It is not too often that a team gives up nine hits, but still comes away with a win. However, Southern Miss’ pitching and defense won its series opener against Jacksonville State 2-1.
“It’s few and far between that you get outhit that badly and win a game,” Southern Miss coach Brian Levin said. “A lot of those hits were infield type hits and bunt type hits, and that’s what they do. They have speed, and they use to put pressure on you defensively. We did a good job of battling out of a lot of jams.”
The Gamecocks left at least one runner on base in every inning and at the end of the night totaled 12 runners left on base.
Getting the start was Makenna Pierce who in four innings gave up five hits, walked two batters and hit two more. Despite the hectic outing, Pierce managed to allow one run to score off an RBI single, which allowed the Gamecocks to take a 1-0 lead.
“(Pierce) did an incredible job,” Levin said. “She has been doing that for us the past couple weeks. A third of a way into the season, and she has been pretty stellar. If you look at her ERA and hits given up, its really normal. She had a little trouble throwing first-pitch strikes and falling behind a little bit. I think that to four or five of the leadoff runners getting on and so that put some pressure on us. Defensively, I think we did a good job behind her.”
Southern Miss was able to answer back by capitalizing off Jacksonville State’s pitching errors. The Gamecocks’ pitcher Lexi Androlevich walked two batters and gave up a single to load the bases for the Golden Eagles. Androlevich hit Heather Hill to walk in a run with Kaley Fruge drawing a walk to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.
From there, Kaylan Ladner stepped into the circle for Southern Miss. Like Pierce, Ladner had several pressured moments. According to Ladner, her strategy was to allow Jacksonville State to make contact with the ball.
“Coming in, I knew that they were making contact with the ball so therefore I’m not going to do anything extra,” Ladner said. “Really not focused on having to get this strikeout, it’s more of I need them to pop up and ground out. That’s exactly my mentality out there because I knew my defense could get the job done for me.”
Ladner recorded her first save of the season in which she gave up four hits and two walks.
Southern Miss tallied just three hits in the game with Madison Rayner highlighting the offense with her sixth triple of the season.
“They were making us chase balls out of the zone, and we became more disciplined,” Levin said. “(Jacksonville State) struggled with a few walks and hit batters, which put themselves in trouble, and that’s how we ended up scoring runs. Although we didn’t produce hitting the ball, we did a good job of being patient.”
Southern Miss will Jacksonville State in a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game set for 11 a.m.
It is not too often that a team gives up nine hits, but still comes away with a win. However, Southern Miss’ pitching and defense came up big to win its series opener against Jacksonville State 2-1.
“It’s few and far between that you get outhit that badly and win a game,” Southern Miss coach Brian Levin said. “A lot of those hits were infield type hits and bunt type hits, and that’s what they do. They have speed, and they use to put pressure on you defensively. We did a good job of battling out of a lot of jams.”
The Gamecocks left at least one runner on base in every inning and at the end of the night totaled 12 runners left on base.
Getting the start was Makenna Pierce who in four innings gave up five hits, walked two batters and hit two more. Despite the hectic outing, Pierce managed to allow one run to score off an RBI single, which allowed the Gamecocks to take a 1-0 lead.
“(Pierce) did an incredible job,” Levin said. “She has been doing that for us the past couple weeks. A third of a way into the season, and she has been pretty stellar. If you look at her ERA and hits given up, its really normal. She had a little trouble throwing first-pitch strikes and falling behind a little bit. I think that to four or five of the leadoff runners getting on and so that put some pressure on us. Defensively, I think we did a good job behind her.”
Southern Miss was able to answer back by capitalizing off Jacksonville State’s pitching errors. The Gamecocks’ pitcher Lexi Androlevich walked two batters and gave up a single to load the bases for the Golden Eagles. Androlevich hit Heather Hill to walk in a run with Kaley Fruge drawing a walk to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.
From there, Kaylan Ladner stepped into the circle for Southern Miss. Like Pierce, Ladner had several pressured moments. According to Ladner, her strategy was to allow Jacksonville State to make contact with the ball.
“Coming in, I knew that they were making contact with the ball so therefore I’m not going to do anything extra,” Ladner said. “Really not focused on having to get this strikeout, it’s more of I need them to pop up and ground out. That’s exactly my mentality out there because I knew my defense could get the job done for me.”
Ladner recorded her first save of the season in which she gave up four hits and two walks.
Southern Miss tallied just three hits in the game with Madison Rayner highlighting the offense with her sixth triple of the season.
“They were making us chase balls out of the zone, and we became more disciplined,” Levin said. “(Jacksonville State) struggled with a few walks and hit batters, which put themselves in trouble, and that’s how we ended up scoring runs. Although we didn’t produce hitting the ball, we did a good job of being patient.”
Southern Miss will Jacksonville State in a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game set for 11 a.m.
Photo from Southern Miss Athletics.
