University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Concludes Homestand with Alabama on Tuesday Night
3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Stats: Southern Miss - Alabama
TV: None
Radio Network: Hattiesburg (WKZW-FM, 94.3), Jackson (WJDX-AM 620), Columbia (WFFF-FM, 96.7), Gulfport/Biloxi (WTNI-AM 1640/WXBD-AM 1490); Southern Miss Gameday App (free)
Webstream Link ($): TuesdayLive Stats:
Pitching Probables -- RH Mike Oczypok, RJr. (2-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. RH Nick Johnson, Sr. (0-0, 2.61 ERA), 6 pm
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss baseball team concludes a five-game homestand Tuesday when they entertain Southeastern Conference foe Alabama in a 6 p.m., contest at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles continue their nice start to the season, after winning two of three games over the weekend at home against Samford, improving to 13-4 on the campaign.
In last year's only meeting between the clubs, Southern Miss defeated Alabama, 6-2, in a rain-shortened contest at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. The game was played there due to construction at the Crimson Tide's on-campus facility. That victory marked the third consecutive triumph over the Crimson Tide and the seventh-straight win for Southern Miss over a team from the Southeastern Conference, dating back to 2014.
After riding its offense over the first month of the season, the Golden Eagles have been relying on pitching as of late to help them enjoy their best 17-game start since the 2011 campaign.
Over the last eight games, the pitching staff allowed more than three earned runs just once to post a 2.47 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 25 walks and notching a 6-2 mark over this stretch.
Senior right-hander Nick Johnson gets the call to continue that stellar pitching for the Golden Eagles against the Crimson Tide for his second career start. In five appearances this season, Johnson holds no pitching record, but has earned one save to go along with a 2.61 earned run average, 11 strikeouts and four walks over 10 1/3 innings.
Johnson faces Tide redshirt-junior right-hander Mike Oczypok, who has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.69 ERA.
The Crimson Tide (11-4) heads into Hattiesburg having dropped two of three over the weekend at home to Houston.
Following the Alabama game, the Golden Eagles take to the road for the opening of their 21st Conference USA baseball season with a three-game set at Marshall. The two teams open league play in Charleston, W.Va., at Appalachian Power Park, the home of the Single A Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate in the South Atlantic League. Game times for the weekend series are 5 p.m., on Friday, 3 p.m., on Saturday and 10:30 a.m., on Sunday.
Tickets for home Southern Miss baseball games can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office weekdays during normal business hours. For those wishing to buy single-game tickets, the Pete Taylor Park box office also opens two hours prior to each home game.
