Friday, April 25
Hattiesburg, Miss. / Southern Miss Softball Complex
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
22-24, 0
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App State
20-24, 0
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App State
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Southern Miss
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X
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Giardina Tosses Second Straight Shutout as Southern Miss Blanks App State 3-0
4/25/2025 9:38:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Freshman pitcher Kayla Giardina continued her dominant run, tossing her second consecutive complete game shutout to lead Southern Miss Softball (22-24, 9-9 Sun Belt) to a 3-0 win over App State (20-24, 10-9 Sun Belt) Friday night at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Giardina, coming off her first career shutout last weekend at James Madison, threw 111 pitches while allowing five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. The performance helped Southern Miss earn back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since April 2024 against Georgia State.
Senior Jana Lee paced the Golden Eagles' offense, launching a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and drawing two walks. Lee's walks marked a milestone, pushing her to 75 career walks, which is the seventh-most in program history. Her home run, her seventh of the season, also tied her for sixth all-time with former Golden Eagle Mackenzie Sher.
The Golden Eagles added another run in the second inning. Ryanna Valdivia, who reached base after being hit by a pitch to start the frame, later scored on an RBI single by Christian, giving Southern Miss a 3-0 advantage.
Overall, Southern Miss tallied four hits, with Lee, Christian, Nealy McManus and Natalie Taylor each recording a hit.Â
Meanwhile, Giardina delivered timely outs when it mattered most, stranding a runner on third with a strikeout to end the first and getting another big strikeout to leave a Mountaineer on base in the sixth. The Southern Miss defense backed her up with a clean, error-free game.
Southern Miss Notes
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Up Next
Southern Miss continues its series against App State tomorrow at 2 p.m.
For the latest information on Southern Miss Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB) and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
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Giardina, coming off her first career shutout last weekend at James Madison, threw 111 pitches while allowing five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. The performance helped Southern Miss earn back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since April 2024 against Georgia State.
Senior Jana Lee paced the Golden Eagles' offense, launching a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and drawing two walks. Lee's walks marked a milestone, pushing her to 75 career walks, which is the seventh-most in program history. Her home run, her seventh of the season, also tied her for sixth all-time with former Golden Eagle Mackenzie Sher.
The Golden Eagles added another run in the second inning. Ryanna Valdivia, who reached base after being hit by a pitch to start the frame, later scored on an RBI single by Christian, giving Southern Miss a 3-0 advantage.
Overall, Southern Miss tallied four hits, with Lee, Christian, Nealy McManus and Natalie Taylor each recording a hit.Â
Meanwhile, Giardina delivered timely outs when it mattered most, stranding a runner on third with a strikeout to end the first and getting another big strikeout to leave a Mountaineer on base in the sixth. The Southern Miss defense backed her up with a clean, error-free game.
Southern Miss Notes
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- Kayla Giardina became the first Golden Eagle to throw consecutive complete game shutouts since Morgan Leinstock accomplished the feat against Jackson State and Mississippi State in 2022.
- Southern Miss posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since blanking Georgia State twice at home last season (6-0 and 3-0 wins).
- Hannah Christian reached 50 hits on the season with her RBI single, becoming the first Southern Miss freshman to reach the mark since Jana Lee in 2022. Christian has hit safely in 18 of her last 20 games and earlier this season posted the longest hitting streak by a freshman in program history (15 games).
- Southern Miss has homered in three consecutive games for the second time this season.
Up Next
Southern Miss continues its series against App State tomorrow at 2 p.m.
For the latest information on Southern Miss Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB) and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Giardina, Kayla (7-4)
L: Sophie Moshos (13-8)
Base Running:
SB: Makayla McClain 1 ; Julia Girk 1
Batting:
HR: Lee, Jana 1
RBI: Christian, Hannah 1 ; Lee, Jana 2
SH: Weeks, Maddie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian, Hannah 1 ; Lee, Jana 1 ; Valdivia, Ryanna 1
HBP: Valdivia, Ryanna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
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