Southern Miss
Eastern Illinois
Baseball Routs Eastern Illinois, 18-1
2/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss baseball team scored 18 runs on 13 hits and benefited from 14 walks as the Golden Eagles defeated Eastern Illinois, 18-1, on Saturday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Golden Eagles used a 5-run third inning and a 6-run fifth inning to break the game open.
Offensively, eight of the nine Golden Eagle starters recorded hits in the game. Dylan Burdeaux, Tracy Hadley, Tim Lynch, and Daniel Keating each had two hits apiece. Burdeaux, Lynch, Taylor Braley, and Claudio Rubiera each belted home runs in the contest. Braley finished the game 1-for-1 with a home run, two runs scored, four RBI, and four walks.
On the mound, five pitchers combined for the complete game. Jake Winston earned the start, working 4.1 innings. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Luke Lowery picked up the win, tossing 0.2 perfect innings in relief. Case Houston surrendered three hits in 2.0 innings with a walk and three strikeouts, while Nick Sandlin and Walker Powell combined to toss the final two innings with each getting 1.0 inning apiece. Neither pitcher gave up a hit with Sandlin allowing a walk and striking out three and Powell striking out two in his perfect frame.
Southern Miss took the lead in the first inning. With one out, Hadley singled through the right side of the infield. He moved to second on a ground out. With tou outs, Chase Scott and Braley drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Keating singled to third base to score the first run of the game. Chuckie Robinson followed with a single to right field, scoring Scott. On the play, Keating was caught in a rundown that ended the inning with the Golden Eagles up 2-0.
Eastern Illinois cut the deficit in half in the top of the next inning. With two outs, Frankie Perrone singled to right center field. He came around to score on a Cale Hennemann double that dropped as the Golden Eagle center fielder lost the ball in the sun. One run would be all the Panthers would get as Winston closed out the inning with a strikeout.
In the third, the Golden Eagles broke the game open, scoring five runs on four hits and capitalizing on a pair of Panther errors. With one out, Lynch drew a four-pitch walk. Eastern Illinois dropped a foul ball that would have been the second out of the inning. Instead, Scott singled through the left side of the infield. Braley followed with a towering three-RBI home run to left field. Keating continued the inning with a single and moved into scoring position by stealing second. Robinson walked, prompting a pitching change. EIU attempted to pick off Keating at second, throwing the ball in to center field. Keating and Robinson both advanced into scoring position. Jake Sandlin followed with a two-RBI single to push the lead to 7-1.
Southern Miss added six more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on two hits, five walks, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a three-RBI home run to right center field by Lynch.
Rubiera led off the sixth inning with a solo home run. In the inning, the 3,146 fans in attendance gave a standing ovation to senior Michael Gilbert who saw his first action in over two years after battling his way back from injuries.
The Golden Eagles tacked on three more runs in the seventh and one in the eight to provide the final margin of victory. The Black and Gold used four walks, a fielder's choice and an error to score the three runs in the seventh, while using a Burdeaux solo homer to left field to plate the run in the eighth.
Southern Miss and Eastern Illinois close out the three-game series with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Kirk McCarty will earn the start as the Golden Eagles look to improve to 3-0 on the year. Live stats, live audio, live video, and in-game tweets will be available throughout the game.
