April 27, 2008

Box Score

Box Score

El Paso, Texas - The Southern Miss (24-27, 8-13 CUSA) softball team snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday afternoon, and avoided a sweep by shutting out UTEP, 3-0, at Helen of Troy Field.

The teams battled throughout the game, as they combined for 13 hits. However, the game remained scoreless for the first five innings.

In the sixth inning, Lauren Castellvi drew a leadoff walk, knocking UTEP (29-20, 10-11 CUSA) pitcher Renee DiPuccio out of the game. Nichole Tungent came on for the Miners. After Britni Alonzo reached on a fielder's choice, Brittney Pigott pinch hit for Brittney Jones. Pigott took a 3-2 pitch over the right center field wall, snapping a tie and giving the Lady Eagles a 2-0 lead. It was Pigott's second home run of the year.

An inning later, Kristin Pilgrim homered to left center field for the final run of the game. In the bottom of the inning, Samantha Davis retired the Miners in order to close out the victory.

Davis went the distance, striking out three while allowing just five hits to improve her record to 14-10. Tungent took the loss, falling to 8-5.

"It was nice to see Sam come back and respond today," said Southern Miss head coach Howard Dobson. "Yesterday she struggled with hitting her spots. That's the type of pitcher she is. Today she came back and found herself, stayed within herself and started to hit her spots while locating a lot better. You can see the difference in the outcome of the game. We stayed with our game plan. We started to make some adjustments, seeing the ball more. It was nice to see different people step up. It was an all around effort and we're going to have to have that."

Southern Miss closes out the regular season next weekend when they host UCF. The teams will play a doubleheader next Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. (CT), before closing the series on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. (CT).