University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Faces Louisiana-Monroe at Trustmark Park in Midweek Game
3/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The No. 28 Southern Miss baseball team travels to Pearl, Miss., on Tuesday, March 20, to face Louisiana-Monroe at Trustmark Park at 7 p.m.
All Southern Miss games will be carried on the radio and on-line at www.SouthernMiss.com. Tuesday's game will be carried locally on WXHB-96.5 FM. Veteran broadcasters Lance Pittman and John Cox will broadcast the games. Fans can also follow the game via GameTracker on-line at www.SouthernMiss.com.
This marks the 50th meeting between the two schools with Southern Miss holding a 35-14 series advantage. The two teams split a pair of games last year as Southern Miss won the first meeting in Hattiesburg on March 7, 18-5, and dropped a 2-1 decision in Monroe, La., on March 22.
The Golden Eagles (15-6) are coming off a 3-2 week, including a weekend sweep of Kent State at home, winning 5-2 on Friday, 2-1 in 12 innings on Saturday and 7-4 on Sunday.
Louisiana-Monroe (14-6) is coming off a 3-2 week, including winning 2-of-3 in a Sun Belt Conference series at UNO, winning 3-1 on Friday, losing 3-2 on Saturday and winning the series with a 9-8 win on Sunday.
Southern Miss his hitting .281 with 32 doubles, two triples and seven home runs, while Louisiana-Monroe is hitting .284 with 46 doubles, five triples and 17 home runs. The Golden Eagle pitching staff has posted a 3.21 ERA with 158 strikeouts, 62 walks and has been holding opponent hitters to a .229 batting average. The WarHawks pitching staff has posted a 4.26 ERA with 159 strikeouts, only 83 walks and has held opponent hitters to a .236 batting average.
Southern Miss will send freshman right-hander Todd McInnis to the mound to face freshman right-hander Kye Wilson.
McInnis, who hails from Brandon, Miss., located nearby to Pearl, has registered a 3-1 record with a 2.42 ERA in 26.0 innings pitched. In his four starts, he has struck out 20 batters, walked nine and held opponents to a .196 batting average. In his last outing against Southeastern Louisiana last Tuesday, he pitched five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out two batters.
Wilson has pitched in four games and started three, posting a 2-0 record with a 6.28 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 17, walked eight and held opponents to .235 batting average. In his last start against Arkansas-Little Rock, he pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits, walking one and striking out three batters, earning his second win of the season.
The Golden Eagles are led offensively by junior Trey Sutton, who is hitting .384 with a team-leading eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 13 walks and a team-leading 19 RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting .315 with six doubles, six walks and nine RBIs, and sophomore third baseman James Ewing is hitting .314 with three doubles, one home run and 10 RBIs.
The WarHawks are led by senior first baseman Bo Bowman, who his hitting .368 with nine doubles, three home runs and 22 RBIs. Junior outfielder Dexter Fontenot is hitting .328 with six doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs, and senior catcher Josh Morrison is hitting .305 with seven doubles and 14 RBIs.
After Tuesday's game, Southern Miss opens Conference USA action hosting Rice at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field on Friday-Sunday, March 23-25. Friday's game starts at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's at 3 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m. For ticket information, call the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 601-266-4518 or 1-800-844-TICK.
