University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Resume Home Play Against Cincinnati
3/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagles Resume Home Play Against Cincinnati
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? After a five-game road swing, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles return home to face Conference USA opponent Cincinnati in a three-game series, this weekend, at Pete Taylor Park.
Game one of the series is slated for 6:30 p.m., Friday, with Saturday and Sunday games taking place at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. All three games can be heard locally on The Zoo 107.1, with Lance Pittman handling the play-by-play duties. Pregame shows begin approximately 15 minutes before the first pitch. The broadcasts can also be heard by logging on to SouthernMiss.com.
The Golden Eagles (14-7, 2-1 in C-USA) are coming off two-straight losses, including a 7-2 outing against nationally-ranked Ole Miss and a 10-8 loss to New Orleans. The Bearcats (10-9-1, 1-1-1) dropped two games to Tennessee this week, losing 5-4 and 8-5.
Junior outfielder Jeff Cook leads a Southern Miss offense that has scored a C-USA-best 166 runs, while also ranking fourth in batting average (.308). Cook leads the Golden Eagles in batting average (.402), runs (29), hits (35), home runs (6) and RBIs (21). Cook's numbers also rank him among the conference leaders, where he is first in runs scored, tied for fifth in hits and tied for third in home runs. Carlos Velasquez is tied with Cook for the team lead in hits (35) and is second in batting average (.365). Velasquez leads both the Golden Eagles and Conference USA in at-bats (96) and total plate appearances (107).
Cincinnati's offense ranks 10th in C-USA with a .269 batting average. The Bearcats have scored 119 runs and 187 hits on the year, ranking ninth and eighth, respectively, in conference play. Brad Schutz paces the team with a .368 batting average and has a team-high 32 hits. Aaron Moll leads the team with 26 RBIs.
The pitching matchup in game one will feature Southern Miss' Shea Douglas against Cincinnati's Chad Pennington. Douglas (4-1, 2.87 ERA) is third in C-USA with 40 strikeouts. He leads the Golden Eagles in strikeouts, innings pitched (31.1) and has the second-lowest ERA among starters. Pennington (4-1, 2.56 ERA) is seventh in the conference in ERA.
In game two, Stephen Castleman takes the mound for Southern Miss, while B. J. Borsa gets the nod for Cincinnati. Castleman (2-1, 4.64 ERA) is fourth on the team with 16 strikeouts and has just four walks. Borsa (3-2, 3.43 ERA) leads Cincinnati with 29 strikeouts.
Southern Miss' Charlie Rogers will be the starter in the final game, and Kyle Markle will be on the mound for the Bearcats. Rogers (4-1, 5.59 ERA) has 13 strikeouts on the year, while Markle (2-1, 4.30 ERA) has 14 strikeouts.
After the series, the Golden Eagles travel to face South Alabama on Tuesday. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
