University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, April 24
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
South Alabama
Softball Closes Home Slate Against South Alabama
4/23/2026 3:30:00 PM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss softball (30-20, 11-7 Sun Belt) plays host to South Alabama (27-21, 11-7 Sun Belt) for the final home series of the season at the Southern Miss Softball Complex April 24-26.
The series will be streamed to ESPN+, covered by Clay Sweet on play-by-play, with live scoring available through Stat Broadcast.
Southern Miss is returning home after a midweek bout with Ole Miss, where Nealy McManus hit her first career home run. The black and gold are top 20 in the nation in fielding percentage of .976 and 39th in the nation in shutouts at seven.
The Golden Eagles are 4-9-1 against the Jaguars at home and 4-6 through the last 10 matchups. The last time the two programs met, in 2025, Southern Miss claimed the series win in Mobile, Alabama, taking two games to one.
Abbi Troquille is tied for second in the nation in hit by pitches, drawing 21. Kayla Giardina is ranked 16th in walks allowed per seven innings with 1.20. Kayce Bennett has caught 12 runners stealing, ranking her 18th in the nation. McManus is 21st in the nation with 111 assists and Hannah Christian is ranked 26th in the nation with 66 hits.
Southern Miss is ranked third in the nation in SAC flies at 26, 12th in the nation with 45 hit by pitches, top 30 in the nation in triples at 14 and 41st in the nation in walks at 180. The Golden Eagles lead the Sun Belt in triples, hit by pitches, SAC flies, fielding percentage and allowing the least amount of triples on the season with three.
South Alabama continues its road stretch after dropping a series 2-1 to Marshall, scoring eight runs on the weekend. The Jaguars are in a three-way tie with Southern Miss and Texas State for third in the conference.
Virginia Mambelli leads the Jaguars at the dish with a .347 batting average, a .633 slugging percentage, nine hit-by-pitches, four sacrifice flies, 26 RBIs and six home runs. In the circle, Ryley Harrison is at the forefront with a 2.57 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 13 complete games, four shutouts, five saves, 161 innings pitched and 150 strikeouts.
Series History
The series will be streamed to ESPN+, covered by Clay Sweet on play-by-play, with live scoring available through Stat Broadcast.
Southern Miss is returning home after a midweek bout with Ole Miss, where Nealy McManus hit her first career home run. The black and gold are top 20 in the nation in fielding percentage of .976 and 39th in the nation in shutouts at seven.
The Golden Eagles are 4-9-1 against the Jaguars at home and 4-6 through the last 10 matchups. The last time the two programs met, in 2025, Southern Miss claimed the series win in Mobile, Alabama, taking two games to one.
Abbi Troquille is tied for second in the nation in hit by pitches, drawing 21. Kayla Giardina is ranked 16th in walks allowed per seven innings with 1.20. Kayce Bennett has caught 12 runners stealing, ranking her 18th in the nation. McManus is 21st in the nation with 111 assists and Hannah Christian is ranked 26th in the nation with 66 hits.
Southern Miss is ranked third in the nation in SAC flies at 26, 12th in the nation with 45 hit by pitches, top 30 in the nation in triples at 14 and 41st in the nation in walks at 180. The Golden Eagles lead the Sun Belt in triples, hit by pitches, SAC flies, fielding percentage and allowing the least amount of triples on the season with three.
South Alabama continues its road stretch after dropping a series 2-1 to Marshall, scoring eight runs on the weekend. The Jaguars are in a three-way tie with Southern Miss and Texas State for third in the conference.
Virginia Mambelli leads the Jaguars at the dish with a .347 batting average, a .633 slugging percentage, nine hit-by-pitches, four sacrifice flies, 26 RBIs and six home runs. In the circle, Ryley Harrison is at the forefront with a 2.57 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 13 complete games, four shutouts, five saves, 161 innings pitched and 150 strikeouts.
Series History
- The Jaguars lead the matchup 21-9-1
- In the last meeting, Southern Miss took the series 2-1 in 2025
- Southern Miss is 4-9-1 when playing at home, the tie stemming from 2009 with a rainout 6-6
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballLetter to Softball: KK Agner
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Caroline Worrell
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Hannah Borden
Sunday, April 28
Letter to Softball: Maria Smith
Sunday, April 28