UTSA to face Southern Mississippi on road this weekend

SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will head east this weekend for a three-game Conference USA series at Southern Mississippi. The Roadrunners and Golden Eagles will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and conclude the set with a 1 p.m. contest the following day.

UTSA (15-17, 4-2 C-USA) is coming off Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of Houston Baptist in which it hit 11 home runs in just 10 innings of play. Megan Low, who leads the nation with 14 round-trippers, and Jori Fox each hit three homers against the Huskies to help the Roadrunners push their home winning streak to six games.

Low continues to lead the offense with a .387 batting average and 29 RBIs. The Birds lead C-USA with 43 homers and already have their most long balls since the 2011 team hit 50. Kacy Freeze leads the pitching staff with eight wins and 76 strikeouts, while Nicole Merrill’s 3.20 ERA paces the hurlers.

Meanwhile, Southern Miss (16-16, 5-4 C-USA) has won seven of its last 10 outings, including a pair of wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday. Sarah Evans leads the team, which is hitting .296 on the season, with a .450 batting average and 22 RBIs. Katie Cleary, Meaghen Nelson and Mackenzie Sher all are hitting .300 or better, while Sher’s six homers lead the squad. Meanwhile, Shelbee Rodgers paces the pitching staff with a 10-7 mark, 3.91 ERA and 107 strikeouts. Rodgers and Samantha Robles have combined to throw 84 percent of the team’s innings this season.

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 5-0, with the last meeting coming on Feb. 22, 2004. All five previous meetings have come on a neutral field.