Southern Miss Sports Information

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – Southern Miss softball (25-14, Sun Belt 6-3) is set to host James Madison (15-18, Sun Belt 3-6) in a three-game series at the Southern Miss Softball Complex starting at 6 p.m. on April 2, streamed to ESPN+.

Southern Miss has won three consecutive conference series, the first time since 2006, with the most wins in a season having head coach Natalie Poole at the helm. The Golden Eagles have 13 home runs in the last 15 games, with sophomore Hannah Christian leading the team with four.

JMU and Southern Miss have met five times, with the first meeting in 2024. The Golden Eagles took a 2-0 victory in the most recent contest in Harrisonburg, Va., with JMU leading the series 3-2, and having never played in Hattiesburg.

Abbi Troquille leads the nation in hit by pitches (19), Kayce Bennett is seventh in the nation in caught runners stealing (11), Hannah Christian is top 10 in the country in hits (56), Nealy McManus is top 15 in the country in assists (91) and Madilyn Graham is 31st in the nation in shutouts (3).

Southern Miss is ranked second in the nation in SAC flies (23), ranked in the top five in the nation in hit by pitches (41), 11th in the nation in fielding percentage (0.981), 26th in the country in walks (148) and 32nd in hits in the country (310). The Golden Eagles lead the Sun Belt in triples (12), second in the conference in doubles (58), third in SAC bunts (23) and fourth in batting average (.312).

JMU started conference play with a series win over Georgia Southern. South Alabama just swept the Dukes in a three-game series on March 28-29 in Harrisonburg, Va. Allowing five or more runs per game.

Kendra Lewis leads JMU in batting average (.477), slugging percentage (.985), doubles (9), home runs (8) and walks (16). Taylor Johnson leads the Dukes in the circle in ERA of qualified pitchers (4.48) and WHIP (1.94).

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