Southern Miss improved to 25-13 overall and 6-2 in Sun Belt play after beating Troy 6-3 Saturday afternoon at Troy Softball Complex. The Golden Eagles have now won three straight conference series, their longest streak since 2006, according to school records, and extended their winning streak to five games.
Madilyn Graham earned her ninth win of the season in a complete-game effort, striking out six and allowing three runs on seven hits. Offensively, Kinsley Gordon-Sivley and Nealy McManus led Southern Miss with three hits each. Gordon-Sivley also drove in two RBIs, while Carrie Green contributed an RBI and scored twice.
Troy took an early lead with a run in the first inning on back-to-back doubles. Troy’s Makaley Boswell drove in a run, but the Trojans were unable to add more after a caught stealing attempt by Kayce Bennett and two groundouts. Southern Miss responded in the second inning, tying the game at 1 after a leadoff triple by Gordon-Sivley and a sacrifice fly from Madison Johnson.
The Golden Eagles took the lead in the third with a bases-loaded walk by Green, followed by a single from Troquille that scored two more runs. Graham shut down Troy through the middle innings, retiring nine straight batters at one point. In the sixth, Gordon-Sivley singled home two runs to extend the lead to 5-2.
Troy scored once more in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Kalee Rochinski but couldn’t overcome the deficit. Graham finished the game with a pair of groundouts in the seventh, sealing the victory. The Trojans threatened in the final inning with a leadoff double but were unable to score, as Graham induced two groundouts to end the game.
Southern Miss returns to action Sunday at Troy for the series finale. The team’s next home game is scheduled for March 29 against Arkansas State. The Golden Eagles continue to lead the conference in hitting and pitching, with several players ranking nationally in various categories, according to school officials.
