Southern Miss continued its early season streak with back to back victories over Louisiana Tech this weekend, earning an 8-3 win Friday before overpowering the Bulldogs 11-0 in a seven inning run rule decision Saturday at J.C Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
In Friday’s opener, the Golden Eagles depended on timely power and late offense to take control. Joey Urban sparked the scoring with a two run home run in the first inning. Louisiana Tech briefly moved ahead after capitalizing on a defensive mistake, but Southern Miss answered in the fourth. Davis Gillespie led off with a double, setting up a three run home run from Kyle Morrison that shifted the momentum for good. The Golden Eagles added three runs in the eighth inning to secure the win. Relievers Kros Sivley and Josh Och combined to close the door after a steady outing from starter Colby Allen.
Southern Miss carried that momentum into Saturday and delivered its most complete performance of the series. Tucker Stockman drove in four runs and recorded two hits, while Grayden Harris controlled the game on the mound. Harris threw six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five to earn the victory.
The Golden Eagles broke the game open in the fourth inning. Stockman brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly before Southern Miss capitalized on walks and timely hits to build a multi run advantage. Matthew Russo added a two run single, and a wild pitch extended the lead. Stockman later launched a two run homer in the fifth to push the margin even farther.
Southern Miss added three more runs in the sixth, highlighted by a run-scoring double from Drey Barret and another RBI from Stockman to complete the scoring. Drake Meeks closed the game in the seventh, retiring all three batters he faced.
With the two victories, Southern Miss improved to 9-1 overall and extended its winning streak to nine games. In midweek action, Southern Miss rallied with a pair of runs on wild pitches in the seventh inning as they defeated No. 4 Mississippi State 7-6 Tuesday night at the Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
