Southern Miss
Alcorn State
Southern Miss Softball Looks to Continue Unblemished at Home Record
2/16/2023 7:10:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- Following its fourth straight victory, the Southern Miss softball team (4-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) welcomes SIUE, Alcorn State, Jacksonville State, and Tulsa to the hub city for their annual Golden Eagle Invitational tournament, which will take place from Feb. 17–19 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss opens the Golden Invitational with a match-up against Alcorn State at 5 p.m. on Friday. Saturday afternoon, they will face off with Tulsa at noon, followed by SIUE at 2:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles will close their weekend with a rematch against Alcorn State at noon and Jacksonville State at 2:30 p.m.Â
The Golden Eagles last took the field in a mid-week match-up against Southern University with a combined no-hitter and three 3-run homers for a 17-0 victory. Head coach Natalie Poole also became the first-ever first-year coach in program history to get off to a 4-0 start.Â
Lorna Agren found her first career home run in the bottom of the first, while Natalie Taylor and Alexis Dittmer found their first of the season in the second and fourth inning shortly after.Â
Paige Kilgore picked up her second win of the season after striking out three batters and only allowed one walk in four innings before Jana Lee entered the circle.Â
Southern Miss hosts its second tournament of the season, following the Black & Gold Invitational last weekend. The Golden Eagles swept their competition, finishing the weekend with a 3-0 record against first-time opponents Seton Hall and the familiar foe Samford.Â
The Golden Eagles hold the all-time series advantage over Alcorn State (22-1), SIUE (1-0), and Jacksonville State (12-6). Southern Miss falls behind the Golden Hurricanes 19-3.Â
The Black & Gold are set to host the Golden Eagle Invitational Feb.17-19 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Live streaming will not be available, but live stats will be available on our website.Â
Scouting the OpponentsÂ
Alcorn State
- Alcorn State takes on the field of the Golden Invitational with a 3-3 record for the 2023 season under the direction of first-year head coach Chiqui Fernandez.Â
- Last weekend found wins over Jackson State, Southeastern Baptist, and Alabama A&M for the River City Classic in Vicksburg, Miss.Â
Tulsa
- Tulsa enters the weekend with a record of 1-4 under third-year head coach Crissy Strimple.Â
- At the UT- Arlington Tournament, the Golden Hurricanes were outscored 10-29 by opponents Texas Tech and host UT Arlington this past weekend.Â
SIUE
- SIUE comes to Hattiesburg with a record of 0-3 under first-year head coach Ben Sorden.
- The Cougars opened their 2023 season in Troy, Ala., for the Trojan Classic, falling short in three contests against Troy and Belmont.Â
Jacksonville StateÂ
- Jacksonville State is led into the Golden Eagle Invitational by 30th-year head coach Jana McGinnis.Â
- As a head coach, McGinnis holds a 987-556 record.Â
- The Gamecocks enter the tournament with a 3-1 record after hosting the Jax State Season Opener against opponents Army and Buffalo.Â
Southern Miss- Alcorn State Series
- Southern Miss and Alcorn State have faced off 23 times, with matches dating back to 2007Â
- The Golden Eagles lead the series 22-1 over the Lady Braves.Â
- The last time these two teams met was last season in Hattiesburg for the Hub City Challenge, where Alcorn State fell in a two-game skid with the scores of 4-2 and 5-2.Â
- Southern Miss has earned seven run-rule victories over Acorn State.Â
Southern Miss- Tulsa SeriesÂ
- Tulsa holds a 19-3 lead in the all-time series, with matches dating back to 2007.Â
- The Golden Hurricanes last faced off with the Black & Gold in May 2013, when Tulsa grabbed the series sweep.Â
- This will be Tulsa's 10th visit to the Hub City.Â
Southern Miss - SIUE SeriesÂ
- Southern Miss leads the series 1-0, with the single match that took place in 2016.Â
- The Cougars and Golden Eagles met up in Mobile, Ala., where Southern Miss recorded a 3-2 win.Â
Southern Miss- Jacksonville State SeriesÂ
- The Golden Eagles hold a 12-6 lead over the Gamecocks, with matches dating back to 2013.Â
- Southern Miss faced off with Jacksonville State on the opening day of the Golden Eagle Invitational last season, where the Gamecocks grabbed a 2-1 victory over the Black & Gold.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
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