Friday, April 29
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
28-19, 8-11
4
vs
3
WKU
31-10, 13-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
WKU
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
3
11
0
Southern Miss
0
0
0
0
1
3
X
4
6
1
Southern Miss Rallies to Defeat WKU, 4-3
4/29/2022 9:13:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Four unanswered runs from the Golden Eagles in the fifth and sixth innings lifted the Southern Miss softball team past WKU on Friday night. The Black & Gold secured the first game of a crucial Conference USA series by a score of 4-3 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss (28-19, 8-11 C-USA) trailed for the majority of the game, but a surge of offense, led by Alexis Dittmer, Hannah Borden and Scout Jennings, erased WKU's three-run lead. Morgan Leinstock recorded her 18th win of the season in a complete-game effort in the circle.Â
Dittmer registered the lone home run of the afternoon, as her solo shot put the Golden Eagles on the board in the fifth. A triple from Borden and single from Jennings brought in a trio of runs to complete the rally and give Southern Miss its first lead of the night en route to victory.
"Everyone on our team knows that we're capable of beating anyone at any time," head coach Brian Levin said. "When you have that attitude, you never feel like you're out of a game because we know we have the talent to come back and win."
The Golden Eagles and Tops were held scoreless through the first two frames. WKU recorded a pair of hits in the opening inning, but the Southern Miss defense held strong. In the second, Leinstock sent two Tops back to the dugout after a pair of strikeouts, but the Golden Eagles were unable to capitalize in the bottom of the inning.
WKU struck first in the top of the third, as a leadoff triple put the Tops in an advantageous situation. An RBI double would bring in WKU's first run of the day, while a single moments later sent another runner home. The Hilltoppers led by two following a scoreless frame from the Golden Eagles.Â
In the top of the fourth, WKU loaded the bases, and a walk brought home the Tops' third run of the contest. WKU left three runners on base, as the Golden Eagles escaped the jam and trailed 3-0.
A pair of singles from Tata Davis and Hannah Borden placed runners on first and second with one away in the bottom of the fourth. However, a strikeout and a pop fly ended the inning, as the Black & Gold were unable to chip into WKU's lead.Â
After a scoreless top of the fifth from the Tops, the Golden Eagles put their first run of the contest on the board. Dittmer recorded the fourth home run of her freshman season, a solo shot to left center, and the deficit for the Black & Gold sat at two as the fifth frame came to a close.
Borden cut WKU's advantage to one in the bottom of the sixth, as the Trussville, Ala. native brought Maria Smith home with a triple.Â
"That at bat felt really good," Borden said of her triple. "I thought I was going to have to slide, but it ended up being a stand up triple, which was surprising. I just tried to make an adjustment from my last two at bats, and I came up with a big hit."
Lorna Agren entered the game as a pinch runner, and Scout Jennings brought her and Borden home with a two-RBI double to give Southern Miss its first lead of the game. Southern Miss closed out the contest in the seventh inning, securing its eighth conference victory of the season.Â
"We know that we're good and we're capable of beating really solid teams," Jennings said. "We stayed relaxed throughout the game and you could see everyone's mood lifting as it went on, which was huge."
The Golden Eagles improved to 4-8 against WKU in the all-time series and have won two straight against the Hilltoppers for the first time in program history, dating back to a 2018 win in Hattiesburg.
Up Next:Â Â Â
The Golden Eagles are back in action against WKU tomorrow at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. and fans can catch the action on CUSA.tv.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Â
Southern Miss (28-19, 8-11 C-USA) trailed for the majority of the game, but a surge of offense, led by Alexis Dittmer, Hannah Borden and Scout Jennings, erased WKU's three-run lead. Morgan Leinstock recorded her 18th win of the season in a complete-game effort in the circle.Â
Dittmer registered the lone home run of the afternoon, as her solo shot put the Golden Eagles on the board in the fifth. A triple from Borden and single from Jennings brought in a trio of runs to complete the rally and give Southern Miss its first lead of the night en route to victory.
"Everyone on our team knows that we're capable of beating anyone at any time," head coach Brian Levin said. "When you have that attitude, you never feel like you're out of a game because we know we have the talent to come back and win."
The Golden Eagles and Tops were held scoreless through the first two frames. WKU recorded a pair of hits in the opening inning, but the Southern Miss defense held strong. In the second, Leinstock sent two Tops back to the dugout after a pair of strikeouts, but the Golden Eagles were unable to capitalize in the bottom of the inning.
WKU struck first in the top of the third, as a leadoff triple put the Tops in an advantageous situation. An RBI double would bring in WKU's first run of the day, while a single moments later sent another runner home. The Hilltoppers led by two following a scoreless frame from the Golden Eagles.Â
In the top of the fourth, WKU loaded the bases, and a walk brought home the Tops' third run of the contest. WKU left three runners on base, as the Golden Eagles escaped the jam and trailed 3-0.
A pair of singles from Tata Davis and Hannah Borden placed runners on first and second with one away in the bottom of the fourth. However, a strikeout and a pop fly ended the inning, as the Black & Gold were unable to chip into WKU's lead.Â
After a scoreless top of the fifth from the Tops, the Golden Eagles put their first run of the contest on the board. Dittmer recorded the fourth home run of her freshman season, a solo shot to left center, and the deficit for the Black & Gold sat at two as the fifth frame came to a close.
Borden cut WKU's advantage to one in the bottom of the sixth, as the Trussville, Ala. native brought Maria Smith home with a triple.Â
"That at bat felt really good," Borden said of her triple. "I thought I was going to have to slide, but it ended up being a stand up triple, which was surprising. I just tried to make an adjustment from my last two at bats, and I came up with a big hit."
Lorna Agren entered the game as a pinch runner, and Scout Jennings brought her and Borden home with a two-RBI double to give Southern Miss its first lead of the game. Southern Miss closed out the contest in the seventh inning, securing its eighth conference victory of the season.Â
"We know that we're good and we're capable of beating really solid teams," Jennings said. "We stayed relaxed throughout the game and you could see everyone's mood lifting as it went on, which was huge."
The Golden Eagles improved to 4-8 against WKU in the all-time series and have won two straight against the Hilltoppers for the first time in program history, dating back to a 2018 win in Hattiesburg.
Up Next:Â Â Â
The Golden Eagles are back in action against WKU tomorrow at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. and fans can catch the action on CUSA.tv.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Leinstock, Morgan (18-9)
L: Katie GARDNER (9-4)
Batting:
2B: Taylor DAVIS 1
3B: Brylee HAGE 1
RBI: Taylor DAVIS 1 ; Taylor SANDERS 1 ; Maddie BOWLDS 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brylee HAGE 1 ; Taylor DAVIS 1 ; Kennedy FOOTE 1
Batting:
2B: Jennings, Scout 1
3B: Borden, Hannah 1
HR: Dittmer, Alexis 1
RBI: Borden, Hannah 1 ; Jennings, Scout 2 ; Dittmer, Alexis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Maria 1 ; Borden, Hannah 1 ; Agren, Lorna 1 ; Dittmer, Alexis 1
HBP: Dittmer, Alexis 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballLetter to Softball: KK Agner
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Caroline Worrell
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Hannah Borden
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Maria Smith
Sunday, April 28