Wednesday, May 7
Troy, Ala. / Troy Softball Complex
4 p.m.
Southern Miss
23-29
2
vs
7
Coastal Carolina
38-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Southern Miss
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
6
1
Coastal Carolina
3
0
1
0
1
2
X
7
10
1
Softball Falls in Opening Round of Sun Belt Championship
5/7/2025 7:21:00 PM | Softball
TROY, Ala.-Southern Miss Softball (23-29, 10-14 Sun Belt) fell 7-2 to Coastal Carolina (38-17, 14-11 Sun Belt) Wednesday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship in Troy, Ala.Â
Coastal Carolina seized control early with a three-run home run from Keirstin Roose in the first inning and maintained its lead for the remainder of the game. Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Nicolette Picone earned her 25th win of the season, tossing a complete game with six hits allowed and five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Southern Miss utilized a combination of Kayla Giardina, Jana Lee, and Natalie Herrington in the circle. Giardina took the loss, throwing three innings and surrendering five hits, three earned runs, and two strikeouts.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles were led by multi-hit games from freshmen Kayce Bennett and Carrie Green. Seniors Natalie Taylor and Maddie Weeks also recorded hits.
Bennett sparked the offense with a leadoff double in the third, later scoring on Green's RBI single to put Southern Miss on the board. Coastal responded with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the frame and threatened again in the fourth, but Lee worked out of a bases-loaded jam in relief.
The Chanticleers extended their lead with a solo homer from Maddy Jennings in the fifth and tacked on two more runs on four hits in the sixth.
In her final at-bat, Taylor doubled down the left-field line and scored on a Coastal Carolina error. Picone closed out the game with three consecutive outs, sending Coastal Carolina to the next round.
Southern Miss concludes its season with its most conference wins since 2019, highlighted by the program's best start to league play since 2006.
Twelve seniors concluded their career with the Black & Gold: Sam Bodell, Carlee Durham, Mikaila Fox, Marissa Frederick, Claire Ginder, Faith Kivett, Jana Lee, Maddie Moody, Loganne Stepp, Natalie Taylor, Ryanna Valdivia and Maddie Weeks.Â
For the latest information on Southern Miss Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB) and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Â
Coastal Carolina seized control early with a three-run home run from Keirstin Roose in the first inning and maintained its lead for the remainder of the game. Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Nicolette Picone earned her 25th win of the season, tossing a complete game with six hits allowed and five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Southern Miss utilized a combination of Kayla Giardina, Jana Lee, and Natalie Herrington in the circle. Giardina took the loss, throwing three innings and surrendering five hits, three earned runs, and two strikeouts.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles were led by multi-hit games from freshmen Kayce Bennett and Carrie Green. Seniors Natalie Taylor and Maddie Weeks also recorded hits.
Bennett sparked the offense with a leadoff double in the third, later scoring on Green's RBI single to put Southern Miss on the board. Coastal responded with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the frame and threatened again in the fourth, but Lee worked out of a bases-loaded jam in relief.
The Chanticleers extended their lead with a solo homer from Maddy Jennings in the fifth and tacked on two more runs on four hits in the sixth.
In her final at-bat, Taylor doubled down the left-field line and scored on a Coastal Carolina error. Picone closed out the game with three consecutive outs, sending Coastal Carolina to the next round.
Southern Miss concludes its season with its most conference wins since 2019, highlighted by the program's best start to league play since 2006.
Twelve seniors concluded their career with the Black & Gold: Sam Bodell, Carlee Durham, Mikaila Fox, Marissa Frederick, Claire Ginder, Faith Kivett, Jana Lee, Maddie Moody, Loganne Stepp, Natalie Taylor, Ryanna Valdivia and Maddie Weeks.Â
For the latest information on Southern Miss Softball, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSB), Twitter (@SouthernMissSB) and Instagram (@southernmisssb).
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Picone, Nicolette (25-9)
L: Giardina, Kayla (7-8)
Batting:
2B: Taylor, Natalie 1 ; Bennett, Kayce 1
RBI: Green, Carrie 1
SH: McManus, Nealy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor, Natalie 1 ; Bennett, Kayce 1
CS: Green, Carrie 1
Batting:
2B: Roose, Keirstin 1
HR: Roose, Keirstin 1 ; Jennings, Maddy 1
RBI: Keith, Delaney 1 ; Roose, Keirstin 3 ; Jennings, Maddy 1 ; Metzger, McKennah 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Pippin, Libby 1 ; Keith, Delaney 1 ; Hood, Georgia 1 ; Roose, Keirstin 2 ; Jennings, Maddy 1 ; Hudgens, Clara 1
HBP: McDonald, Hope 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF/UT
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
RHP/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
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