Southern Miss snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday night by defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 3-2 in front of 5,388 fans, which was the fourth-largest crowd in Pete Taylor Park’s history.

“I mean a midweek game, the fourth-largest crowd. It is kinda crazy to think,” infielder Danny Lynch said. “We broke the season ticket record by 1,000 or something, so [the] fans have been awesome this year.” 

Lynch got the Golden Eagles started in the bottom of the second inning. After Alabama nailed a two-out home run to center field in the top of the first, Lynch responded with a jack-to-right field that tied the game and gave Southern Miss much-needed momentum. 

“It kinda put everybody at ease and helped us out a little bit,” Will McGillis said.

McGillis himself had a crucial hit in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and two men on base. McGillis nailed a fastball right into the gap in right field and plated both runners, which extended and claimed the lead for good. 

“Obviously, that was a big moment, and we have had a chance for a lot of two-out hits all year long,” Head Coach Scott Berry said. “We have certainly failed at our fair share of them, but tonight, we were able to get that one, and it was a big one.”

The bullpen was quickly in work as starting pitcher Drew Boyd was taken out early in the contest. 

Tyler Stuart, who came on the pitch next had runners at second and third, got a groundout and then threw out the runner to turn a double play and get out of the frame. 

The final pitcher in the ninth for the Eagles, Garret Ramsey, retired all three batters and included a strikeout to end the game to record the save. 

Southern Miss opens conference play this weekend against FAU.

“I do not know what else we could do to prepare- we have a good club coming in,” Berry said on whether or not his team is prepared. “So yeah, I would think and hope that we are prepared for that and we have done what we need to do.”

The series against FAU starts Friday, March 18 with a 6 p.m. first pitch.