University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Baseball Hosts Memphis In Conference USA Weekend Series
3/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss (20-7) hosts Memphis (12-12) for a Conference USA weekend series, Friday through Sunday, March 31 through April 2. Friday's game will begin at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's at 4 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
Friday's game will be broadcast on WXRR, 104.5 FM "Rock 104", while Saturday's and Sunday's game can be heard on WXHB, 96.5 FM "The Hub." All broadcasts will be anchored by veteran broadcasters John Cox and Lance Pittman.
All three Southern Miss games will feature live stats, which will be available through SouthernMiss.com by clicking the "Gametracker" link on the front page under the events section.
This will be the 77th meeting between the two teams, with Southern Miss holding the all-time advantage, 43-32. The Golden Eagles swept last season's series in Memphis, winning 7-1 on Friday, 13-3 on Saturday and 9-7 on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles posted a 20-10 conference record last season, and hold a 151-163 all-time against teams currently in C-USA. Southern Miss is coming off a 9-8 midweek loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday in Oxford.
Memphis has posted a 1-4 record in their past five games. They dropped two of three against Tulane last weekend in Memphis, including an 11-4 victory on Friday, a 7-1 loss on Saturday and a 10-2 loss on Sunday. In mid-week games against Austin Peay on Tuesday and Wednesday, Memphis fell in both games, 14-6 in Clarksville, Tenn., on Tuesday and 11-9 in Memphis on Wednesday.
The Golden Eagle offense is led by freshman shortstop Brian Dozier, who is batting .382 with 34 hits, three doubles, a team-best four triples, six stolen bases, one home run and 19 RBIs. He is tied for second in Conference USA in batting average and triples, eighth in hits and ninth in slugging percentage.
Sophomore second baseman Trey Sutton is batting .360 with a team-high 40 hits, five doubles, three stolen bases, one home run and 10 RBIs. He is second in the league in hits and 10th in batting average and runs scored Junior outfielder Toddric Johnson is batting .345 with 38 hits, a team-high eight doubles, two triples, four stolen bases, four home runs and 21 RBIs. He leads Conference USA in total bases and is fourth in hits, seventh in slugging percentage and eighth in runs scored and on-base percentage.
The Tigers offense is led by junior first baseman Adam Amar, who is batting .382 with 26 hits, two doubles, two triples, one stolen base, four home runs and 24 RBIs. He is tied with Dozier for second in the league in batting average and is second in slugging percentage, fourth in on-base percentage and eighth in RBIs.
Senior third baseman Robbie Goss is batting .362 with 25 hits, one double, two stolen bases, one home run and 12 RBIs. He is eighth in the league in batting average. Junior outfielder Will Petersen is batting .333 with 33 hits, 11 doubles, six stolen bases, one home run and seven RBIs.
Senior right-hander Scott Massey (5-0) takes the mound on Friday to begin the series against freshman right-hander Scott McGregor (2-2). Massey is tied for first in the league in wins, 11tth in opposing batting average and 12th in the league in ERA
Massey holds a 5-0 record with a 2.49 ERA, pitching 43.1 innings with 24 strikeouts and 11 walks. He has given up 16 runs, 12 earned, on 38 hits and opponents are hitting .235 against him. Massey earned his fifth straight win of the season against UAB last Friday, pitching eight innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on six hits, striking out five and walking two.
McGregor has a 2-2 record with a 5.34 ERA, pitching 30.1 innings with 15 strikeouts and 10 walks. He has given up 25 runs, 18 earned, on 37 hits, and opponents are hitting .298 against him. In his last start on Friday against Tulane, McGregor pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on seven hits, with eight strikeouts and one walk, earning his second win of the season.
Saturday's match-up features sophomore right-hander David Clark (2-0) against senior right-hander Stephen Gostkowski (1-2).
Clark boasts a 2-0 record with a 2.78 ERA, pitching 22.2 innings with 24 strikeouts and eight walks. He has given up seven runs on 21 hits, and opponents are batting .241 against him. In Clark's last outing on Saturday against UAB, he pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits, striking out three and walking four.
Gostkowski has a 1-2 record with a 3.80 ERA, pitching 23.2 innings with 19 strikeouts and six walks. He has given up 13 runs, 10 earned, on 28 hits, and opponents are batting .289 against him. In his last game against Ole Miss on March 21, Gotkowski pitched five innings, giving up four runs on four hits, striking out two and walking two to receive his second loss of the season.
Redshirt senior right-hander Cliff Russum (4-2) will close the series with his start on Sunday against a pitcher to be determined by Memphis. Russum is tied for fourth in the league in wins, seventh in batters struck out looking and eighth in opposing batting average.
Russum holds a 4-2 record with a 2.65 ERA, pitching 37.1 innings with 26 strikeouts and 18 walks. He has given up 12 runs, 11 earned, on 29 hits, and opponents are hitting .210 against him. Russum threw a complete game one-hitter against UAB in his last appearance on Sunday, pitching seven innings, giving up one unearned run on one hit, striking out six and walking three.
After the weekend series against Memphis, Southern Miss travels to Pearl, Miss., for a rematch against Ole Miss at Trustmark Park . First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. and will televised on the Fox/WB Affiliate in Jackson.
