University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 13
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Louisiana
Southern Miss Opens Sun Belt Conference Play Against Louisiana
3/12/2026 2:10:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss softball (18-10, 0-0 Sun Belt) opens its fourth season of Sun Belt Conference action against Louisiana (16-10, 0-0 Sun Belt) this weekend at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. The series opener is set for 6 p.m. Friday night with a broadcast on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles' series against the Ragin' Cajuns continues on Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m. and concludes on Sunday, March 15, at Noon. Clay Sweet will anchor the broadcast for all three games over the weekend.
Southern Miss returns home for the first time since it concluded its six-game homestand against Alcorn State on March 3. The Golden Eagles are 10-2 in the friendly confines of the Southern Miss Softball Complex in 2026 and 50-32 under fourth-year head coach Natalie Poole.
Hannah Christian (Hoover, Ala.) leads the Golden Eagles with a .427 (41-for-96) batting average. She is one of seven qualified Golden Eagle batters sporting an average of .300 or better through the 28-game schedule. Christian also leads Southern Miss in run scored (23), hits (41), RBI (21), doubles (8), total bases (54) and total plate appearances (111).
Christian is also one of three Golden Eagles with a home run on the season, hitting Southern Miss' first of the year in last weekend's Jacksonville Spring Break Challenge.
Carrie Green (Loganville, Ga.) is second on the Golden Eagle squad with a .386 (27-for-70) average and a .494 on-base percentage. Abbi Troquille (Tioga, La.) leads Southern Miss with a .516 on-base percentage thanks to a team-high 18 walks and nine hit-by-pitch at bats.
In the circle, Madilyn Graham (Stringer, Miss.) and Kayla Giardina (Kenner, La.) are the only two Golden Eagle qualified pitches with a minimum of two plate appearances per game. Both hold an ERA less than 2.30 with Graham leading the team with a 2.10 ERA in 10 appearances over 33 1/3 innings. Giardina has worked the lion's share of innings, pitching 77 of Southern Miss' total 186 frames. She leads Southern Miss with a 1.04 WHIP and an 8-3 record with 12 starts and 19 appearances. She also leads Southern Miss with 51 strikeouts and holds a 2.27 ERA.
Louisiana took the midweek off after a four-game stay in Norman, Okla., where the Cajuns finished 2-2, defeating Abilene Christian twice and falling to No. 4 Oklahoma twice. In their last time on the diamond, the Ragin' Cajuns took the fourth-ranked Sooners to the wire in a 2-1 loss.
Mia Liscano leads UL with a .410 (25-for-61) batting average while Otto Brooke's 1.148 OBP paces the Cajuns. Five Cajuns hold a batting average over .300 while as well as five Cajuns with at least 15 runs scored. Liscano leads the team with 20 runs and 10 stolen bases. Haley Hart leads Louisiana with 26 hits and Brooke's eight doubles; six home runs and 23 RBI lead the 2026 team.
Four Cajun pitchers meet the minimum requirement of two plate appearances per game with Sage Hoover pitching the most innings at 51 2/3 innings. Bethaney Noble leads the Cajuns with a 1.80 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, 1.20 WHIP and team-high 5-2 record. Hoover's 37 strikeouts also pace the Cajun battery.
Louisiana leads the all-time series against Southern Miss 54-5 since the first meeting on March 2, 1987. The Cajuns have taken all nine meetings in Sun Belt Conference play since 2023 and hold a nine-game winning streak in the series. Southern Miss is 1-19 against the Ragin' Cajuns in Hattiesburg, last winning on March 6, 1988, in a split doubleheader. Southern Miss is 0-10 all-time against Louisiana at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss has played just four three-game series against Louisiana and is 0-12 in those contests. Southern Miss last took back-to-back games in 1999, defeating the Cajuns on April 23 and April 25 at the Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Golden Eagles' series against the Ragin' Cajuns continues on Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m. and concludes on Sunday, March 15, at Noon. Clay Sweet will anchor the broadcast for all three games over the weekend.
Southern Miss returns home for the first time since it concluded its six-game homestand against Alcorn State on March 3. The Golden Eagles are 10-2 in the friendly confines of the Southern Miss Softball Complex in 2026 and 50-32 under fourth-year head coach Natalie Poole.
Hannah Christian (Hoover, Ala.) leads the Golden Eagles with a .427 (41-for-96) batting average. She is one of seven qualified Golden Eagle batters sporting an average of .300 or better through the 28-game schedule. Christian also leads Southern Miss in run scored (23), hits (41), RBI (21), doubles (8), total bases (54) and total plate appearances (111).
Christian is also one of three Golden Eagles with a home run on the season, hitting Southern Miss' first of the year in last weekend's Jacksonville Spring Break Challenge.
Carrie Green (Loganville, Ga.) is second on the Golden Eagle squad with a .386 (27-for-70) average and a .494 on-base percentage. Abbi Troquille (Tioga, La.) leads Southern Miss with a .516 on-base percentage thanks to a team-high 18 walks and nine hit-by-pitch at bats.
In the circle, Madilyn Graham (Stringer, Miss.) and Kayla Giardina (Kenner, La.) are the only two Golden Eagle qualified pitches with a minimum of two plate appearances per game. Both hold an ERA less than 2.30 with Graham leading the team with a 2.10 ERA in 10 appearances over 33 1/3 innings. Giardina has worked the lion's share of innings, pitching 77 of Southern Miss' total 186 frames. She leads Southern Miss with a 1.04 WHIP and an 8-3 record with 12 starts and 19 appearances. She also leads Southern Miss with 51 strikeouts and holds a 2.27 ERA.
Louisiana took the midweek off after a four-game stay in Norman, Okla., where the Cajuns finished 2-2, defeating Abilene Christian twice and falling to No. 4 Oklahoma twice. In their last time on the diamond, the Ragin' Cajuns took the fourth-ranked Sooners to the wire in a 2-1 loss.
Mia Liscano leads UL with a .410 (25-for-61) batting average while Otto Brooke's 1.148 OBP paces the Cajuns. Five Cajuns hold a batting average over .300 while as well as five Cajuns with at least 15 runs scored. Liscano leads the team with 20 runs and 10 stolen bases. Haley Hart leads Louisiana with 26 hits and Brooke's eight doubles; six home runs and 23 RBI lead the 2026 team.
Four Cajun pitchers meet the minimum requirement of two plate appearances per game with Sage Hoover pitching the most innings at 51 2/3 innings. Bethaney Noble leads the Cajuns with a 1.80 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, 1.20 WHIP and team-high 5-2 record. Hoover's 37 strikeouts also pace the Cajun battery.
Louisiana leads the all-time series against Southern Miss 54-5 since the first meeting on March 2, 1987. The Cajuns have taken all nine meetings in Sun Belt Conference play since 2023 and hold a nine-game winning streak in the series. Southern Miss is 1-19 against the Ragin' Cajuns in Hattiesburg, last winning on March 6, 1988, in a split doubleheader. Southern Miss is 0-10 all-time against Louisiana at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss has played just four three-game series against Louisiana and is 0-12 in those contests. Southern Miss last took back-to-back games in 1999, defeating the Cajuns on April 23 and April 25 at the Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville, Tenn.
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Players Mentioned
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