Friday, April 14
Monroe, LA
6:00 PM
Southern Miss
at
ULM
Softball Set to Play ULM in Monroe
4/13/2023 7:18:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- The Southern Miss softball team (16-17, 0-11 Sun Belt) is on the road to Monroe, La., to face off with conference foe ULM (20-21, 4-8 Sun Belt) for a three-game series this weekend at the ULM Softball Complex. This will be their second to last road match of regular season play.Â
Last time outÂ
After inclement weather canceled Thursday and Friday's games, Southern Miss and Texas State played a doubleheader Saturday morning. The Golden Eagles fell 4-3 in game one and 4-2 in game two in San Marcos, Texas, on April 8.
Sara Vanderford's right-field single in the second game gave Texas State an early lead. After advancing on the throw, a fielding mistake, and a ground out to Hannah Borden on a sacrifice bunt, Piper Randolph could cross the plate. In the top of the fourth, Southern Miss tied the game. Lorna Agren made her way to first and then stole second. JaneLee grounded out to second, allowing Agren to move up to third. Agren eventually scored when Natalie Taylor singled to shortstop. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bobcats quickly answered with a three-run home drive to right field. In the top of the sixth inning, Jana Lee hit her fourth home run of the year, but Southern Miss could not take the lead in the following frames. Paige Kilgore suffered her second loss of the year. The Houston, Miss. native only walked one hitter while giving up seven hits.Â
Scouting the opponentÂ
ULM enters the weekend with an overall record of 20-21 and conference record of 4-8. The Warhawks are led by Molly Fichtner, who enters her fifth season as head softball coach. Fichtner's fourth season at ULM in 2022 saw the Warhawks pick up 27 wins, the most in her tenure. Louisiana Monore crushed Marshall's 23-game win streak this past weekend in the finale of their three-game series posting a 5-3 victory; they now sit eighth in the conference. ULM also is number one in the conference for fielding percentage (.975) and tied a first with Georgia Southern for sacrifice bunts (29). Utility player Kennedy Johnson leads the Warhawks at the plate with a .342 batting average, recording 14 doubles and 31 RBIs. Outfielder Lourdes Baker falls in right behind Johnson with a .337 batting average, posting 32 runs and 55 hits. The circle is led by Kinsey Kackley, who holds a 2.86 ERA, a 9-9 record, has thrown seven complete games, and has struck out 114 batters. The pitching staff, as a whole, tags a 3.14 ERA.Â
Series historyÂ
The Warhawks lead the all-time series 20-15, with matchups dating back to 1983. Both teams faced off last season for the final game of the Golden Eagle Invitational. ULM was defeated by Southern Miss 8-1; the Golden Eagles scored four runs in the second and sixth innings. After a 0-0 opening stanza, Maria Smith scored an RBI triple to start the Golden Eagles' scoring. The Warhawks' made a fielding error bringing Smith home, and after Brown singled, another run was added, bringing the total up to three.Â
Tata Davis singled, and Natalie Hurdle scored her first run of the year on a wild pitch to give Southern Miss a 4-0 lead going into the top of the third. ULM scored to reduce the Golden Eagles' lead to three in the top of the fifth. Later, more insurance runs would be scored, with Hannah Borden and Jana Lee bringing in Davis and Brown in back-to-back circumstances involving fielders' choices. Leinstock put on an outstanding display in the circle, retiring three of the first four batters to earn her fourth victory of the year. The Scottsdale, Arizona native struck out six batters and induced eight groundouts while giving up just one run.
The start time for the games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is 6 p.m., 2 p.m., and noon. Live streaming and live stats will be available.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Last time outÂ
After inclement weather canceled Thursday and Friday's games, Southern Miss and Texas State played a doubleheader Saturday morning. The Golden Eagles fell 4-3 in game one and 4-2 in game two in San Marcos, Texas, on April 8.
Sara Vanderford's right-field single in the second game gave Texas State an early lead. After advancing on the throw, a fielding mistake, and a ground out to Hannah Borden on a sacrifice bunt, Piper Randolph could cross the plate. In the top of the fourth, Southern Miss tied the game. Lorna Agren made her way to first and then stole second. JaneLee grounded out to second, allowing Agren to move up to third. Agren eventually scored when Natalie Taylor singled to shortstop. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bobcats quickly answered with a three-run home drive to right field. In the top of the sixth inning, Jana Lee hit her fourth home run of the year, but Southern Miss could not take the lead in the following frames. Paige Kilgore suffered her second loss of the year. The Houston, Miss. native only walked one hitter while giving up seven hits.Â
Scouting the opponentÂ
ULM enters the weekend with an overall record of 20-21 and conference record of 4-8. The Warhawks are led by Molly Fichtner, who enters her fifth season as head softball coach. Fichtner's fourth season at ULM in 2022 saw the Warhawks pick up 27 wins, the most in her tenure. Louisiana Monore crushed Marshall's 23-game win streak this past weekend in the finale of their three-game series posting a 5-3 victory; they now sit eighth in the conference. ULM also is number one in the conference for fielding percentage (.975) and tied a first with Georgia Southern for sacrifice bunts (29). Utility player Kennedy Johnson leads the Warhawks at the plate with a .342 batting average, recording 14 doubles and 31 RBIs. Outfielder Lourdes Baker falls in right behind Johnson with a .337 batting average, posting 32 runs and 55 hits. The circle is led by Kinsey Kackley, who holds a 2.86 ERA, a 9-9 record, has thrown seven complete games, and has struck out 114 batters. The pitching staff, as a whole, tags a 3.14 ERA.Â
Series historyÂ
The Warhawks lead the all-time series 20-15, with matchups dating back to 1983. Both teams faced off last season for the final game of the Golden Eagle Invitational. ULM was defeated by Southern Miss 8-1; the Golden Eagles scored four runs in the second and sixth innings. After a 0-0 opening stanza, Maria Smith scored an RBI triple to start the Golden Eagles' scoring. The Warhawks' made a fielding error bringing Smith home, and after Brown singled, another run was added, bringing the total up to three.Â
Tata Davis singled, and Natalie Hurdle scored her first run of the year on a wild pitch to give Southern Miss a 4-0 lead going into the top of the third. ULM scored to reduce the Golden Eagles' lead to three in the top of the fifth. Later, more insurance runs would be scored, with Hannah Borden and Jana Lee bringing in Davis and Brown in back-to-back circumstances involving fielders' choices. Leinstock put on an outstanding display in the circle, retiring three of the first four batters to earn her fourth victory of the year. The Scottsdale, Arizona native struck out six batters and induced eight groundouts while giving up just one run.
The start time for the games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is 6 p.m., 2 p.m., and noon. Live streaming and live stats will be available.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
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