Softball Seeded No. 7, Opens Play Against No. 2 UCF :: Tournament play begins at 9 a.m.

May 7, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team heads into the 2008 Conference USA Softball Championship seeded No. 7 after posting nine league wins this season.

The Lady Eagles open play against No. 2 seed UCF, a team Southern Miss concluded the regular season with a three-game series last weekend in Hattiesburg. UCF won the series, 2-1. Megan Hill, Jennifer Fox and Allison Bullard recorded a hit apiece in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Knights. Southern Miss leads the series against UCF, 5-4.

Hill paces the Lady Eagles' offense with a team-high .336 batting average. She also leads the team in hits, runs scored, home runs and RBI. Kristin Pilgrim also is batting over .300 at .304 average, while Fox is just behind with a .303 average. Pilgrim has a team-best nine doubles and is second on the team in hits and RBI.

During the season, Fox became the all-time career leader in RBI, while moving into second in at-bats and hits. Bullard moved into the top 10 several career categories as well.

As a team, the Lady Eagles are batting .233 with 42 doubles, 11 triples and 18 home runs. Southern Miss is tied for the lead with 11 triples in the league. The team has turned 26 double-plays, ranking fifth in the nation in double plays per game (0.47). The team also ranks in the top 40 in fielding percentage at .970.

UCF comes in with a 43-18 overall record and 16-7 in league play, clinching the No. 2 seed. The Knights are paced by Breanne Javier with a .389 batting average with 77 hits. Allison Kime is UCF's top pitcher, working 256.0 innings with a 1.04 ERA and 319 strikeouts. She has a record of 28-10.

Tournament play begins with UAB facing Memphis at 9 a.m., followed by Southern Miss-UCF matchup at 12 p.m., Tulsa and UTEP at 2:30, Houston and the winner of the UAB-Memphis game at 5:30 and Marshall and East Carolina at 8. The first semifinal game is set for 2 p.m. and the second game at 4:30 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m., start. The tournament champion will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.