HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southeastern Louisiana senior first baseman Amber Sather became the school's career RBI leader, but the Lady Lions fell to Southern Miss, 8-2, in non-conference softball action Tuesday night at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
 
The loss was the fifth straight for Southeastern. Sather hit her team-high third home run of the season, while senior shortstop Katie Lacour and sophomore Kinsey Nichols had two hits apiece.
 
Southern Miss improved to 13-11 overall with the victory. The Golden Eagles touched up four Southeastern pitchers for 14 hits on the way to the win.
 
The Lady Lions put the pressure on in the top of the first inning. Singles by Lacour and Nichols put a pair of runners on with one out, but USM sophomore pitcher Samantha Robles (8-4) retired Sather and sophomore outfielder Brittney Wingate to keep SLU off the board.
 
USM mounted a threat of their own in the bottom of the first inning, as senior Taylor Bishop (7-5) walked the bases loaded with two outs. Bishop pitched out of the jam by forcing junior catcher Bailey Stokes to fly out to centerfield to keep the Golden Eagles scoreless.
 
Southern Miss took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore second baseman Kaelyn Christofferson beat out an infield single, then scored when a hot shot off the bat of senior third baseman Morgan McKeever that skipped off the glove of SLU freshman second baseman Angelica Gutierrez to take a 1-0 lead.
 
USM chased Bishop in the bottom of the third inning with consecutive doubles by senior designated player Katie Cleary and senior left fielder Sarah Evans. Junior Kasey Nielson relieved Bishop and allowed an infield RBI single by Christofferson to allow USM to extend its advantage to 3-0.
 
Southern Miss busted the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning. A solo home run by junior first baseman Tori Dew and two Southeastern errors fueled a four-run frame for the Golden Eagles and gave USM a 7-0 lead.
 
SLU got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. After Nichols laced a double into centerfield, Sather hit a monstrous home run over the left field fence to cut the USM lead to 7-2. Sather's third home run of the season gives her 119 career RBI, giving her sole possession of the school's career record that she enters Tuesday's game sharing with former Lady Lion Heather Sherrill.
 
Southern Miss added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Robles plated Evans with an RBI groundout to give USM an 8-2 lead. Robles sat down the Lady Lions in order in the final inning to close out the victory.
 
Southeastern will open Southland Conference play this weekend at North Oak Park. The series will open will a 6 p.m. contest on Saturday and conclude with an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Sunday. Live stats and live video (LionVision subscription required) will be accessible at www.LionSports.net.