Southern Miss
Houston
Baseball Takes the Series Opener 10-9 over Houston
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh and held on to take the series opener 10-9 over Houston Friday night at Pete Taylor Park.
"Early in the game the momentum kept going back and fourth but I was glad to see us swing the bats tonight and keep fighting," head coach Scott Berry said. "We did not out-hit Houston but we scratched across enough runs to win tonight."
The game featured six different lead changes and some crucial moments but the seventh inning is where the Golden Eagles won the game.
Houston (16-20) scored four runs in the sixth to take the lead and entered the seventh ahead 9-7. Redshirt freshman Paxton King entered the game in relief of Southern Miss starter Scott Copeland and surrendered three consecutive singles to load the bases with no one out.
King then worked his way out of the jam with a groundball to B.A. Vollmuth, with the infield drawn in, who threw home for the first out of the inning. Then King started a one-two-three double play to end the inning and the Cougar threat.
"That was a big lift to our team to get out of that inning with no runs," Berry added. "Anytime you can get the momentum back on your side it is going to help you."
In the bottom of the frame Southern Miss scored three runs and took a lead they would not relinquish.
Mark Ellis started the seventh inning rally with a double down the left field line and Adam Doleac was hit by a pitch, after Tyler Koelling reached on a failed sacrifice bunt that retired Ellis at third, Travis Graves walked to load the bases. Freshman Dillon Day drew a four pitch, bases loaded walk to force in Doleac and Kameron Brunty platted another run on a groundball fielder's choice to tie the game at nine.
Taylor Walker knocked in what would turn out to be the winning run on a slow roller to the shortstop that forced Brunty out at second but allowed Koelling to score from third.
Ellis led Southern Miss with three hits while Vollmuth and Koelling had two apiece. Both Brunty and Day added in a pair of RBI as well.
Scott Copeland's line will show that he allowed 13 hits and seven earned runs but he kept Southern Miss in the game and well over half of Houston's hits never left the infield. The Golden Eagles improve to 7-1 this season in the games that Copeland has started.
King (1-1) worked 1.2 scoreless innings to pick up his first career win while Collin Cargill closed out the final 1.1 innings to earn his fourth save of the season.
Southern Miss (19-17) jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first as Taylor Walker legged out an infield single and scored on B.A. Vollmuth's double off the right-center field wall. Joey Archer moved Vollmuth to third with a ground out ball to the right side and he came in to score on Mark Ellis' RBI single.
Houston answered with a run of their own in the top of the second with two infield singles and a RBI single by Ryan Still.
The Cougars struck for two unearned runs in the top of the third as Archer and Vollmuth committed fielding errors on back to back groundballs, leading to both unearned runs and putting Houston on top 3-2.
Southern Miss retook the lead in the bottom of the third as Vollmuth hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot over the left field wall to tie the game. The Golden Eagles then put together a two-out rally as Mark Ellis and Isaac Rodriguez reached on ground ball singles before Tyler Koelling and Dillon Day each singled in a run to put Southern Miss back on top 5-3.
Houston retied the game in the top of the fourth with two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out and scored on a RBI groundout and a Copeland wild pitch.
Southern Miss went back on top as Adam Doleac drew a walk, stole second and scored a two-out double to left-centerfield by Travis Graves.
The Cougars went back on top with a four run top of the sixth, keyed by a Caleb Ramsey RBI single and Zak Presley two-RBI double to make the score 9-6.
Kameron Brunty hit his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth, a solo shot into the scoreboard to pull southern Miss within one.
The two teams will meet for game two of the series tomorrow afternoon at Pete Taylor Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. but inclement weather is anticipated throughout the Hattiesburg area most of the morning.
For the most up-to-date weather information call the Southern Miss gameday hotline at 601.266.7411.
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