Lady Eagles Out of Regionals, Lose 1-0 to Penn State

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Southern Miss softball team lost 1-0 to Penn State in its second game of the NCAA Region III Tournament, ending the year with a 46-20 record. Twice the Lady Eagles had potential scoring opportunities stifled with runners at third attempting to go home.

Penn State (34-27) scored its only run in the fourth inning when Erin Norton's double to center field allowed Megan Humphery to cross the plate. Nittany Lions' pitcher Marisa Hanson (12-14) pitched the shutout, giving up five hits, one walk and striking out three.

In the bottom of the fifth, Sarah Boyd stood at third base when Amanda Brown hit the ball to third basemen, Jennifer Tripken. Boyd got caught in a rundown and was tagged out, and on the same play, Kristie Martin attempted to reach third but was also tagged out.

Southern Miss had another scoring opportunity squelched in the seventh when Martin singled up the middle. Boyd, who was at second, rounded third and went half way to home, but the freshmen caught Coach Gay McNutt's halt signal and attempted to go back to third, only to be tagged out again.

Martin, who finishes the season as USM's top hitter at .300, finished the game batting two-for-three. Melissa Cundiff (17-11) ended her freshman year pitching a three-hitter, giving up one run and one walk, while striking out two.

The Lady Eagles, who had 12 active players on their roster, went beyond the expectations of many on-lookers. With only three regular starters returning from last year, Southern Miss collected its second consecutive Conference USA title and made its third straight appearance to the NCAA Regionals.

4-0 win.