University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Louisville Hands Golden Eagles First Loss in Seven Games
4/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Louisville Hands Golden Eagles First Loss in Seven Games
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Starting pitcher Mike Tisdale and the Louisville defense limited Southern Miss to just five hits in a 3-1 Conference USA win, Saturday, at Pete Taylor Park.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak by the Golden Eagles, who fell to 24-12 overall and 10-4 in C-USA play. The Cardinals improved to 20-10 overall and 9-5 in the league.
Louisville got on the board first, as Mark Jurich scored on an errant throw by Southern Miss third baseman Allen Winningham. Jurich led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a ground out to the shortstop, and scored as Josh Bolen hit a hot shot to Winningham.
The Cardinals plated two more runs in the following inning, as Jurich lined a two-RBI double down the right field line, scoring Adam Haley and J. T. LaFountain.
While Louisville was converting on its hitting, the Golden Eagles could not get past Tisdale and the visiting defense. After Winningham singled in the first inning, Tisdale and company retired 18 straight batters over the next six innings. In the span, Clint Stoy blasted a shot that looked to clear the left field fence, but Bolen snagged the ball as it was exiting the park, robbing Southern Miss of the score.
The Golden Eagles did not get their second hit until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Cook singled to left field. The hit extended the junior outfielders hitting streak to a season-high 14 games. Southern Miss could not capitalize, however, keeping the score, 3-0.
Tisdale limited the Golden Eagles to just five hits on the day, the last being a solo home run by Brad Willcutt in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Bob McCrory (4-2) took the loss for Southern Miss, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings. He had four strikeouts in the game. Brent Leach pitched the final three innings, allowing just two hits and had two strikeouts.
Tisdale (5-1) went the distance for Louisville, finishing the game with six strikeouts. Haley had three hits to lead the Cardinal offense, while Jurich followed with two hits and two RBIs.
The final game of the series takes place Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Zoo 107.1 with Lance Pittman handling the play-by-play. The contest can also be heard by logging onto the Southern Miss website, at www.SouthernMiss.com.
