head coach Brian Levin is 2-0 against the Braves in his tenure at Southern Miss
Southern Miss, 21 | Alcorn State, 1
  Home: 16-1
Scouting Evansville
-The Evansville Purple Aces enter this weekend with a 6-4 record, including a 1-1 record against Conference USA opponents.
-The Purple Aces travel to their third tournament of the season and have yet to play a home contest thus far in 2022.
-Evansville split a two-game series with MTSU last weekend at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Southern Miss - Evansville Series
-Southern Miss and Evansville are slated to face off for the first time since 2011.Â
-The Golden Eagles hold a 2-1 record over the Purple Aces in a three-game series dating back to 1999.
-Southern Miss won the lone home game against the Purple Aces by a score of 10-1 on Feb. 26, 2011.
Southern Miss, 2 | Evansville, 1
  Home: 1-0
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 91 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.Â
-The 2021 C-USA First Team selection will look to extend her record throughout the 2022 season, currently averaging .71 steals per game.
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.
-Jana Lee, Natalie Taylor and Paige Kilgore all recorded their first career home runs in Baton Rouge, La.
-Southern Miss freshmen now account for six of the Black & Gold's 10 home runs from the 2022 season.Â
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.
-She finished last week with three wins, with a shutout along with an ERA of 0.67 and just two earned runs in 27 innings pitched.Â
-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.
Home, Sweet Home
-The Golden Eagles are set to spend the first three weekends of its season at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in a trio of tournaments.
-Southern Miss hosted the Black & Gold Invitational on Feb. 11-13 and Golden Eagle Invitational from Feb. 18-20. The Golden Eagles close out tournament play this weekend with the Hub City Challenge on Feb. 25-27.
-The Golden Eagles finished their last tournament with a four-game win streak, the first at the Southern Miss Softball Complex since February of 2021.
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Players Mentioned
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