Game Three (Austin Lindsey)

Southern Miss aimed for its second sweep of the year against Jacksonville State after taking the series Saturday but fell 5-3 in a late push by the Gamecocks.

Jacksonville State scored three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh, taking a 4-3 lead after scoring one in the sixth.

The Gamecocks tacked another run in the ninth on a single to seal the deal.

“We didn’t make pitches In the bullpen outside of [Justin] Storm. I don’t know if it was the cold or what but guys left pitches up, and their hitters put good swings on them,” Head Coach Scott Berry said.

After the game, Berry revealed starting catcher Blake Johnson broke his hamate bone [hand injury] in Friday’s match and will miss six to eight weeks.

Catcher Rodrigo Montenegro has the job until then, but first baseman Christopher Sargent may make an appearance behind the plate in case of emergency.

The flame-throwing sophomore pitcher Hurston Waldrep received his second start on the mound.

Rodrigo Montenegro reeled in all three basemen as his older brother Gabe Montenegro stepped up to plate being hit by a pitch, but Lovrich got out of the inning on a Dustin Dickerson’s line out to the center field.

In the bottom of the fourth, Waldrep struck out three straight batters, putting him up to seven strikeouts through four innings.

Waldrep retired after 84 pitches thrown through five innings on seven strikeouts, giving up three hits and two walks.  

The pitching carousel then began for the Golden Eagles as five pitchers came in for relief.

First, freshman Niko Mazza entered in relief, giving up two hits and a walk to give the Gamecocks its first score.

Mazza was relieved after 15 pitches by Justin Storm, who weathered the storm, leaving one on base and striking out two to get Southern Miss out of the inning.

After the Gamecocks took the lead in the seventh, Southern Miss had one more shot to put a score on the board with Reece Ewing on third after two wild pitches and Slade Wilks on first.

However, Will McGillis grounded into a double play as the Gamecocks tagged Wilks at second.

Southern Miss used six pitchers who combined for 15 strikeouts to the Gamecocks two.

Best received the loss [0-1] as Southern Miss moves to 5-2 on the season.

The Golden Eagles now face the National Champions Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday, March 2 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi.

Game Two (Dima Mixon)

Southern Miss beat Jacksonville State in game two of the weekend series 5-1. Relief pitcher Landon Harper led the Golden Eagles to victory by pitching a no-hitter in the final four innings. 

Last night the Golden Eagles needed a walk-off base hit from Slade Wilks to escape with a victory, but the second game came down to another player.

“I think the difference was Landon Harper,” Head Coach Scott Berry said. “His pitching was just really dominating in what he did out there on the mound.” 

Harper’s line was 4 IP, 4 Ks, 0 BB, 0 runs on 42 pitches. Harper said that his slider was the most efficient pitch and the one he was feeling “the best.” 

The game started with little action and the Golden Eagles couldn’t find their groove in the batter’s box until the bottom of the third inning when Carson Paetow nailed a home run over the left-field fence. 

“First pitch, I was a little late had to make an adjustment, just get the head out a little bit,” Paetow said. “That was definitely an exciting moment, definitely fires yourself up, and we got to go on from there.” 

Jacksonville State answered the home run with a run in the following inning to tie the game at one apiece. 

The Golden Eagles took the lead back for good in the bottom of the fifth inning when Gabe Montenegro opened the frame with his 46th-career double and was hit in by Dustin Dickerson on a single. 

Reece Ewing scored in the bottom of the sixth inning after Will McGillis hit a sacrifice fly out to center field. Ewing also hit a deep home run to right field and has extended his hitting streak to six games. 

“He’s probably the best shape that he’s ever been, to me equates to what he’s doing on the field. He’s made some really good defensive plays for us in left field, and he seems to be really swinging the bat,” Berry said, “He’s obviously playing the game at a high level of force.”

Southern Miss improves to 5-1 on the season and will go for the second straight weekend sweep tomorrow.

Game One (Koby Moore)

Southern Miss rallied back to defeat Jacksonville State 4-3 on a walk-off single by Slade Wilks in the first game of a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park. 

 “I knew off the bat, it was going be deep enough for him (Dustin Dickerson) to score and so I wasn’t worried about or nothing like that and I knew it was going to get the job done”, Wilks said about his game-winning play.

The Golden Eagles looked to bounce back from their extra-innings loss against South Alabama on Tuesday and it again took the full length to decide the outcome.

 The Golden Eagles had a slow start on the offensive side, having a combined three hits with no runs through the first four innings.

Southern Miss struggled with leaving runners on base throughout the game, stranding 13 runners.

 Also, Jacksonville State pitcher Reid Fagerstrom gave Southern Miss trouble, notching seven strikeouts while holding the Golden Eagles to one run and three hits. 

The Gamecocks took the lead and the momentum in the fifth inning, going up 3-0 and the Golden Eagles responded with a run later in the inning.

It wasn’t until the eighth inning when the Golden Eagles tied the game after a clutch RBI triple by Will McGillis.

Then, the Pete Taylor Park magic took place in the bottom of the ninth as Wilks fired a walk-off single to win the game.

Ben Ethridge took the mound as the starting pitcher for the Golden Eagles,  pitching four shutout innings and recording seven strikeouts.

His night ended in the fifth inning after allowing three runs. 

Tyler Stuart retired Ethridge and held the Gamecocks to one hit, no runs, a walk and three strikeouts. Stuart earned the win for his performance.