Southern Miss softball lost to Troy 10-2 in the final game of their series on March 29. The game, played in Troy, Alabama, ended after six innings following a strong start from both teams’ pitchers.
The matchup began as a pitchers’ duel between Southern Miss’s Kayla Giardina and Troy’s Abby Lovell. Both teams were held scoreless through the early innings until Madison Johnson put Southern Miss ahead with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. This was Johnson’s third home run of the season.
Troy responded quickly, taking back the lead with a three-run home run by Ella Cunningham after two singles opened their half of the fifth inning. In the sixth, Troy broke open the game with seven runs, including a bases-clearing double by Mia Tidmore that ended the contest via walk-off rule at 10-2.
Kayla Giardina pitched five innings for Southern Miss and took her fifth loss of the season. Madilyn Graham and Brooklyn White also appeared in relief during Troy’s decisive sixth inning rally.
Despite Sunday’s loss, several individual performances stood out for Southern Miss. Kayce Bennett threw out her eleventh runner attempting to steal this year, ranking among the top six nationally for that statistic. The Golden Eagles have now hit thirteen home runs over their last fifteen games.
