After a pair of scoreless innings each way to open the series in Hattiesburg, WKU struck first from the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Brylee Hage led off the top of the third with a triple before Taylor Davis dropped a double just fair in shallow left field to give the Tops a 1-0 lead. Two outs later, Maddie Bowlds sent a single back up the middle to plate Davis and double the Hilltoppers' lead.
WKU pushed its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning when Taylor Sanders drew an RBI bases-loaded walk. Kennedy Foote and Davis each connected for hits while Hage drew a walk to load the bases.
Southern Miss got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to make the score 3-1. The Golden Eagles would take the lead in the next frame, putting up three runs on two hits, two walks and a hit by pitch.
Shelby Nunn drew the start and worked 5.1 innings before Katie Gardner took over with a 3-2 lead and the tying run on third in the bottom of the sixth. Gardner would ultimately take the loss, moving to 9-4 on the season.
WKU racked up 11 hits in the loss to the Golden Eagles' six. The Hilltoppers were retired in order just once in the game. Davis and Drinnon both recorded two-hit outings, their 17th and fourth performances of such this season, respectively.
The Hilltoppers have reached 30 wins for the eighth time across the last 10 traditional (non-COVID) seasons. WKU is now 31-10 on the season with the loss and 13-6 in Conference USA play.
Southern Miss improved to 28-19 with the win and is now 8-11 in league action.
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU lead the all-time series with Southern Miss 8-4 following Friday's decision. USM leads 4-3 in games played in Hattiesburg.
- Coach Tudor is in her 18th season as a head coach – ninth on The Hill – and owns a 483-372-2 career coaching record.
- WKU racked up 11 hits in the loss to the Golden Eagles' six. The Hilltoppers were retired in order just once in the game. Davis and Drinnon both recorded two-hit outings, their 17th and fourth performances of such this season, respectively.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
