Blue Raiders Set for Showdown at Southern Miss

Sunday, April 19

Hattiesburg, Miss.

2 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

Southern Miss

4/17/2015 10:30:00 AM | Softball

Game Times Subject to Change Due to Weather

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball team (15-23, 2-16 C-USA) will make the trek to Hattiesburg, Miss (16-26, 2-13 C-USA) for the final conference road trip of the season.

With the expected weather to hit the Hattiesburg area this weekend, the Blue Raiders and Golden Eagles will look to get the doubleheader in on Saturday starting at 2 p.m., and a single game on Monday at 11 a.m. If the weather doesn't cooperate, then the doubleheader will take place on Monday.

UPDATE (Tentative Schedule):
Sunday – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday – 4:30 p.m. (weather permitting)
Monday – 11:00 a.m.
Monday – 1:30 p.m. (if necessary)

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Sunday, April 19th | Southern Miss Softball Complex | 6 p.m.
@MT_Softball at Southern Mississippi
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Monday, April 20th | Southern Miss Softball Complex | 11 a.m. (DH)
@MT_Softball at Southern Mississippi
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About the Blue Raiders

Last Time Out
The Blue Raiders fell in all three contests against a hot Marshall team over the weekend. Senior Samantha Nieves hit .667 (6 for 9) from the plate with a home run and a double. Freshmen Morgan Harris and Kristin Uselton both led the team with three RBIs. Harris hit two home runs over the weekend in consecutive games, giving her a team-high four homers.

Streaking Harris
Harris is on a hot streak from the plate as she is on a season-high eight game hitting streak where she's hitting .409 (9-for-22) with a pair of home runs and five RBIs. The Murfreesboro native is now hitting .262 on the season, which is 40 points better than the beginning of April. Harris has also hit a team-high four home runs.

Stepping up When Needed
Freshman Makenzie Prince has stepped up when her name is called in relief. The Smyrna, Tenn., native has allowed either two runs or less in every appearance this season. Prince pitched a career-high 2.1 innings against Marshall and allowed only one earned run on three hits.

NCAA Stats
Freshman Cor'Nisha Birdsong is fourth in the nation in stolen bases with 34, which is the second highest in the conference behind Morgan Zerkle (Marshall – 43). Senior Samantha Nieves is 25th in the country when it comes to being the toughest to strike out. She's only struck out just four times in 106 at-bats this season, which is a conference best as well.

Cheney in Double Digits
Senior Kelci Cheney is one win away from her 10th victory of the season inside the circle. It would be the first time since 2010 that a pitcher for Middle Tennessee with double-digit wins when Lindsey Vander Lugt won 20 games. The Terrell, Texas native leads the Blue Raiders in wins (9), innings pitched (100.2), strikeouts (64) and ERA (4.45).

Scouting the Opponent: Southern Miss

Southern Miss (16-26, 2-13 C-USA) | Sixth in C-USA

The Golden Eagles are coming off a pair of losses to Ole Miss on Wednesday, and are on an eight-game slide. Eight of Southern Miss' 16 wins have come at the USM Softball Complex. Morgan McKeever leads the Golden Eagles with a .354 hitting clip, while teammate Katie Cleary has posted a team-high 32 RBIs. Samantha Robles leads the pitching staff with a 5-1 record and an ERA of 2.65 in nine appearances. Shelbee Rodgers leads the squad with 23 appearances for a pitching staff that has a team ERA of 4.70.

Series History

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series between the conference foes. Last season, Southern Miss took two out of three in Hattiesburg. MT defeated USM, 6-3 in the second game of the doubleheader.

Next Up: Chattanooga

The Blue Raiders will return home the following day against the Mocs at 5 p.m., at Blue Raider Softball Field.