Southern Miss softball closed out its regular season with three straight losses in Monroe, La.
Facing off in their final three games before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Golden Eagles battled in a weekend series against the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.
In their first game on Thursday, the Golden Eagles loaded up the bases early in the first inning. Jolie Hays hit a single to center field and allowed Hannah Christian to score from third base. The Warhawks forced two quick outs and ended Southern Miss’s inning with just one run. After keeping the Warhawks scoreless in their first inning, ULM returned the favor by keeping the Golden Eagles scoreless in the top of the second inning. The Warhawks went on to score two runs in the second to take the lead back from Southern Miss.
ULM pushed their lead through the next three innings as they led 6-1 going into the fifth inning. Trying to mount a comeback, the Golden Eagles got back-to-back walks with loaded bases to cut the Warhawks’ lead to three. Another run in the sixth by ULM pushed their lead back to four going into the final inning. Pushing for the clutch comeback, Paris Fergueson hit a massive three-run home run to narrow ULM’s lead to just one. The Warhawks held on and forced the third and final out of the inning as they handed Southern Miss the 7-6 loss.
Friday’s game was postponed to Saturday due to stormy weather, giving the Golden Eagles a doubleheader to end their regular season. Both teams were ice-cold in the first game on Saturday. The Golden Eagles only got three hits in the entire game, and could not turn any of those hits into runs. The Warhawks did not do much better, with only four hits total and one run as they narrowly secured a 1-0 victory.
The offensive struggles continued in the final game of the series. After four innings, both teams remained scoreless and Southern Miss only had one hit to their credit. Nealy McManus got Southern Miss’s first hit in several innings, but ULM did not give up another hit in the inning as the Golden Eagles went back to the dugout scoreless. The Warhawks broke the tie with a massive double run to give them a 2-0 lead at the end of the fifth inning. After another scoreless sixth inning for both teams, the Golden Eagles attempted another late comeback. Kayce Bennett started the seventh and final inning with a home run out to left field. Issie Coker and Christian followed with hits of their own to load up first and second base. But once again, ULM held out and forced two final outs to secure their 2-1 win.
The Golden Eagles will face off against South Alabama in the Sun Belt Softball Championship on May 7 in Lafayette, La.
