University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Announces Eighth Signee of Late Signing Period
6/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Announces Eighth Signee of Late Signing Period
"Leighton was a good high school pitcher who has a lot of potential," Palmer said. "He throws three pitches for strikes, an 88-90 mph fastball, a changeup and his outpitch is his curve ball. He needs to continue working hard in order to make the transition to the college level."
As a senior, Davis finished with an 8-2 record, a 2.43 ERA and struck out 91 batters in 79 innings pitched. He was named to the all-district team as a senior. He lettered one year in basketball and two years in football.
Davis helped lead Northwest Rankin to a 34-7 record, a 5A state runner-up finish to nearby Oak Grove High School and a No. 3 ranking in The Clarion Ledger public school poll.
This marks the eighth signee of the spring signing period and 11th overall. The Golden Eagles signed Corey Bass (RHP, Petal HS/Petal, Miss.), Casey Summerlin (3B, Vancleave HS/Vancleave, Miss.), Drew Carson (OF, Neville HS/Monroe, La.), Chris Matesich (SS, Germantown HS/Germantown, Tenn.), Mike Cashion (RHP, Clinton HS/Clinton, Miss.), Brett Hoeflich (1B/OF, Petal HS/Petal, Miss.) and Trey Cuevas (C/Oak Grove HS/Oak Grove, Miss.) during the late signing period, and Barry Bowden (RHP/Vidalia HS/Vidalia, La.), Patrick Ezell (P/Petal HS/Petal, Miss.) and Nathan Sanders (OF/Meridian CC/Meridian, Miss.) in the fall signing period.
Southern Miss finished 47-16 overall and 23-7 in Conference USA, setting the school record for most wins in a season and the conference record for most conference wins in a season. The Golden Eagles won the Conference USA regular-season title, the tournament championship and hosted the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional Tournament, finishing second. They also set the school record for the highest ranking (12) by Baseball America. The Golden Eagles led the conference in hitting (.318), RBIs (455), runs (497), hits (712), walks (255), sacrifice flies (34), on-base percentage (.396), slugging percentage (.516), doubles (142), home runs (89), total bases (455), saves (19) and ERA (3.56).
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