Southern Miss
No. 23 Louisiana
Softball Faces No.23 Louisiana in Conference Opener
3/17/2023 1:10:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- The Southern Miss softball team (15-6, 0-0 Sun Belt) opens conference play in a three-game series against No.23 Louisiana (18-9, 0-0 Sun Belt) at the Southern Miss Softball Complex March 18-19.Â
Last time outÂ
The Golden Eagles fell in a midweek matchup against Ole Miss Wednesday night 9-1 in five innings.Â
The lone score for the Golden Eagles came in the bottom of the third when Jana Lee singled up the middle for Hannah Borden to get home. The Southern Miss defense fought hard but was no match when Ole Miss would score in every inning, and notably, right fielder Mya Stevenson would bring three more batters home in the fourth to total four RBIs for the night.Â
Scouting the opponentÂ
Louisiana enters the weekend after dropping only one game at the Bubly Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., March 10-12. The Ragin' Cajuns recorded a 1-0 win over No.12 Florida this past Saturday. This marked the program's third victory over a ranked team for the 2023 season.Â
Louisiana is the three-time defending regular season and conference tournament champions. In the 2023 preseason polls, they were picked to finish first. Since the Ragin' Cajuns joined the Sun Belt in 2000, they have won 18 regular-season and 17 tournament championships. From the beginning of the 2023 season, Louisiana has been ranked in the NCAA Division I Top 25 Poll.
Sixth-year head coach Gerry Glasco leads the Ragin' Cajuns; he is considered one of the nation's top offensive coaches. Glasco has coached 13 All-Americans, 29 All-SEC honorees, 21 All-Sun Belt performers, and 40 All-Region selections. As a collegiate coach, he has participated in 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, six NCAA Super Regionals, and three Women's College World Series.
Series historyÂ
The two teams haven't met in Hattiesburg since 2016, and Louisiana has a 45-5 advantage in the overall series. In a doubleheader between the two teams in 2017, Southern Miss succeeded over the Ragin Cajuns for the first time since 1999.
As Lauren Holifield hit a three-run home run in the third inning of game one, Southern Miss quickly took the lead. Haley Hayden's RBI double made the score 3-1 for the Ragin' Cajuns in the fifth inning as they attempted to cut into the Golden Eagle lead. Samantha Papp added a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Ragin' Cajuns were still down 4-3 after DJ Sanders' two-run double in the seventh gave Southern Miss a slim lead. On a fly out to center field, the Golden Eagles were able to avoid the rally.
In game two, Louisiana tried to get retaliation by taking the lead early and gaining a 3-0 advantage in the third inning. Samantha Papp's three-run home run in the sixth inning allowed the Golden Eagles to tie the game. Samantha Reynolds walked to start the seventh inning, and Selena Estrada hit a walk-off home run to conclude the game.
Notes
- Freshman outfielder Mihyia Davis leads the team with a .442 batting average. Â
- Outfielder Maddie Hayden has a team-high of 25 hits.Â
- Senior Karly Heath has a team-high of 20 runs batted in and 18 runs scored, tied with Maddie Hayden and Mihyia Davis.Â
- In the circle, senior Kandra Lamb leads Louisiana. The righty notches a 3-0 record on the year. She owns a 2.23 ERA through 22 innings pitched.Â
- As a team, the Ragin Cajuns have a staff ERA of 2.70.Â
First pitch on Saturday is set for 1 p.m., followed by game two at 3:30 p.m. Sunday's game is slated for noon.Â
Live Stats and streaming will be available. Single-game and season tickets are still available for purchase at SouthernMissTickets.com.
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
