The youth of the Golden Eagle softball team leads the way to several victories for the team.

Southern Miss’ softball team sits as one of the youngest teams in the Sun Belt conference. With just two seniors and five juniors, over three quarters of the team classifies as underclassmen. The Golden Eagle’s starting lineup is even younger, with just two of the ten starters being upperclassmen.

Despite this youth, the Golden Eagles hold a positive record, and it is largely because of the impactful play by the underclassmen. Of the team’s top five leaders in runs this season, all but one of them is a sophomore. Leading the way for these sophomores is Hannah Christian, who leads the team with 25 hits and 13 runs so far this season.

Head coach Natalie Poole says the sheer number of younger players she has tends to lead to younger lineups.

“But outside of that, they just have, you know, come in,” said Poole. “They’re athletic. They’re ready to play. They want it. They’re hungry. They’re learning. They’re open. They’re embodying all those things, and really when it comes down to it, we’re just seeking performance. And so, whoever kind of steps up in those instances is what we want to see.”

Coach Poole also states that the impact the young players have on this team goes beyond what fans see on the field.

“Their energy is pretty awesome,” said Poole. “You know, they’re fun to be around. They’re competitive. They know how to win, and they come from places where they’ve really competed well. And so, whenever we recruited them, we wanted to see that from them. Just who they are and who they have been, and then just take on the sort of maturity that was needed to be able to play this. But their energy and their efforts and their work ethic is really good, and so I’ve just enjoyed seeing that grow.”

The young softball team currently sits at 13-8 on the season. To catch Southern Miss softball games or learn more about the team, visit Southernmiss.com.