Southern Miss
Marshall
Softball Continues Conference Play at Marshall
3/23/2023 11:13:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- The Southern Miss softball team (15-9, 0-3 Sun Belt) continues conference play on the road in Huntington, W.Va., in a three-game series against Marshall (24-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) at Dot Hicks Field March 24-26.Â
Last time outÂ
The Southern Miss softball team closed out their conference opener this past Sunday with a 10-2 loss over No.23 Louisiana in six innings.Â
Louisiana opened the last day of the series with a solo shot home run to center field in the top of the first, but Southern Miss was able to tie the score and get ahead in the fourth and fifth inning. In the fourth, freshman Paris Ferguson singled through the left side for pinch-runner Scout Jennings to score. In the fifth, Hannah Borden doubled down the left field line for Shelby Allen to get home and put the Golden Eagles ahead by one score. The Ragin Cajuns refused the loss as they put up nine runs in the top of the sixth.Â
Morgan Leinstock (8-7) took the loss after pitching five innings and was relieved in the sixth by Jana Lee (3-2).
Scouting the opponentÂ
Marshall opened conference play against App State with one win this past weekend. The two other games were postponed due to weather/fielding conditions. The Thundering Herd enters the weekend coming off a mid-week doubleheader against UT Martin and Bellarmine. Finding wins over both 4-1 and 17-2. Fifth-year head coach Megan Smith Lyon leads the squad. The Marshall coach has a 115-60 record, a.657 winning percentage, and a 508-325 total record (16 years). On April 15, 2022, she achieved her 500th total coaching victory. Marshall was picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll right in front of Southern Miss. Infielder/catcher Autumn Owen leads the Thundering Herd at the plate with a .521 batting average, 13 home runs, and 44 RBIs. She is also tied for the most hits (37) with outfielder Alex Coleman. Coleman is second in batting average with a .474 and has recorded the most runs with 35 and stolen bases (27). Sydney Nester leads in the circle as their ace pitcher with a 1.04 ERA, striking out 126 batters, with a 14-2 record for the 2023 season. Their pitching staff averages a 1.29 ERA.Â
Series historyÂ
The Thundering Herd leads the all-time record of 19-15 with games dating back to 2006. These two teams last met on the pitch in 2019 in Hattiesburg at the Southern Miss Softball Complex for a three-game weekend series. The Golden Eagles found the lone win 5-0 on March 31, 2019, after dropping both games the days before 6-3 and 6-1. The win came from the Golden Eagles taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as designated player Amber Pack delivered a double with runners on the corners. They put up a few more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to cause a 5-0 shutout; Abby Trahan allowed Marshall one hit and issued zero walks.Â
If the weather complies, first pitch is scheduled for noon on Friday, noon on Saturday, and 10 a.m. on Sunday. Live stats and streaming will be available.
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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