Southern Miss Opens C-USA Action Against North Texas

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss softball team opens Conference USA action this weekend, following a successful non-conference slate. The Golden Eagles take on the North Texas Mean Green at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in a trio of matchups from Friday, March 11 to Sunday, March 13.

The Black & Gold traveled to the Sunshine State last week for six games between March 2 and 6. The Golden Eagles opened their week with a 5-4 victory over then-No. 4 Florida before sweeping a five-game slate in Madeira Beach, Fla. at THE Spring Games.

Southern Miss (17-5, 0-0 C-USA) knocked off the likes of Central Michigan, Radford, Omaha, Georgia Southern and Albany over the weekend, outscoring opponents 26-9 in the process. The Golden Eagles racked up seven home runs, three of which came off the bat of graduate student Destini Brown.

The Golden Eagles' recent success has not gone unnoticed, as Southern Miss received votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. The Black & Gold are one of two C-USA programs receiving votes in the poll, alongside the Charlotte 49ers.

Brown is just one stolen base away from becoming the first Golden Eagle in program history to reach the 100 steals mark. The McComb, Miss. native leads Conference USA with 18 steals on the season and grabbed three last weekend.

North Texas travels to Hattiesburg with a record of 11-4, having won eight of its last 10 contests. UNT is set to open the C-USA portion of its schedule following an 8-2 loss on Wednesday to the Texas Longhorns.

Led by fourth-year head coach Rodney DeLong, North Texas sits just behind Southern Miss in the Conference USA West Division standings, with a win percentage of .733, compared to Southern Miss' .773.

North Texas holds a 13-6 advantage in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, which dates back to 2015. UNT swept Southern Miss in a four-game series last season in Denton, Texas. This weekend marks the first time the Golden Eagles and Mean Green will face off in Hattiesburg since 2018.

Friday's contest between the Golden Eagles and Mean Green is set for 2 p.m., while Saturday's tilt begins at 1 p.m. A noon start time is set for Sunday, and all three games will be streamed live on CUSA.tv. Saturday's game will be available on 92.7 FM The Score.

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 North Texas
-North Texas is led into this weekend's series by fourth-year head coach Rodney DeLong, who holds a record of 103-40 with the Mean Green.
-UNT enters C-USA play with an 11-4 record in non-conference matchups. The Mean Green fell in their last matchup on Wednesday, an 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Texas Longhorns.
-Last season, North Texas racked up a record of 38-12, including an 18-2 mark in Conference USA contests.
-Ashley Peters and Skylar Savage lead UNT in the circle, as the pair have combined for a record of 9-3. Peters was honored as C-USA pitcher of the week on Feb. 21, while Savage holds an ERA of 1.85 on the season.
-UNT has three players with a batting average above .300. Lexi Cobb, Tayla Evans and Kailey Gamble lead the way offensively for North Texas, combining for 32 runs scored, 43 hits, 31 RBI and 11 home runs.

Southern Miss - North Texas Series
-The Golden Eagles and Mean Green have faced off 21 times since the all-time series began in 2015.
-Southern Miss trails in the series, 13-6, as North Texas has won the last four meetings between the programs.
-The Black & Gold holds a 4-2 advantage on North Texas at home. The latest win in the Southern Miss Softball Complex came on April 28, 2018, in a 2-0 shutout for the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss, 6 | North Texas, 13
Home: 4-2
Last Meeting: 11-3 North Texas (4/28/21)

Last Time Out (Florida Spring Games)
-Southern Miss extended its win streak to six games, as the Golden Eagles swept all five games they played at THE Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Fla.
-The Golden Eagles knocked off the likes of Omaha, Albany, Georgia Southern, Radford and Central Michigan to improve to 17-5.
-Destini Brown was stellar throughout the weekend, recording three home runs, eight hits and six RBI in just five games. She also collected three stolen bases and now has 99 in her career.
-Jana Lee and Morgan Leinstock led the way in the circle, going 5-0 in the circle and allowing no more than four runs in a single game.

The Nation Takes Notice
-Southern Miss received votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, released March 6.
-The Golden Eagles hold a record of 17-5 and racked up a 6-0 mark last week to receive votes.
-The Black & Gold's stunning upset of No. 4 Florida on Wednesday, March 2 aided Southern Miss' stock. The Golden Eagles are the Gators only loss of the 2022 season thus far.

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 99 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.
-Brown is set to become the first Golden Eagle in program history to collect 100 steals in a career.

Leinstock brings the Heat
-Junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock will be relied on for big performances in 2022.
-The Scottsdale, Ariz. 13 strikeouts against Alcorn State on Feb. 25, the most in a single game in her collegiate career.
-She finished the week of Feb. 20 with three wins, with a shutout along with an ERA of 0.67 and just two earned runs in 27 innings pitched.
-Leinstock has pitched the most innings of any athlete in the nation, with 89.1 so far in 2022.
-She recorded her first win over a ranked opponent on Wednesday, March 2 against No. 4 Florida.
-Leinstock now holds a record of 10-1 to start the 2022 season.

Home, Sweet Home
-The Golden Eagles spent 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 closed out tournament play last weekend with the Hub City Challenge on Feb. 25-27.
-The Golden Eagles finished their tournament stretch with a record of 9-5 in the Southern Miss Softball Complex.

Southern Miss Opens C-USA Action Against North Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Destini Brown

Jana Lee

Morgan Leinstock