University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Hosts Nicholls State on Tuesday in Midweek Game
4/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 2, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss baseball team hosts Nicholls State on Tuesday, April 3, in a non-conference midweek contest at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field at 6:30 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 game. Fans can also follow the game via GameTracker on-line at www.SouthernMiss.com.
This marks the 40th meeting between the two schools, with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 23-16. The first meeting took place on April 11, 1960, Thibadeaux, La., with Southern Miss winning, 2-1. Last season, Southern Miss defeated the Colonels, 5-2, in the first game of the season on Feb. 15.
The Golden Eagles (17-12, 1-5 Conference USA) are coming off a 0-4 week, including a midweek 6-5 loss to Ole Miss at Trustmark Park, and then dropped three at Memphis, 8-1, 7-5 and 8-5, over the weekend. Southern Miss has lost six in a row, dating back to a 5-3 loss to Rice on March 24. That marks the first six-game losing streak since the 2001 season.
Nicholls State (4-25, 0-9 Southland Conference) is coming off a 0-4 week, including a midweek loss at Tulane, 5-0, and being swept at Lamar, 7-5, 11-1 and 11-10, this past weekend.
Southern Miss his hitting .276 with 47 doubles, two triples and 12 home runs, while Nicholls State is hitting .222 with 25 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. The Golden Eagle pitching staff has posted a 4.10 ERA with 206 strikeouts, only 89 walks and has been holding opponent hitters to a .253 batting average. The Colonels pitching staff has posted a 6.60 ERA with 149 strikeouts, 126 walks and opponent hitters are hitting .306 against the staff.
Southern Miss will send freshman right-hander Jared Cavenaugh to the mound to face Nicholls State senior left-hander Brian Sparks.
Cavenaugh is making his third start of the season and his eighth appearance. He is 1-0 with a 6.26 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 15, walked seven and opponents are hitting .326 against him. In his last appearance against Ole Miss last Tuesday, he pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out one batter.
Sparks is making his 11th appearance this season and his first start. He is 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched, striking out eight, walking four and opponents are hitting .326 against him.
The Golden Eagles are led offensively by junior first baseman Trey Sutton, who is hitting .361 with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 walks and 23 RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting .314 with seven doubles and nine RBIs. Sophomore third baseman James Ewing is hitting .292 with three doubles, one home run, 12 walks and 13 RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing is hitting .264 with three doubles, two home runs, a team-leading 24 walks and 18 RBIs. Junior designated hitter Trey Cuevas is hitting .333 with three doubles, five home runs, 13 hit by pitch and 18 RBIs.
The Colonels are led by senior outfielder Thomas Bourne, who is hitting .346 with three doubles, two home runs, 15 walks and 11 RBIs. Freshman outfielder A.J. DeLaneuville is hitting .247 with three doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 walks and eight RBIs. Junior infielder Brett Hoeflich is hitting .244 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs.
After Tuesday's game, Southern Miss travels to Orlando, Fla., for a three-game Conference USA weekend series at UCF. Friday's game starts at 5:30 p.m., Saturday's game starts at 5:30 p.m., and Sunday's at 12 p.m.
