University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Four-Run Eighth Gives Golden Eagles 9-5 Victory
3/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Four-Run Eighth Gives Golden Eagles 9-5 Victory
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a 5-5 tie and securing a 9-5 victory over Southeastern Louisiana, here tonight, at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
In the four-run eighth, Brad Willcutt singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on Beau Griffin?s sacrifice and advanced to third when Marc Maddox was hit by a pitch. Jarrett Hoffpauir reached on a fielder?s choice when third baseman Anthony Garibaldi?s throw to second for the final out of the inning sailed wide, plating pinch runner Adam Smith, who was running for Willcutt. Ryan Frith singled through the left side, scoring Maddox and advancing Hoffpauir to second. Both Frith and Hoffpauir advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Jose Lado and then scored on Jason Lowery?s single to right center.
Golden Eagle pitcher Austin Tubb (3-0) picked up his third victory of the season, pitching the final 1.2 innings. He gave up one hit and struck out five, including all three batters in the ninth inning. Sophomore Daniel Best pitched the first six innings, striking out nine players and walking one. Lion pitcher Risley St. Germain (1-1) picked up his first loss of the season, pitching 1.1 innings, giving up four unearned runs on two hits and striking out three.
"It was a weird game," said Southern Miss Head Coach Corky Palmer. "I thought Daniel did a good job pitching for us tonight. He showed improvement, except for giving up the three-run homer. Our bullpen struggled, but Tubb finally stopped them in the eighth inning. Our offense really won the game when our hitters took advantage of the error they made in the bottom of the eighth."
The Golden Eagles (15-2) finished with a total of nine runs off 14 hits, committing two errors. The Lions (5-9) had five runs on four hits and committed two errors.
Southern Miss scored runs in the third, fifth, and eighth innings, led by five players with two hits each. Shepherd, Maddox, Hoffpauir, Frith and Willcutt all finished with two hits for the Golden Eagles. Colby Tyler and Ryan Spencer each had two hits, accounting for all of Southeastern Louisiana's hits. Spencer finished with a game-high four RBIs, inclduing a three-run homer.
However, Southeastern Louisiana was the first to get on the board, after Spencer blasted a three-run home run over right center in the second inning.
The Golden Eagles answered back in the third, scoring their first run of the game when Maddox hit a triple to right center, bringing home Shepherd. Hoffpauir had an infield single, allowing Maddox to score the second run. Hoffpauir scored when Lowery grounded into a double play. A throwing error by Lions shortstop Randy Bordes allowed Frith, who had also reached on a single, to score the final run of the inning.
Southern Miss added an additional run in the fifth inning, 5-3, when senior Carlos Velasquez, who doubled down the right field line, was brought in by freshman Jody Blount?s single to center.
The Lions tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh inning, scoring two runs on one hit. Trent Hebert was walked to lead off the inning and then Colby Tyler singled. A throwing error by Southern Miss rightfielder Ryan Frith, put runners on second and third. After Randy Roth flew out to left, Ryan Spencer reached on a fielding error by Golden Eagle shortstop Matt Shepherd, plating both Hebert and Tyler.
The Golden Eagles open its defense of the regular season and tournament Conference USA titles this weekend with Houston for a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field. Friday?s game starts at 6:30 p.m., Saturday?s at 3 p.m., and the series finale at 1 p.m., on Sunday.
