After a 10 – 8 loss Wednesday against Tulane, Southern Miss (30 – 12, C-USA 13 – 5) hosted a three- game weekend series against Old Dominion (28 – 12, C-USA 12 – 6), losing 2 – 1.
“I was real proud of the way our team came out in all phases,” said Southern Miss coach Scott Berry. “Defensively, we played very well, and of course, offensively, I thought we had a great approach.”
Friday’s contest resulted in a 10 – 2 win for the Golden Eagles as they collected 12 hits on the night. Southern Miss scored runs in five consecutive innings, the third frame being a six-run inning for the Golden Eagles.
Two-out hitting has been Southern Miss’ strength all season, and that did not change in Friday’s contest.
Jake Viaene and Cole Donaldson walked, but Donaldson walked with the bases loaded to bring home Mason Irby in the third inning to put USM up 3 – 1. Matthew Guidry then delivered a three-RBI double to push the Southern Miss lead to 6 – 1. LeeMarcus Boyd would finish the offensive explosion for Southern Miss with an RBI-double and a stolen base that led to him scoring after a throwing error, 8 – 1.
Game two proved stats do not tell the whole story. Southern Miss collected 11 runs off of 14 hits but fell short in the contest, 13 – 11. Old Dominion collected 13 runs off of 13 hits and stole the contest in the top of the ninth inning with a four-run inning.
Southern Miss’ consecutive scoring in game one was huge to their success in claiming the victory, but in game two, their scoring came in bulk less often. After claiming an early 4 – 0 lead in the first inning, the Golden Eagles’ next four innings resulted in zeros across the scoreboard. While Southern Miss remained scoreless, Old Dominion’s offense caught fire and scored eight runs off of nine hits to take the lead, 8 – 4.
The Golden Eagles found their offense again in the sixth and ninth inning, scoring six runs in each, but this would not be enough as the four-run inning Old Dominion had in the top of the ninth solidified the win, 13 – 11.
In game three, Southern Miss’ offense did not score a run until the fifth inning. Southern Miss concluded their scoring in the sixth with only two runs for the entire game. Southern Miss allowed Old Dominion to record nine runs off of 18 hits, while they recorded two runs off of six hits. Similar to the second game, long scoreless stretches were detrimental to the Golden Eagles as they lost the contest, 9 – 2.
Southern Miss will attempt to redeem themselves Tuesday against South Alabama. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
