University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Face UAB in Conference USA Series this Weekend
4/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagles Face UAB in Conference USA Series this Weekend
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss continues its seven-game road swing with a three-game series against Conference USA opponent UAB, Friday through Sunday, in Birmingham, Ala.
The Golden Eagles (27-15, and 11-6 in Conference USA) blasted Southeastern Louisiana, 19-5, Wednesday. In the game, Southern Miss had its most-productive outing at the plate, scoring a season-high 19 runs on a school-record 28 hits. Before the win over the Lions, the Golden Eagles split two games with Saint Louis, winning game one, 5-0, and losing game two, 6-5. The final game of the series was called off due to heavy rains. The Blazers (13-27, 5-13) have won four of its last six games, including a pair of C-USA wins over Memphis. UAB fell to Mississippi State, 8-3, on Tuesday.
Game one of the series is slated for 7 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 also can be heard by logging on to SouthernMiss.com.
Southern Miss sports a potent offense that has scored 316 runs this season and has belted at least one home run in each of the past nine games. Allen Winningham leads the team in batting with a .364 batting average and doubles (17), while Jeff Cook leads the team in several other categories, including hits (63), home runs (11), and RBIs (45). Jarrett Hoffpauir, who set a new school single-game record with four doubles against Southeastern Louisiana, is third on the team in batting average (.322).
The Blazers have had success of their own at the plate, scoring 190 runs this season. Kyle Leon leads the team in hitting with a .311 batting average, including 37 hits and 18 RBIs. Behind Leon, Chad House follows with a .288 batting average.
Junior Shea Douglas (8-1, 2.11 ERA) is set to take the mound for Southern Miss in the opener, and he will be facing Rusty McIntyre (1-0, 1.98 ERA), who is making his third start for UAB this season. Douglas is among the conference leaders in wins and also is ranked 11th in the nation in wins. He leads the Golden Eagles with 78 strikeouts and has the lowest ERA among starters. Through six appearances and two starts this season, McIntyre has allowed four runs, three earned, on 13 hits and has 15 strikeouts.
Sophomore Bob McCrory (4-2, 2.21 ERA) will get the nod for Southern Miss in game two, while Tony Falls (3-2, 1.27 ERA) will start for the Blazers. McCrory is third on the team with 40 strikeouts on the season, and follows only Douglas in ERA among starters. Falls has pitched in 21 games this season, but will be making his first start this weekend. Through 35.1 innings pitched, he has given up 13 runs, five earned, on 34 hits and has 35 strikeouts.
Senior Charlie Rogers (5-1, 5.20 ERA) is the Golden Eagles starter in the final game, and Jeff Brown (1-1, 3.82 ERA) will start for UAB. Rogers is in search of his sixth win of the season, after pitching in three straight no-decisions. He is second on the team in wins and is fourth in strikeouts (30). Brown has three starts this season and has pitched in 11 games. He has allowed 19 runs, 15 earned, while fanning 27 batters.
Following the three-game series, the Golden Eagles return home, hosting Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
