After a 7-2 win against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on April 26, No. 14 Southern Miss (31-14, 15-6) took to the road for a three game series against No. 17 Florida Atlantic (30-12, 14-7). The Golden Eagles fell short in their efforts, losing the series 2-1.
With the C-USA series loss, Southern Miss is currently tied with Rice for first place in the conference.
Game one started just like the Golden Eagles wanted it to. In the top of the first inning, Dylan Burdeaux and Jake Sandlin both managed to get on base. With one out, Hunter Slater stepped in the box and delivered a three-run home run, giving Southern Miss an early 3-0 lead.
The Owls followed up Southern Miss’ efforts with a score in the bottom of the second and two in the bottom of the third to tie
the game at 3-3. The scoring streak would not end for FAU as they followed up the two-run inning with a three-run inning in the fourth inning putting them ahead 6-3.
Ace pitcher Cord Cockrell was tagged for six runs off of seven hits over the three innings he pitched. Cockrell was pulled and the Golden Eagles were forced to dig deep into the bullpen, using five pitchers on the night.
Southern Miss’ pitching efforts would not be enough on the night as FAU took the series opener 9-5. Cockrell would suffer his first loss of the season, falling to 7-1 on the year.
Game two proved no different for Southern Miss.
The Owls got away with leaving 16 runners on base throughout the game but still managed to take the win, 9-4.
Southern Miss relied again on a good amount of pitchers in the ball game, with six in game two.
Not all was bad for Southern Miss as Tim Lynch, Sandlin and Burdeaux collected solo home runs. These home runs pushed Southern Miss’ streak to five on games with a home run.
On the final day, the tides turned for Southern Miss. Pitcher Kirk McCarthy held the Owls’ offense to only one run off of eight hits with five strikeouts in the five innings he pitched.
Southern Miss was able to rest a lot of their bullpen Sunday as only three were called on in the contest.
After a walk, wild pitch and hit-by-pitch, Chuckie Robinson stepped up to the box with two outs and doubled to center field in the bottom of the sixth. Robinson drove in two runs and helped the Golden Eagles solidify the win with a score of 4-3.
Southern Miss looks to remain nationally ranked and No. 1 in conference as they face Western Kentucky this Friday at home. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
