Baseball Hosts New Orleans On Tuesday

Baseball Hosts New Orleans On Tuesday

The No. 33 University of Southern Mississippi (24-7, 8-4 Conference USA) baseball team will host the University of New Orleans Privateers (10-20, 6-3 Sun Belt) in a Tuesday evening contest at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field (3,678). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on WMXI-98.1 FM, with Lance Pittman and John Cox providing the play-by-play. The broadcast also will be available online by going to SouthernMiss.com, clicking on the Audio/Video link, and going to the baseball schedule from there. LiveStats will be available by clicking the LiveStats icon on the baseball homepage.

This will be the 82^nd meeting between the two teams, with New Orleans leading the all-time series, 46-35. Last season, Southern Miss hosted the Privateers in a midweek contest on May 4^th and dropped the decision, 4-1. The two schools will also clash again later this season on May 17^th in New Orleans, La.

Southern Miss Head Coach Corky Palmer is 9-7 against the Privateers, while this will be New Orleans Head Coach Tom Walter?s first time taking on the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss is coming off a week that saw the Golden Eagles grab a 10-9 home victory over No. 9 ranked and intrastate-rival Ole Miss in a midweek thriller, then drop 2-of-3 in a weekend Conference USA series against East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. Southern Miss won Friday?s game 12-6, but fell Saturday, 7-5, and Sunday, 10-6. The loss on Saturday snapped Southern Miss?s 12-game win streak, tied for the second longest in school history. The Golden Eagles are now 8-4 in conference play, and are in third place in the Conference USA standings.

Last week, New Orleans fell 6-0 to No. 2 ranked and intrastate foe Tulane at home on Tuesday, then traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn., where they faced Middle Tennessee State in a weekend Sun Belt Conference series. The Privateers took 2-of-3 from the Blue Raiders, winning Friday?s game 7-4 and Saturday?s game 9-7, before falling on Sunday, 8-7.

Southern Miss is currently batting .322 as a team, with 73 doubles, five triples, 39 home runs and 244 RBIs. The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.82 with 236 strikeouts and 91 walks.

Senior third baseman Beau Griffin continues to lead the offense for the Golden Eagles. Griffin is batting .393 with a team-high 53 hits and 12 doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 33 RBIs. He also currently holds a 19-game hitting streak, the longest since last season when junior first baseman Marc Maddox held a 20-game streak. Maddox is hitting .373 from the plate, with 47 hits, nine doubles, 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. Senior center fielder Jason Lowery and freshman second baseman Trey Sutton are both hitting .336. Lowery has 44 hits, eight doubles, one triple, two home runs and 24 RBIs, while Sutton also has 44 hits with six doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 23 RBIs.

Senior catcher Brad Willcutt, who is also batting .336, continues to etch his name in the Golden Eagle record books. Willcutt hit his 61^st career double over the weekend, extending his lead as the all-time doubles leader. He also has 204 career RBIs, which ties the current record held by Tommy Davis, and stands in third place in all-time runs scored (179), third in career walks (123), and fifth place in career home runs (41). So far this season, Willcutt has 42 hits, 10 doubles, and leads the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (50).

New Orleans is hitting .275 as a team with 52 doubles, seven triples, 17 home runs and 154 RBIs. The Privateer pitching staff has an ERA of 6.54 with 169 strikeouts and 111 walks.

New Orleans is led offensively by freshman infielder T.J. Baxter. Baxter is batting .397 with 23 hits, three doubles, two triples, four home runs and 19 RBIs. Junior catcher Paul Smyth is .380 from the plate with 35 hits, six doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 22 RBIs, while sophomore outfielder Brandon Bowser is hitting .365 with a team-high 42 hits, 12 doubles, and 23 home runs, and also has one triple and two home runs.

Southern Miss sophomore right-hander Patrick Ezell will take the mound against junior left-hander Daniel Rodriguez in Tuesday?s contest.

Ezell is 3-1 with a 7.75 ERA. He has pitched 36 innings in seven starts (eight appearances), giving up 35 runs (31 earned) on 60 hits, striking out 35, and walking eight. Opponents are batting .361 against him. In his last appearance against Memphis on April 3^rd, he pitched 1/3 of an inning, allowing three earned runs on three hits and walking one.

Rodriguez is 1-4 with a 7.40 ERA. He has pitched 24.1 innings in 13 relief appearances, giving up 29 runs (20 earned) on 29 hits, striking out 22 and walking 12. Opponents are batting .269 against him. In his last appearance against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, he pitched 2/3 of an inning of relief, allowing one earned run on one hit, and walking one.

Following Tuesday?s contest, Southern Miss will host the Saint Louis Billikens for a three-game Conference USA home weekend series at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field. Friday?s game will begin at 6:30 p.m., Saturday?s at 4 p.m., and Sunday?s at 1 p.m.

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Baseball Hosts New Orleans On Tuesday

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