May 2, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team concludes the regular season at home against UCF with a three-game Conference USA series Saturday and Sunday.

Southern Miss enters the weekend with a 24-27 overall record, following a 3-0 win against UTEP last Sunday when pinch hitter Brittney Pigott belted a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning off the top of the scoreboard. Kristin Pilgrim then followed with a solo shot to left center in the top of the seventh. The Lady Eagles are 8-13 in league play and sitting in seventh in the standings.

Megan Hill continues to pace the Lady Eagles offensively with a batting average of .333 and a team-best 28 RBIs, while Jennifer Fox is right behind with a .315 average. Pilgrim leads the team with nine doubles, while batting .305.

Samantha Davis (14-10) has pitched 160.0 innings with an ERA of 2.62. She has struck out 81.

UCF comes into the weekend riding a six-game winning streak following a 7-1 win over Bethune-Cookman. The Knights have a 41-17 overall record and 14-6 in league play for second place.

Breanne Javier leads the team with a .392 batting average with 74 hits, including 11 doubles a triple and one home run and a team-best 36 RBIs. Marquita Council is second on the team in batting with at .316.

Allison Kime (26-9) paces the pitching staff with a team-low 1.05 ERA. She has worked 239.1 innings, striking out 292 with only 50 walks.

Southern Miss leads the series with UCF, 4-2.

Five seniors (Allison Bullard, Kristen Chaney, Fox, Shea Naramore and Brittney Pigott) will be honored in a post-game ceremony Sunday. First pitch of the double-header is 1 p.m., followed by game two at 3 p.m. Sunday's game will start at noon.