Southern Miss
Nicholls
Southern Miss Softball Hosts Nicholls for Second Time This Season
4/3/2023 6:54:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- The Southern Miss softball team (15-15, 0-9 Sun Belt) hosts a midweek matchup against Nicholls (20-14, 7-5 Southland) on Tuesday night at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.Â
Last time outÂ
On Sunday, Southern Miss suffered an 11-3 defeat in the last game of their three-game series with Troy. D'Aunn Riggs' single and Taylor McKinney's double to right center gave the Trojans the lead in the top of the first. As Kelly Horne singled through the left side, the Trojans added another run before ending the first.
The Golden Eagles sent a response when they scored in the bottom of the second on singles from Jana Lee and Natalie Taylor. Scout Jennings would sacrifice a fly to center field to bring designated player Jana Lee home. They could later drive two home on fielding errors by the Trojans.Â
Taylor McKinney hit a four-run home ball out of the park to give Troy some extra insurance runs in the top of the fifth, and Jade Sinness singled to left field to provide them with the victory by run rule.
 Jana Lee, Morgan Leinstock, and Paige Kilgore appeared in the circle for Sunday's matchup. Throughout their combined seven innings of work, the three dispatched four Trojans from the batter's box. Before Kilgore closed the game, Leinstock, who replaced Lee in the first inning, tossed 1.1 innings. Leinstock gave up four runs, while Kilgore gave up five. Jana Lee was credited with the defeat (3-4).
Scouting the opponentÂ
The Colonels enter the weekend with a 20-14 overall record after a three-game series against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Nicholls notched two wins on their March 31 doubles header. Game one went to eight innings with the final score of 3-2, and game two ended 6-1. Infielder Erin Krause leads the Colonels at the plate with a .434 batting average and 43 hits. Pitcher and outfielder Abby Anderson follows in right behind her with a .321 batting average and 30 runs. Utility player Melise Gossen posts the most RBIs (33) and home runs (8).Â
The Nicholls pitching staff records an average ERA of 2.75, and Molly Yoo leads in the circle with a 2.31 ERA and a 10-4 record.Â
Series historyÂ
The Golden Eagles last matched up with the Colonels earlier this season at the Hub City Challenge, where Southern Miss recorded a 3-1 win.Â
Hannah Borden launched her third homer of the year in the first inning. Morgan Leinstock pitched five scoreless innings before the Colonels responded with one run in the sixth inning after the help of a double from Erin Krause. Despite their efforts, the Colonels could not get ahead of the Golden Eagles.Â
Up Next:Â Southern Miss softball will head to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game tilt against Texas State April 6-8.Â
For the latest information on Golden Eagle Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB), and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
