University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Travel to Face Charlotte
4/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagles Travel to Face Charlotte
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? After trudging through the first three weeks of conference play, both the Southern Miss and Charlotte baseball teams will be in search of wins when the two teams meet in a three-game Conference USA series, Friday through Sunday, at Tom and Lib Phillips Field in Charlotte, N.C.
Game one of the series is slated for 5 p.m., Friday, with Saturday and Sunday games taking place at 1 p.m. and noon, 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 (18-11, 6-3 in C-USA) dropped its second game in a row with a 4-3 loss to Alabama on Tuesday. Prior to that game, Southern Miss lost two-of-three to conference-leading Houston. Both of the losses came in extra innings and were one run defeats. The Golden Eagles managed to take one win in the series, emerging with an 8-4 victory on Saturday. Charlotte's week hasn't been much better, as the 49ers lost to Virginia Tech, 8-2, on Tuesday. Last weekend, Charlotte escaped a conference sweep, defeating TCU, 5-4, in the final game of a three-game series. In the first two games of the road series, the 49ers were outscored 30-7 by the Horned Frogs.
The two teams are part of a five-team logjam for second place in Conference USA. Houston stands alone at the top with a 7-2 league mark, while Charlotte, Louisville, Southern Miss, South Florida and TCU follow with 6-3 conference records.
Leading the charge for the Southern Miss offense is junior outfielder Jeff Cook. Cook powers a potent scoring attack that has produced 217 runs this season. He leads the Golden Eagles in seven batting statistics, including batting average (.368), runs (37), hits (46), home runs (9), RBIs (33), total bases (78) and slugging percentage (.624). Following Cook, senior third baseman Allen Winningham is batting .348 and has a team-high 17 extra-base hits. Carlos Velasquez is third with a .338 batting average.
For Charlotte, two .400-plus hitters anchor the lineup. Shortstop Brad Lamm leads the way with a .415 average, including 44 hits, 25 runs, eight doubles and 25 RBIs. Second baseman George Sandel is close behind with a. 404 average, while also leading the team in hits (46), runs (32) and RBIs (62).
The pitching matchup in game one pits Southern Miss lefthander Shea Douglas (5-1, 2.28 ERA) against Charlotte's Matt Savage (3-3, 5.36 ERA). Douglas ranks among the league leaders in ERA, opposing batting average (.206) and strikeouts (52). Savage is second on the team in strikeouts (33). Douglas is tied with a team-high five wins for the Golden Eagles, also ranking second in the conference.
Game two of the series features Golden Eagle sophomore Bob McCrory (3-1, 1.76 ERA) and 49er ace John Maine (4-4, 5.26 ERA). After beginning the season as the closer, McCrory has done well, going 2-0 as a starter. He is second in the conference in ERA and has 29 strikeouts on the season. Maine, the C-USA's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, leads Charlotte in strikeouts (57) and is second in the league in the same category.
Charlie Rogers (5-1, 4.60 ERA) is the projected starter for Southern Miss in game three, while Charlotte's starter is yet to be determined. Rogers, who is second place on the career start list for the Golden Eagles, is tied with Douglas with a team-high five wins on the year, and also shares second place in the C-USA.
Following the series, Southern Miss returns home to host a pair of games on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Golden Eagles face Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, and take on New Orleans at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday.
