The Southern Miss softball team (26-16, 11-7 C-USA) is now on a nine-game winning streak following a three-game road sweep of UAB over the weekend. The sweep comes on the heels of a midweek win over Mississippi Valley State on April 10 and the team’s first series sweep of the season against UTSA from April 6-7.
In Game 1 of the series, Southern Miss took a narrow 2-0 win over the Blazers. Destini Brown hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning to give the team a 1-0 lead. Madison Rayner’s walk during a bases-loaded situation in the fifth inning allowed Samantha Papp to score for the team’s other run on the day.
Pitcher Abby Trahan pitched a complete game shutout and recorded five strikeouts to clinch the win for the team.
The Golden Eagles got on board first in Game 2 in the first inning after Brown stole home plate. In the top of the third inning, Brown scored again after Lacey Sumerlin hit an RBI single. Caroline Casey scored later in the inning to give Southern Miss a 3-0 lead, but UAB responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 3-3.
Following a scoreless fourth inning, a home run streak began for the Golden Eagles. Brown hit her second home run of the series in the top of the fifth, which was followed by a solo home run to centerfield by Rayner.
UAB responded with a solo home run in the sixth inning, but Southern Miss again responded with more home runs. Sumerlin and Alyssa Davis hit solo home runs in the top of the seventh inning to extend the team’s eventual final score of 7-4 over the Blazers.
Overall, the Golden Eagles outhit UAB 9-7, with four of those hits coming off of home runs.
Southern Miss got its second shutout of the weekend in Game 3 on Sunday. Sumerlin kicked things off with an RBI double that scored brown in the top of the first inning. Karley Nichols and Sarah Van Schaik scored in the top of the second inning on an error by UAB, and a Van Schaik single in the third inning allowed Rayner to score.
While both teams were held scoreless the rest of the way, Trahan earned her 13th win of the season by recording her second complete game shutout of the weekend. Trahan allowed five hits and struck out four in the contest.
The two shutouts by Trahan on the weekend brings her season shutout total to six games. Additionally, the nine-game winning streak is the longest the program has had since the 2000 season.
Southern Miss returns to the diamond for a home midweek contest against Nicholls State on April 16 and a road matchup against McNeese State on April 17.
