Saturday, April 30
Hattiesburg, Miss.
1 p.m.
Southern Miss
29-19, 9-11
4
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3
WKU
31-11, 13-7
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5
6
7
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E
WKU
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3
9
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Southern Miss
3
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1
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X
4
6
1
Golden Eagles Close Door on WKU's Rally to Secure Conference USA Series
4/30/2022 3:40:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Golden Eagles received strong performances from Scout Jennings and Jana Lee, as the Southern Miss softball team secured the series with WKU on Saturday. The Black & Gold held on to pick up a 4-3 victory over the Hilltoppers.
Jennings and Lee both batted in a pair of runs for the Golden Eagles en route to Southern Miss' third Conference USA series win of the season. Southern Miss (29-19, 9-11 C-USA) recorded its first save of the year, as Morgan Leinstock entered the circle in the top of the seventh to preserve the victory.
"This was a huge win for us," head coach Brian Levin said. "Any time you beat a team like that in Conference USA and you come away with the series win is huge. It just validates the fact that we can play with anybody at any time."
Lee was effective on both sides of the ball in the first, as the Albany, Ga. native threw a pair of strikeouts and opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first. Jennings extended Southern Miss' early lead with a triple that brought Hannah Borden and Lee home, as the Golden Eagles led 3-0 after one.
WKU recorded its first two hits of the afternoon in the top of the second, but the Golden Eagles maintained their three-run lead as the Tops left two runners on base. The Golden Eagles were held off the board in the bottom of the inning.
Both squads combined for just one hit in the third and fourth innings, as Southern Miss and WKU held strong defensively. The Tops loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with one away, but a fielder's choice and a pop-up allowed the Golden Eagles to escape the frame with their 3-0 lead intact.Â
In the bottom of the fifth, Lee recorded her second RBI of the afternoon following a single that brought Tata Davis home. The Golden Eagles kept WKU off the board once again in the top of the sixth, as Southern Miss led 4-0.
The Black & Gold put runners on first and second, but the Golden Eagles were unable to bring them home as the Southern Miss advantage remained at four runs. WKU led off with a double and a single to place runners on first and third with no outs in the top of the seventh.
The Hilltoppers cut into Southern Miss' lead with a fielder's choice that brought a runner from third home. A groundout advanced runners to second and third with one away, and a sacrifice fly trimmed WKU's deficit to two, and a double moments later brought the Tops within one.
Leinstock entered the contest and recorded the first save of Southern Miss' season to secure the one-run victory. The Black & Gold picked up its first series win over the Tops in program history and improve to 5-8 against WKU in the all-time series.Â
"This series win means a lot for us," Davis said following the victory. "WKU was the top team in the East (Division), and this just shows us that we can beat anybody on any given day. As long as we fight and play hard, there's no doubt for us."
Up Next:Â Â Â
The Golden Eagles are back in action against WKU tomorrow at the Southern Miss Softball Complex for the final game of the series with a chance to secure a sweep. First pitch is slated for noon 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
Jennings and Lee both batted in a pair of runs for the Golden Eagles en route to Southern Miss' third Conference USA series win of the season. Southern Miss (29-19, 9-11 C-USA) recorded its first save of the year, as Morgan Leinstock entered the circle in the top of the seventh to preserve the victory.
"This was a huge win for us," head coach Brian Levin said. "Any time you beat a team like that in Conference USA and you come away with the series win is huge. It just validates the fact that we can play with anybody at any time."
Lee was effective on both sides of the ball in the first, as the Albany, Ga. native threw a pair of strikeouts and opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first. Jennings extended Southern Miss' early lead with a triple that brought Hannah Borden and Lee home, as the Golden Eagles led 3-0 after one.
WKU recorded its first two hits of the afternoon in the top of the second, but the Golden Eagles maintained their three-run lead as the Tops left two runners on base. The Golden Eagles were held off the board in the bottom of the inning.
Both squads combined for just one hit in the third and fourth innings, as Southern Miss and WKU held strong defensively. The Tops loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with one away, but a fielder's choice and a pop-up allowed the Golden Eagles to escape the frame with their 3-0 lead intact.Â
In the bottom of the fifth, Lee recorded her second RBI of the afternoon following a single that brought Tata Davis home. The Golden Eagles kept WKU off the board once again in the top of the sixth, as Southern Miss led 4-0.
The Black & Gold put runners on first and second, but the Golden Eagles were unable to bring them home as the Southern Miss advantage remained at four runs. WKU led off with a double and a single to place runners on first and third with no outs in the top of the seventh.
The Hilltoppers cut into Southern Miss' lead with a fielder's choice that brought a runner from third home. A groundout advanced runners to second and third with one away, and a sacrifice fly trimmed WKU's deficit to two, and a double moments later brought the Tops within one.
Leinstock entered the contest and recorded the first save of Southern Miss' season to secure the one-run victory. The Black & Gold picked up its first series win over the Tops in program history and improve to 5-8 against WKU in the all-time series.Â
"This series win means a lot for us," Davis said following the victory. "WKU was the top team in the East (Division), and this just shows us that we can beat anybody on any given day. As long as we fight and play hard, there's no doubt for us."
Up Next:Â Â Â
The Golden Eagles are back in action against WKU tomorrow at the Southern Miss Softball Complex for the final game of the series with a chance to secure a sweep. First pitch is slated for noon 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: Lee, Jana (7-6)
L: Savannah FIERKE (2-1)
S: Leinstock, Morgan (1)
Batting:
2B: Maddie BOWLDS 2 ; Kennedy FOOTE 1
RBI: Brylee HAGE 1 ; Taylor SANDERS 1 ; Maddie BOWLDS 1
SF: Taylor SANDERS 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brylee HAGE 1 ; Kennedy FOOTE 1 ; TJ WEBSTER 1
SB: Randi DRINNON 1
Batting:
2B: Brown, Destini 1 ; Davis, Tata 1
3B: Jennings, Scout 1
RBI: Lee, Jana 2 ; Jennings, Scout 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Destini 1 ; Davis, Tata 1 ; Borden, Hannah 1 ; Lee, Jana 1
SB: Brown, Destini 1
HBP: Brown, Destini 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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