Softball Opens C-USA Play at Home; Saturday DH Start Time Pushed Back Hour to 2 p.m. :: The Lady Eagles won one of three against the Golden Hurricane last season.

March 7, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Conference USA play begins for the Southern Miss softball team this weekend when they entertain Tulsa in a three-game series this weekend at the USM Softball Complex.

The two teams play a doubleheader Saturday with a 2 p.m., start, which was moved back an hour from its original start time, and a single game on Sunday with the action beginning at 12 noon.

The Lady Eagles (11-10) are riding a two-game winning streak after sweeping McNeese State in a doubleheader, 4-2 and 10-2 (in five innings), Wednesday night. Southern Miss notched 17 hits in the twinbill.

Senior Jennifer Fox (Jackson, Miss.) needs just one run batted in to become the school's all-time leader in that category. She currently has 111 in her 204 career games as a Lady Eagle.

Fox leads the Lady Eagles offensively with a .351 average to go along with two home runs and 12 RBIs. Sophomore Megan Hill (Hattiesburg, Miss.), who notched four hits in the two games against MSU, saw her average rise to .328 with a pair of homers and 12 RBI.

Junior Kristin Pilgrim leads the Lady Eagles in RBIs this season with 14. Pilgrim has tallied a .286 batting average in 2008 and has hit two round-trippers, including one against MSU Wednesday.

The Lady Eagles continue to play solid defense, posting a .970 fielding percentage as a team. The pitching staff, consisting of five Lady Eagles, have registered a 2.45 ERA as junior Samantha Davis (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) leads the team at 1.88, while freshman Lana Vaughn (Niceville, Fla.) is at 1.89. Freshman Hannah Griffin also has posted a nice ERA, tallying a 2.17 in five appearances.

Tulsa (9-10) comes into the series having beaten No. 9 Oklahoma 5-3 Wednesday night.

The Golden Hurricane has five regulars hitting over .300, including Lauren Lindsey with a team-leading .339 to go along with five home runs and 17 RBIs. Sara Dyer is next at .328, followed by Christian Timmons at .326, Brooke Smart at .314 and Vanessa Vice at .309.

TU's top pitcher is Jackie Lawrence, who has tallied a 5-4 mark, with a 1.48 ERA.