University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Baseball Falls To South Alabama, 9-2
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Files associated with this release:
Box Score
Southern Miss Baseball Falls To South Alabama, 9-2
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss suffered its first loss of the 2004 campaign Tuesday, falling 9-2 to visiting South Alabama at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles, ranked No. 24 in the nation by the National College Baseball Writer's Association, managed just two runs off eight hits and could not take advantage of four Jaguar errors, falling to 3-1 on the short season. South Alabama improved to 1-3 overall, scoring nine runs on nine hits with one Southern Miss error.
Junior shortstop Matt Shepherd and senior outfielder Carlos Velasquez both had good days for the Eagles at the plate, each finishing 2-for-4. Junior second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir had the team's lone RBI.
Sophomore starter Daniel Best (0-1) took the loss after giving up five runs, three earned, on five hits in 2.1 innings of work. Best also finished with one strikeout and two walks.
"We made a lot of mistakes today," Southern Miss Head Coach Corky Palmer said. "We made a lot of base running mistakes. We didn?t come out and throw strikes. We were able to get back in the game, but their starting pitcher got in a rhythm."
The Jaguars got eight strong innings from starter P.J. Walters (1-0), who finished the game with just two runs allowed, both unearned, on eight hits with eight strikeouts and no walks.
After a scoreless first inning, the Jaguars came up with four big runs in the top of the second -- securing a lead that it would not relinquish in the game. Josh Touchstone led off with a single to center field and later advanced to second on a wild pitch, only to score moments later on Quendon Montgomery's single up the middle. Guillermo Martinez then pushed Montgomery across with an RBI-single to left field. Following another hit, Jansen Rayborn reached on a Southern Miss error, one that allowed two more South Alabama runs to score.
The Jaguars tacked on a single run in the next at bat, but the Golden Eagles broke into the scoring in the bottom of the third, plating two runs and benefitting from two South Alabama errors. In the inning, Hoffpauir doubled to left field with two runners on, scoring Ryan Frith and moving Shepherd to third base. Shepherd scored on the play after a throwing error by the Jaguars, cutting the lead, 5-2.
But that would be the closest that the Eagles would get, as South Alabama added a single run in the fourth and three more insurance runs in the eighth inning to put the game away.
Southern Miss had three pitchers throw in relief of Best, including Barry Bowden, John Nicholas and Nick Valluzzo. Bowden threw 3.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts. Nicholas pitched 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on two hits with two strikeouts. Valluzzo threw the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit.
Justin Harawah led the Jaguars with two hits and three RBIs in five at bats, while Touchstone added a pair of RBIs. Kevin Williams had a team-high three runs scored. Jeff Middleton threw one inning in relief, facing just three batters.
Southern Miss now kicks off a four-game road stretch, beginning with a Wednesday game at New Orleans. The team then heads to Ruston, La., for a weekend series against Louisiana Tech.
