University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Ends Regular Season With Conference USA Series at Houston
5/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2007
The Southern Miss baseball team travels to Houston, Texas, for the final three-game Conference USA series against Houston, at Cougar Field (3,500) on Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19. Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7 p.m., and Saturday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m.
Thursday's game will be broadcast live on CSTV with Carter Blackburn, play-by-play and Scott Pose, analysis, serving as the talent.
All Southern Miss games will be carried on the radio, locally on WXHB-96.5 FM and on-line at www.SouthernMiss.com. Veteran broadcasters John Cox and Lance Pittman will broadcast the games for the entire weekend. Fans can also follow each game via GameTracker on-line at www.SouthernMiss.com.
This weekend's games mark the 37th, 38th and 39th meetings between the two schools with the Cougars holding a 22-13 series advantage. Houston won 2-of-3 games at Hattiesburg, last year, winning Friday's game, 24-7, Saturday's game, 13-5, and dropping the series finale, 14-7. Since being swept in 2001, the Golden Eagles have won the last two series in Houston, winning 2-1 in 2003 (19-11, 5-6, 15-3) and 2-1 in 2005 (10-5, 7-11, 11-7).
Southern Miss (34-19, 11-10 Conference USA) enters the weekend series on a seven-game win streak, dating back to the Marshall series two weeks ago. The Golden Eagles won all three games against the Herd, winning 8-4 on Friday, 18-3 in seven innings on Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday. The Golden Eagles then swept Dallas Baptist this past weekend, winning both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday, 4-3 (11) and 9-8 (13) and won the finale on Sunday, 12-1 in seven innings. In its last game, Southern Miss defeated UNO, 9-4, on Tuesday.
Houston (28-23, 12-9 Conference USA) enters this weekend's series after defeating Sam Houston State, 6-4, on Tuesday. The Cougars won 2-of-3 at Memphis last weekend, winning 11-7 on Friday, losing 16-10 on Saturday and claiming the series with a 10-5 victory on Sunday.
Southern Miss is hitting .287 with 91 doubles, seven triples and 38 home runs. They are averaging 6.2 runs per game and 9.7 hits per game. The pitching staff has a 3.92 ERA in 462.0 innings pitched, struck out 363 batters, walked 155 and are holding opponents to a .259 batting average.
Houston is hitting .293 with 91 doubles, 11 triples and 36 home runs. They are averaging 7.0 runs per game and 10.0 hits per contest. The pitching staff has a 5.27 ERA in 449.0 innings pitched, struck out 283 batters, walked 201 and opponents are hitting .287 against them.
Junior first baseman Trey Sutton is leading Southern Miss with a .364 batting average with 17 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 34 walks and 36 RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting 343 with 12 doubles, two home runs, 15 walks and 23 RBIs. Senior outfielder Jody Blount is hitting .308 with six doubles, two triples, four home runs and 27 RBIs. Redshirt junior designated hitter Trey Cuevas leads the team in home runs with 10 and hit by pitch (16), and sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing leads the team in walks (38) and RBIs (43).
Sophomore infielder Jimmy Cesario leads the Cougars with a .370 batting average with 13 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 34 RBIs. Senior infielder Josh Stirneman is hitting .325 with 11 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 39 RBIs. Freshman outfielder Zak Presley is hitting .321 with four doubles, one triple, two home runs and 28 RBIs. Junior infielder Ryan Lormand, senior infielder Dustin Kingsbury and junior outfielder Bryan Tully leads the team in doubles with 12 and sophomore catcher Luis Flores leads the team with nine home runs. Kingsbury also leads the team in RBIs with 47.
In Thursday's game, Southern Miss will send senior right-hander Ryan Belanger to face freshman left-hander Wes Musick.
Belanger is 6-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 86.0 innings, giving up 32 runs, 25 earned, on 75 hits, striking out 73, walking 16 and holding opponents to a .234 batting average. In his last outing against Dallas Baptist, he was credited with a no-decision in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, pitching 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
Musick is 6-3 with a 2.99 ERA in 78.1 innings pitched, giving up 32 runs, 26 earned on 69 hits, walking 32, striking out 64 and opponents are hitting .235 against him. In his last outing against Memphis last Saturday, he received a no-decision. He pitched 5.0 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, on nine hits, walking four and striking out one batter.
On Friday, Southern Miss will pitch redshirt-junior right-hander Barry Bowden against Cougar junior right-hander Aaron Brown.
Bowden is 6-3 with a 3.82 ERA in 75.1 innings pitched, giving up 38 runs, 32 earned, on 75 hits, walking 23, striking out 71 and opponents are hitting .256 against him. In his last outing against Dallas Baptist, he was credited with a no-decision in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. He pitched five innings, giving up five runs on five hits, walking two and striking out seven batters.
Brown is 6-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched. He has given up 44 runs, 39 earned on 77 hits, walking 42, striking out 52 and opponents are hitting .262 against him. In his last outing against Sam Houston State on Tuesday, he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit, one walk and striking out one batter. Against Memphis last Friday, he received a no-decision. He pitched 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out two batters.
In the series finale on Saturday, Southern Miss will send redshirt-junior David Clark to face junior right-hander Bryan Tully.
Clark is 7-4 with a 4.76 ERA in 73.2 innings pitched. He has given up 41 runs, 39 earned on 64 hits, walked 30, struck out 62 and opponents are hitting .233 against him. In his last start against Dallas Baptist on Sunday, he earned his seventh win of the season. He pitched 6.0 innings, giving up one run on six hits and striking out five batters.
Tully is 2-1 with a 5.09 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. He has given up 13, on 25 hits, walking 11 and striking out 16 batters. In his last outing against Memphis on Sunday, he earned his second win of the season. He pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out one batter.
After this weekend's series against Houston, the Golden Eagles travel to Greenville, N.C., to participate in the Conference USA Baseball Tournament at East Carolina on Wednesday - Sunday, May 23-27.
