| WKU Softball at Southern Miss | |
| Dates | Saturday, April 2 - Sunday, April 3 |
| Location | Hattiesburg, Miss. I Southern Miss Softbal Complex |
| Video ($) | SouthernMiss.com |
| WKU Game Notes | Game Notes |
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU softball is set to resume Conference USA play this weekend as the Lady Toppers travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for a three-game series with Southern Miss this weekend.
Action at the Southern Miss Softball Complex is set to begin Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT and the series will wrap Sunday afternoon with a noon CT contest with the Golden Eagles.
WKU (11-16, 3-3 C-USA) currently sits in sixth place in the most recent league standings as the Lady Toppers are coming off the program's first-ever C-USA series defeat since joining the league in 2015 as North Texas took two of the three contests played at the WKU Softball complex this past weekend.
Most recently, WKU wrapped its nine-game home stand Wednesday evening as the Lady Toppers fell to No. 25 Louisville, 12-0, in five innings.
The duo of Jordan Mauch and Brooke Holloway continues to pace a WKU offense that has a current team-batting average of .266 on the year. Both players are hitting .300 on the year led by Mauch's .354 average as the sophomore continues to lead WKU with 28 hits, 21 RBI, six doubles and six home runs on 79 total at-bats. Holloway follows with a .346 average as the senior has notched 27 hits, four doubles, a triple, 18 runs and five homers on 78 at-bats.
Sophomore Hannah Parker (6-10) and junior Kathryn Downing (5-2) continues to lead the way in the circle for the Lady Toppers as the duo have combined for 24 starts and 35 appearances on the year. Parker leads WKU and ranks fifth in C-USA with 83 strikeouts and nine complete games in 97.2 total innings while Downing has registered 28 strikeouts over 49 innings in the circle. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Jernigan tied a career-high with five strikeouts against Louisville in two innings of relief action and now ranks second on the team with 29 K's in just 24.2 innings of play.
Southern Miss (16-19, 3-6 C-USA) comes into the weekend looking for its first C-USA series victory on the year as the Golden Eagles dropped 2-1 series decisions to Middle Tennessee, UAB and Florida Atlantic to start conference play.
On the year, USM has recorded a .282 team-batting average led by Tori Dew's .374 average as the junior has recorded 37 hits, nine doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI on 99 total at-bats. Junior Lauren Holifield leads with 23 RBI on just 25 hits while Katie Cleary is the only other Golden Eagle to record a .300 average as the senior is hitting .321 with 34 hits on 106 at-bats.
In the circle, USM is led by senior Samantha Robles who has recorded a team-best 9-7 record in 22 appearances. Robles leads the Golden Eagles with 63 strikeouts and 12 complete games in 110.1 innings pitched.
2015 marked the first-ever meeting between the newly established conference rivals as WKU swept the three-game series with the Golden Eagles at the WKU Softball Complex. The Lady Toppers won all three games in decisive fashion, outscoring USM, 21-1, on the weekend.
Follow the Action: Live stats and subscription-based streaming video via SouthernMiss.com will be available for all three contests with the Golden Eagles. Fans are also encouraged to follow in-game updates via WKU softball's Twitter (@WKUSoftball) and Instagram (@WKU_Softball) accounts.
