University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 13
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
19-10, 1-0
6
vs
1
Louisiana
16-11, 0-1
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Louisiana
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
4
1
Southern Miss.
2
3
0
1
0
0
X
6
9
0
Softball Opens Sun Belt Play with Win over Louisiana
3/13/2026 10:02:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (19-10, 1-0 SBC) opened Sun Belt play with a complete performance Friday night, using an early offensive surge and a steady outing from Kayla Giardina to defeat Louisiana (16-11, 0-1 SBC), 6-1, at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Southern Miss grabbed control of the game in the first inning and never let it go. After Abbi Troquille and Carrie Green opened the frame with back-to-back singles, Kayce Bennett reached on a fielder's choice to place runners at the corners with two outs. Jolie Hays then reached on a Louisiana fielding error, allowing both Bennett and Troquille to score and giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles created even more separation in the second. Madison Johnson singled to start the inning, Julia Glasgow followed with a base hit and Troquille worked a two-out walk to load the bases. Green made Louisiana pay, driving a triple to right field that cleared the bases and pushed Southern Miss in front 5-0. Green finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and the game's only extra-base hit for Southern Miss, delivering the biggest swing of the night in the process.
Southern Miss added its final run in the fourth with another well constructed inning. Hannah Christian led off with a single, Troquille followed with her second hit of the night and Bennett added a base hit to load the bases with one out. Hays then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing Christian home for a 6-0 lead. Hays finished with three RBIs, matching Green for the team lead, as the duo accounted for all six Southern Miss runs.
Giardina did the rest. The Southern Miss right hander went the distance, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings while striking out one and not issuing a single walk. She needed only 76 pitches to finish the game and kept Louisiana from putting together sustained offensive momentum. Giardina improved to 9-2 on the season, and the outing marked another efficient performance in a year that has seen her become one of the anchors of the Golden Eagles' pitching staff.
Louisiana's best opportunity before the seventh came in the fourth, when Miki Watts and Brooke Otto delivered consecutive singles to place two runners on with one out. Giardina answered by getting a sacrifice bunt and a fly out to strand both runners and preserve the five-run cushion. The Ragin' Cajuns finally broke through in the seventh when Otto doubled and later scored on Haley Hart's single up the middle, but Giardina closed the door from there to secure the opener.
Troquille once again helped set the tone near the top of the order. The sophomore went 2-for-2, scored twice, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch, reaching base in all four plate appearances. The two-hit performance also gave her five straight home games with at least two hits. Green added two hits and three RBIs, while Christian, Bennett, Johnson and Glasgow each contributed a hit as Southern Miss finished with nine hits and four walks against Louisiana pitching.
Southern Miss also made the most of its chances offensively. The Golden Eagles put runners on in each of the first six innings, forced Louisiana starter Sage Hoover from the game after just 1.2 innings and made life difficult for the visitors throughout the night. Hoover took the loss and allowed five runs, three of them earned, while Lexie Delbrey worked the final 4.1 innings and surrendered one run. Southern Miss left nine runners on base, but its ability to capitalize early gave Giardina more than enough room to work.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were sharp from start to finish. Southern Miss did not commit an error, and center fielder Kinsley Gordon-Sivley was active all night, recording eight putouts. Louisiana managed only four hits, did not draw a walk and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The clean defensive effort was a notable response after Southern Miss allowed 11 runs in a midweek loss at Southeastern and was exactly the kind of complete game the staff wanted entering conference play.
Friday's result gave Southern Miss a strong start to a conference-opening series that continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon in Hattiesburg.
Southern Miss grabbed control of the game in the first inning and never let it go. After Abbi Troquille and Carrie Green opened the frame with back-to-back singles, Kayce Bennett reached on a fielder's choice to place runners at the corners with two outs. Jolie Hays then reached on a Louisiana fielding error, allowing both Bennett and Troquille to score and giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles created even more separation in the second. Madison Johnson singled to start the inning, Julia Glasgow followed with a base hit and Troquille worked a two-out walk to load the bases. Green made Louisiana pay, driving a triple to right field that cleared the bases and pushed Southern Miss in front 5-0. Green finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and the game's only extra-base hit for Southern Miss, delivering the biggest swing of the night in the process.
Southern Miss added its final run in the fourth with another well constructed inning. Hannah Christian led off with a single, Troquille followed with her second hit of the night and Bennett added a base hit to load the bases with one out. Hays then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing Christian home for a 6-0 lead. Hays finished with three RBIs, matching Green for the team lead, as the duo accounted for all six Southern Miss runs.
Giardina did the rest. The Southern Miss right hander went the distance, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings while striking out one and not issuing a single walk. She needed only 76 pitches to finish the game and kept Louisiana from putting together sustained offensive momentum. Giardina improved to 9-2 on the season, and the outing marked another efficient performance in a year that has seen her become one of the anchors of the Golden Eagles' pitching staff.
Louisiana's best opportunity before the seventh came in the fourth, when Miki Watts and Brooke Otto delivered consecutive singles to place two runners on with one out. Giardina answered by getting a sacrifice bunt and a fly out to strand both runners and preserve the five-run cushion. The Ragin' Cajuns finally broke through in the seventh when Otto doubled and later scored on Haley Hart's single up the middle, but Giardina closed the door from there to secure the opener.
Troquille once again helped set the tone near the top of the order. The sophomore went 2-for-2, scored twice, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch, reaching base in all four plate appearances. The two-hit performance also gave her five straight home games with at least two hits. Green added two hits and three RBIs, while Christian, Bennett, Johnson and Glasgow each contributed a hit as Southern Miss finished with nine hits and four walks against Louisiana pitching.
Southern Miss also made the most of its chances offensively. The Golden Eagles put runners on in each of the first six innings, forced Louisiana starter Sage Hoover from the game after just 1.2 innings and made life difficult for the visitors throughout the night. Hoover took the loss and allowed five runs, three of them earned, while Lexie Delbrey worked the final 4.1 innings and surrendered one run. Southern Miss left nine runners on base, but its ability to capitalize early gave Giardina more than enough room to work.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were sharp from start to finish. Southern Miss did not commit an error, and center fielder Kinsley Gordon-Sivley was active all night, recording eight putouts. Louisiana managed only four hits, did not draw a walk and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The clean defensive effort was a notable response after Southern Miss allowed 11 runs in a midweek loss at Southeastern and was exactly the kind of complete game the staff wanted entering conference play.
Friday's result gave Southern Miss a strong start to a conference-opening series that continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon in Hattiesburg.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Giardina, Kayla (9-2)
L: Sage Hoover (4-5)
Batting:
2B: Brooke Otto 1
RBI: Haley Hart 1
SH: Cecilia Vasquez 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooke Otto 1
Batting:
3B: Green, Carrie 1
RBI: Green, Carrie 3 ; Hays, Jolie 3
SF: Hays, Jolie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian, Hannah 1 ; Troquille, Abbi 2 ; Bennett, Kayce 1 ; Johnson, Madison 1 ; Glasgow, Julia 1
HBP: Troquille, Abbi 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
INF
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