HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Shelbee Rodgers allowed just four hits and struck out 11, as Southern Mississippi blanked UTSA, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at the USM Softball Complex.
Megan Low went 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Roadrunners (16-19, 5-4 C-USA), while Jori Fox also doubled. Kacy Freeze took the loss after allowing three runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts in six innings.
Meanwhile, Taylor Beck had a pinch-hit single that scored a pair for the Golden Eagles (18-17, 7-5 C-USA), while Sarah Evans came up with the home squad’s other RBI. Rodgers produced her second complete-game effort of the series to improve to 12-7.
Southern Miss broke open a scoreless game with a run in the third, when Morgan McKeever connected on a one-out bloop double to left. Mackenzie Sher hit a sharp single to left to advance McKeever and she touched home on Evans’ hit down the third base line for a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles tacked on two more runs the following frame on Beck’s two-out pinch-hit single that landed near the foul line in right field to push the advantage to 3-0.
The Roadrunners threatened in the fifth and put runners on second and third with two outs. After a pair of strikeouts to start the panel, Jade Smith reached on an infield single and Low singled down the left field line. Both moved up 60 feet on a wild pitch, but Rodgers escaped the inning when Jolene Graham lined out to third.
UTSA was unable to cash in on Jori Fox’s leadoff double in the sixth and it went down in order in the seventh as Southern Miss clinched the series victory.
The Roadrunners will be back in action on Wednesday, April 2, when they head south for a 3 p.m. matchup at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-26).