University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Hosts Charlotte For Three-Game Conference USA Series
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Hosts Charlotte For Three-Game Conference USA Series
Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Southern Miss baseball team will host Charlotte for a three-game Conference USA series this weekend, Fri. - Sun., April 11-13, at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field (3,678). Friday's game will start at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's at 4 p.m., and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
All three games will be broadcast on 107.1 - FM, The ZOO and on SouthernMiss.com. Lance Pittman, "The Voice of Golden Eagle Baseball," will handle the play-by-play duties and will be joined in the booth by John Cox, "The Voice of the Golden Eagles."
Southern Miss (24-9, 9-3 C-USA) comes into the weekend series after defeating Ole Miss on Wednesday night at home, 8-2. The Golden Eagles won 2-of-3 games at Cincinnati last weekend, winning 15-8 on Friday, and losing on Saturday, 7-3 before winning on Sunday, 3-2. Southern Miss has won four of the last five games and 15 of its last 20 games.
Charlotte (13-14, 5-6 C-USA) comes into the weekend after taking two-of-three games from Tulane in Charlotte. The 49ers won Friday's game, 8-6, dropped Saturday's contest, 8-4, and won the rubber match on Sunday, 4-1.
This will be the 38th meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1992. Southern Miss won all three games at Charlotte last year and now holds a 20-17 lead. Golden Eagle Head Coach Corky Palmer holds a 9-7 record against Charlotte Head Coach Loren Hibbs and the 49ers.
Friday's game will feature Southern Miss' junior righthander Bob McCrory against Charlotte junior righthander Zachary Treadway. McCrory is 5-1 with a 4.84 ERA in 35.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 32, walked 19 and batters are hitting .310 against him. In his last outing, he pitched six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits, walking one and striking out six in a 7-3 loss at Cincinnati last Saturday. Treadway is 4-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 52.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 53, walked 19 and opponents are hitting .252 against him. In his last outing against Tulane last Friday, he picked up his fourth win of the season, pitching 8.1 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, on nine hits, walking three and striking out seven.
Southern Miss will send junior righthander Anthony Dewitt to the mound on Saturday against Charlotte's senior righthander Matt Savage. Dewitt is 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 42.1 innings pitched. He has 27 strikeouts, has walked eight and opponents are hitting .287 against him. In his last outing, he pitched 4.1 innings, giving up seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits, walking three and striking out one, earning a no decision in Friday's 15-8 win at Cincinnati. Savage is 3-2 with a 5.11 ERA in 44.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 35, walked 13 and opponents are hitting .319 against him. In his last outing, he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up eight runs, seven earned, on 14 hits and striking out four in Charlotte's 8-4 loss to Tulane last Saturday.
Sunday's matchup will be between Southern Miss' senior righthander Stephen Castleman and Charlotte's starter is to be announced. Castleman is 3-1 with a 4.69 ERA in 48 innings pitched. He has struck out 37, walked 17, and opponents are hitting .325 against him. In his last outing at Cincinnati last Sunday, he pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on 10 hits, walking two and striking out five.
Sophomore outfielder Clint King continues to lead Southern Miss in hitting with a .400 batting average, along with a team-leading 36 runs, 52 hits, 11 home runs and is second on the team in RBIs with 37. He has a .452 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .731. He also has stolen 6-of-9 bases and has hit 10 doubles. Senior outfielder Jeff Cook is second on the team, hitting .353 with five doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and a team-leading 40 RBIs. He has an on-base percentage of .417 and a slugging percentage of .640. Sophomore catcher Brad Willcutt is hitting .341 with a team-leading 16 doubles and also has seven home runs and has driven in 33 runs. Sophomore shortstop Matt Shepherd is hitting .305 with five doubles, two triples, one home run and 14 RBIs.
Ray Antonelli is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 35 innings pitched. He has struck out 38 and walked 13, while allowing opposing batters to hit .198 off of him. Austin Tubb is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 15.1 innings pitched with three saves and has struck out 16, while walking five. Cliff Russum is 4-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched. He has pitched three complete games in his last three outings, including 32 strikeouts in the three starts.
The Golden Eagles are hitting .319 as a team with 121 extra base hits, including 72 doubles, eight triples and 41 home runs. They have a .395 on-base percentage and a .503 slugging percentage. Southern Miss has stolen 23-of-30 bases this year and has committed 43 errors in 1,278 chances for a .966 fielding percentage. The pitching staff has combined for a 4.02 ERA with 252 strikeouts to 123 walks. Opponents are hitting .266 off Golden Eagle pitchers.
Charlotte enters the weekend series, hitting .279 with 73 extra base hits, 39 doubles, seven triples and 27 home runs. The 49ers have an on-base percentage of .376 and a slugging percentage of .425, have stolen 31-of-40 bases and committed 35 errors in 1,021 chances. The pitching staff has combined for a 4.97 ERA, struck out 189 batters and walked 96. Opponents are hitting .279 against Charlotte pitchers.
Junior catcher Randall Poplin leads the 49ers with a .321 batting average, including a double, five home runs and 32 RBIs. Senior infielder Brad Erwin is hitting .313 with five doubles, six home runs and 15 RBIs. Junior outfielder Thomas Bowker is hitting .298 with four doubles, five home runs and 21 RBIs.
Southern Miss hosts New Orleans for a midweek game with New Orleans at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field on Tuesday, Apr. 15 at 6:30 p.m., before moving on to Memphis for a three-game Conference USA weekend series, April 18-20. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m., Saturday's at 2 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
