University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Baseball Hosts South Alabama on Tuesday
2/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagle Baseball Hosts South Alabama on Tuesday
The game will be broadcast on 107 FM, The Zoo, in Hattiesburg and on www.SouthernMiss.com for fans outside the Hattiesburg area. Lance Pittman will handle the play-by-play duties with the pregame show beginning 15 minutes prior to the first pitch.
Under the direction of Corky Palmer, Southern Miss is 5-5 against South Alabama after dropping both games last year. The Jaguars lead the all-time series with the Golden Eagles, 45-18, in one of the longer series in the school's history.
The Golden Eagles are 3-0 after sweeping Lipscomb University this past weekend, 15-2, 8-5 and 9-2. South Alabama went 1-2 in its three-games over the past weekend, defeating Charlotte 13-4 and dropping a 4-3 decision to Wichita State and lost 5-2 to Northwestern State.
Southern Miss is currently hitting .337 as a team, has 12 extra base hits and is 8-of-8 in stolen bases. The Golden Eagles are led by first baseman Bobby Garner, who finished the weekend series, hitting .500 (5/10) and driving in five runs. Freshman Jarrett Hoffpauir is hitting .455 (5/11) with three doubles and junior Griff Israel is hitting .417 (5/12) with two doubles and a team-high seven RBIs. Carlos Velasquez is batting .400 (6/15) and leads the team with three stolen bases.
Stephen Castleman takes the mound as the starting pitcher for the Goldne Eagles against South Alabama. Castleman was used mostly in relief last year, making 21 appearances and finishing with a 2-6 record with a 4.56 ERA. He struck out 49 and walked 26.
South Alabama is currently hitting .364 as a team, has 18 extra base hits and is 14-of-17 in stolen base attempts. Senior catcher Shane Scoville, who is hitting .579 (11/19) for the season with one double, a homer and seven RBIs leads the team in batting. Senior outfielder Erik Smallwood is second on the team with a .450 batting average with two homers and four RBIs. Junior Ryan Mulhern rounds out the Jaguars' .400 hitters, hitting .435 with two home runs and nine RBIs.
Jaguar pitching ace Clark Giradeau takes the mound as the starter in Tuesday's game, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched. He leads the team with 15 strikeouts and has only walked two batters. Opponent hitters have only hit .133 against him.
After Tuesday's game with South Alabama, Southern Miss travels to Lake Charles, La., for a three-game weekend tournament at McNeese State. The Golden Eagles battle Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m., McNeese State on Saturday at 5 p.m., and Nebraska on Sunday at 11 a.m.
