CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team suffered an 11-9 defeat to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to tie the series at St. John Stadium on Saturday.
With the loss, CCU drops to 22-16, 4-7 Sun Belt, while Southern Miss improves to 17-19 overall and 5-6 in league play.
CCU was first to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning when Brie Normandin smashed a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Georgia Hood. Clara Hudgens followed this with an RBI bunt single to put CCU up 2-0.
Southern Miss's bats exploded in the top of the third inning with the Golden Eagles scoring eight runs on five RBI singles, an RBI double, and a wild pitch to push USM ahead at 8-2.
The Chants responded in the bottom of the fourth inning as they loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. CCU then brought in one run on walk to make the score 8-3. With bases still loaded, Delaney Keith stepped up and ripped a three-run double to left-center field to narrow the gap to 8-6.
Coastal kept chipping away at the deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning when Hood belted an RBI double down the right-field line to put CCU within one run at 8-7.
The Golden Eagles added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning on a CCU miscue and two RBI singles to extend their lead to 11-7.
CCU refused to give up in the bottom of the seventh inning when Hood blasted a two-run home run to cut USM's lead to 11-9. The Chants then loaded the bases on a pair of singles from Lucy Goodwin and Hudgens along with a Southern Miss error, but the Golden Eagles were able to secure the final two outs on a strikeout and a diving catch to take the 11-9 win.
Nicolette Picone fell to 3-7 in the circle after giving up seven runs and eight hits during her 2.1 innings of work.
The Chanticleers will take on the Golden Eagles in the series-deciding matchup at 11 a.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
