University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Baseball Opens Road Slate at McNeese State Invitational
2/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Golden Eagle Baseball Opens Road Slate at McNeese State Invitational
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? After opening with its best start under Head Coach Corky Palmer, the Southern Miss baseball team resumes play on the road this weekend, at the McNeese State Invitational in Lake Charles, La., Feb. 22-24.
The Golden Eagles enter the tournament with a 4-0 record, the best start under Palmer and fifth-best start in school history. Southern Miss faces Louisiana-Monroe in its first game of the tournament, Friday, at 3 p.m. The team then takes on host McNeese State, Saturday, at 5 p.m., and wraps up action against nationally-ranked Nebraska, Sunday, at 11 a.m.
Southern Miss, which opened the season with a three-game sweep over Lipscomb, extended the win streak with a 7-3 victory over South Alabama on Tuesday. The Golden Eagle offense has been in full form over the first four games, plating a total of 39 runs. While the offense has been on fire, the defense has been just as good, allowing an average of three runs per game.
Sophomore outfielder Carlos Velasquez paces the Southern Miss lineup with a team-high .450 batting average. Velasquez leads the team in hits (9), at bats (20), and stolen bases (3). Designated hitter Griff Israel is second on the team with a .438 batting average and has a team-hit nine RBIs. First baseman Bobby Garner and second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir follow the duo, batting .429 and .400, respectively.
Nebraska, ranked 13th in the Collegiate Baseball poll, 11th in the Baseball America poll and 18th in the USA Today/Baseball Weekly poll, highlights the trio of opponents. The Cornhuskers are 1-2 after dropping two games in an opening-series to Rice. Brandon Eyman leads Nebraska with a 364 batting average, while Jed Morris, Jeff Laisa and Jeff Blevins all have a team-high five hits.
McNeese State comes into the tournament at 5-3, fresh off a four-game winning streak and a three-game sweep over UT Pan American. The Cowboys are led offensively by Tommy Eubanks, who has a. 412 batting average and a team-high 14 hits.
Louisiana-Monroe stands at an even 2-2, after dropping two-of-three to Southern Illinois. Jaime Estrada leads the Indians with a .353 batting average.
Junior pitcher Shea Douglas (1-0, 1.50 ERA) takes the mound in the first game of the tournament. Douglas earned the pitching win in the season-opener against Lipscomb. In the game, Douglas fanned a career-high 12 batters, while allowing just one run on four hits through seven innings of work. He matches up with the Indians' Brian Shoup (0-1, 9.00 ERA), who gave up five runs on six hits against Southern Illinois.
Senior starter Daniel Stewart (0-0, 5.40 ERA) gets the nod in Southern Miss' second game, facing the host Cowboys. Stewart tied a career-high with seven strikeouts in a no-decision against Lipscomb. He threw six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, while walking none.
Senior pitcher Charlie Rogers (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will be the starter in the final game against Nebraska. Rogers won his first start, allowing two runs on four hits against Lipscomb. He fanned six batters in the game. The Cornhuskers are scheduled to start Phil Shirek (0-0, 0.00 ERA) against Southern Miss. Shirek has allowed just three hits in three-and-one-third innings.
After the tournament, the Golden Eagles face New Orleans at Privateer Park in New Orleans, and then return home to take on intrastate rival Ole Miss, Wednesday, at Pete Taylor Park.
