Softball Set to Host Defending Sun Belt Champions Texas State

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Southern Miss Softball (20-19, 7-4 Sun Belt) gears up for a key Sun Belt series this weekend, welcoming reigning league champions Texas State (25-12, 8-4 Sun Belt) to the Southern Miss Softball Complex, starting Friday at 6 p.m.

The Golden Eagles continued their early success in conference play last weekend, notching their third consecutive series win for the first time since 2016. Southern Miss claimed two of three games at home against ULM, including a thrilling 7-6 walk-off in nine innings on Friday and a decisive 9-5 victory in Saturday's opening doubleheader game.

With a 7-4 start in conference play, Southern Miss is off to its best conference start since joining the Sun Belt and its best overall since 2006.

The Golden Eagles now turn to face a Texas State squad that is second in the conference standings and ranked No. 46 nationally in RPI. The Bobcats enter the weekend after falling 10-1 at No. 1 Texas on Wednesday, but previously swept South Alabama last weekend in league play.

Weekend Schedule

Friday, April 11
Vs. Texas State
   6 p.m.
   Live Stats: https://smttt.info/Stats
ESPN+: https://bit.ly/3R64Ag8

Saturday, April 12
   Vs. Texas State
   5 p.m.
   Live Stats: https://smttt.info/Stats
ESPN+: https://bit.ly/3EdcNfA

Sunday, April 13
   Vs. Texas State
   12 p.m.
   Live Stats: https://smttt.info/Stats
ESPN+: https://bit.ly/3GabBKu


Southern Miss Notes

Graduate student Mikaila Fox was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after a career week at the plate, collecting eight hits and seven RBI while batting .571 and slugging 1.071. She recorded four straight multi-hit performances, becoming the first Golden Eagle to do so since Hannah Borden, a First Team All-Sun Belt selection, achieved the feat last season. Now in her second season with Southern Miss, Fox has proven herself as one of the team's leading offensive contributors, starting 33 games while batting .359 with 33 hits, 20 RBI and a team-best 50 total bases and .543 slugging percentage.

Southern Miss tallied ten or more hits in all four games last week, reaching 14 double-digit hit performances this season, just one shy of the most in a single season since 2019.

Jana Lee continues to climb the program's all-time doubles list, tying her former teammate Hannah Borden, for the fifth most doubles in program history (38). Lee is four doubles away from tying the program record of 42, set by Tata Davis.

Tata Davis- 42 Doubles (231 games)
Ashley Davis- 41 Doubles (240 games)
Megan Hill- 40 Doubles (220 games)
Sarah Evans- 39 Doubles (215 games)
Hannah Borden- 38 Doubles (224 games)

T5: Jana Lee- 38 Doubles (174 games)

Southern Miss ranks within the Top 100 in RPI in the country at No. 81, trailing Sun Belt opponent ULM by one spot.

Freshman Hannah Christian leads all true freshmen in the Sun Belt with 43 hits this season. In Saturday's doubleheader against the Warhawks, she tallied six hits with three in each game, adding four runs, four RBI and her team-leading 11th stolen base of the season. In her debut campaign, Christian has batted .361 with six extra-base hits, 15 RBI and 13 walks.

Christian enters the week with a 12-game hitting streak, which is the longest of her career and the team's longest active streak. Christian has earned a hit in every game since beginning her streak on March 15 in the team's first conference series of the season against Georgia Southern.

Freshman pitcher Kayla Giardina's 67 strikeouts leads the team and ranks tenth in the Sun Belt, and second among all freshmen in the Sun Belt, behind Georgia Southern's Maddie Johnson (94). Giardina ranks second in the conference with three saves this season, picking up her third against ULM on Saturday.

Scouting Texas State

Texas State is led by Ricci Woodard, who is in her 25th season with the Bobcats. Woodard led the Bobcats to 13 conference championships and 11 Division I Softball NCAA Regional appearances.

Texas State, the reigning Sun Belt champions, lead the Sun Belt at No. 46 in RPI. The Bobcats have swept App State and South Alabama in conference play and lost series at Coastal Carolina and Marshall. Texas State is 21-3 in San Marcos this season and 2-6 on the road.

The Golden Eagles will face reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week and Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year Madison Azua, who is 15-4 on the season. She leads the Sun Belt with 137 strikeouts which rank 20th nationally and her 1.96 ERA ranks third in the league and 49th nationally.. Azua logged a 0.43 ERA through 16.1 innings in a sweep of South Alabama, allowing just five hits and one earned run with ten strikeouts.

Aiyana Coleman leads the Sun Belt with a 1.404 OPS and .878 slugging percentage and ranks third in the league batting .422. Coleman paces Texas State with 38 hits, including 12 home runs (4th Sun Belt) with 34 RBI (4th Sun Belt) and 21 walks (5th Sun Belt).

Series History

Texas State leads the all-time series 5-1. The Golden Eagles earned a 9-3 ranked win against No. 24 Texas State to begin its final home series last season.

Southern Miss will celebrate Alumni Weekend during its series against Texas State. On Saturday, the program will honor members of the 2000 Women's College World Series team in celebration of the 25-year anniversary of the their historic run.

For the latest information on Southern Miss Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB) and Instagram (@southernmisssb).

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Softball Set to Host Defending Sun Belt Champions Texas State

Players Mentioned

Hannah Borden

Hannah Christian

Mikaila Fox

Kayla Giardina

Jana Lee

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