Southern Miss Heads to Charlotte for Series Against 49ers

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss softball team travels to North Carolina for a Conference USA series against the Charlotte 49ers this weekend. The Golden Eagles look to ride a wave of momentum from a recent victory over Mississippi State into a crucial conference series.

The Black & Gold last took the field on Wednesday, April 6 at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Golden Eagles (21-15, 1-8 C-USA) were propelled to a 3-0 victory by a two-run shot from Tata Davis and a strong performance in the circle from Morgan Leinstock.

Southern Miss defeated Mississippi State for the first time since 2011 and knocked off the Bulldogs in Hattiesburg for the first time since 2004. The Golden Eagles now hold two victories over SEC opponents this season, with the first coming against Florida on March 2.

The Golden Eagles look to change the tide of their Conference USA schedule against the 49ers this weekend. Southern Miss plays its first conference contest since March 27 and enters the series with a 1-8 mark in C-USA action. The Golden Eagles' conference victory came against MTSU on March 19 on the road, and four C-USA losses have come by just one run.

Charlotte enters its third home conference series with a record of 4-8 in C-USA play, with series losses to Marshall, North Texas and WKU. While the 49ers hold a strong 20-8 record in Daughtridge Stadium, Charlotte has a 2-7 record at home in Conference USA action.

The 49ers' most impressive win of the season came on March 2 against then-No. 6 Virginia Tech at home. A pair of home runs from Bailey Vannoy and Ella Chancey lifted Charlotte past Virginia Tech for the first time since 1998 by a score of 5-2.

Southern Miss squares off with Charlotte for the first time since 2018 and holds a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series against the 49ers. Head coach Brian Levin has yet to face off with Charlotte as the leader of the Golden Eagle program and will look to bring home the first series win against the 49ers since 2017.

The Golden Eagles take on Charlotte on Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m., Saturday, April 9 at noon and Sunday, April 10 at 11 a.m. All three contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can follow live stats by visiting the Southern Miss softball schedule page.

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 Charlotte
-Charlotte enters this weekend's series with a record of 24-13 and a 4-8 mark in Conference USA action.
-The 49ers hold a record of 20-8 at home, but have struggled in C-USA play in North Carolina, with a 2-7 mark through three series.
-Home runs from Bailey Vannoy and Ella Chancey propelled Charlotte past the then-No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies on March 2.
-The 49ers last took the field on April 6 at Daughtridge Stadium for a contest against in-state foe, North Carolina. Lindsey Walljasper recorded a complete-game win, as Charlotte defeated the Tar Heels 6-2.
-Charlotte is 3-7 in its last 10 contests, which includes wins against UNC, UTSA and North Texas. The 49ers have suffered losses to the Mean Green, Roadrunners, NC State and Marshall in that span.

Southern Miss-Charlotte Series
-Southern Miss and Charlotte have battled 23 times since 2000, with the Golden Eagles holding a 16-7 lead in the all-time series.
-Charlotte has been successful against the Golden Eagles in recent matchups, as the 49ers have won four of the last five meetings.
-Southern Miss last faced off with the 49ers in 2018 for a three-game conference series in North Carolina. Charlotte swept the series, outscoring the Golden Eagles 17-8 over the course of the three contests.
Southern Miss, 16 | Charlotte 7
Home: 10-2
Away: 6-5
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: 5-4 Charlotte (5/6/18)

Last Time Out (vs. Mississippi State)
-The Golden Eagles last took the field on April 6 for a home matchup with in-state foe, Mississippi State.
-Southern Miss was propelled to a 3-0 shutout victory by a strong performance from Morgan Leinstock in the circle.
-Tata Davis recorded her fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first to give Southern Miss a lead that it would never lose.
-The Golden Eagles now hold two victories against SEC opponents in 2022, the first time Southern Miss has accomplished that feat since 2011.

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 107 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 became the first Golden Eagle in program history to eclipse the 100 steals milestone on March 11 against North Texas.

Down Goes No. 4 Florida
-The Golden Eagles shocked the college softball world on March 2, as Southern Miss defeated the previously-undefeated Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
-Southern Miss toughed out a 5-4 victory on the road, picking up its first win against a ranked foe since 2018 and its first top-five win since the 2000 Women's College World Series.
-Home runs from Jana Lee and Maria Smith propelled Southern Miss to one of the biggest victories in program history. Morgan Leinstock led the way in the circle, holding Florida's potent offense to four runs in a stunning upset.
-Southern Miss became the first unranked program to take down a top-five opponent this season.

Leinstock brings the Heat
-Junior pitcher Morgan Leinstock has been 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 had one of the busiest schedules in college softball, as she has pitched 143.2 innings thus far this season.
-She recorded her first win over a ranked opponent on Wednesday, March 2 against No. 4 Florida.

Southern Miss Heads to Charlotte for Series Against 49ers

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Players Mentioned

Destini Brown

Tata Davis

Jana Lee

Morgan Leinstock

Maria Smith