Southern Miss
24-13, 14-4
Charlotte
14-24-1, 5-12-1
Sweep Completed Versus Charlotte Saturday with 8-6 Victory
4/20/2019 2:51:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss scored seven runs in the first two innings Saturday morning and then hung on for an 8-6 victory Conference USA baseball victory over Charlotte before an announced 3,404 at Pete Taylor Park.
With the win, Southern Miss (24-13, 14-4 C-USA) swept the three-game series from the 49ers (14-24-1, 5-12-1).
Matt Wallner drove in four runs with a pair of home runs Saturday, giving him three on the series and 10 on the season. Wallner, a junior, has hit at least 10 home runs in each of his first three seasons with the Golden Eagles and is tied for fourth on the all-time list with Fred Cooley at 45 homers.
Charlotte had jumped out 2-0 in the first inning on Rafi Vazquez' two-run single, but Southern Miss answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
Bryant Bowen extended his team-best hitting streak to 21 games with an RBI-single before Wallner unloaded to right field for a three-run home run off Charlotte starter Carson Pinkney. It is the longest hitting streak for a Golden Eagle since Chase Scott had posted the a 21-game streak in 2015.
"It's been huge," Wallner said. "I think we scored at least two runs in the first inning in every game this weekend, so that was big for us to get going right away."
The Golden Eagles went ahead 7-2 after two innings. Matt Guidry connected on a two-run homer and Hunter Slater followed with a solo shot.
For Guidry, it was his fourth home run of the year, while for Slater, it was his sixth of the season.
But the 49ers came back, scoring a run on Dominick Cammarata's single in the fourth inning, and then tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning on consecutive fielder's choice ground balls.
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Charlotte kept the pressure on in the eighth. Southern Miss reliever Cody Carroll walked Vazquez to open the frame and Tommy Bullock ripped a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third bases.
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J.C. Keys came out the bullpen, and promptly hit Drew Ober to load the bases with no outs.
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But Keys got a tapper back to the mound for a force at the plate and then struck out Cammarata, who had been 3-of-3. Keys then closed the inning by getting pinch-hitter Jesse Gonzales to ground out.
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"Getting that first out, that always kind of calms everything," Keys said. "Then, it's a matter of filling up the zone and competing."
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Wallner then lined his second homer to right field in the bottom of eighth for what turned out be an all-important insurance run.
"The eighth inning was the most important inning of the game, both the top half and the bottom half," Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. "Keys comes in and inherits runners at second and third, creates a bases-loaded situation, but then gets the comebacker, a punchout and groundout to get out of the inning.Â
Then, you get the big insurance run in the bottom half. We needed that run. It made a difference in what they had to do."
Charlotte pulled nearly the same stunt in the ninth, but instead of a walk, Carson Johnson singled to open the inning off lefty reliever Ryan Och, who then gave up a double to Todd Elwood that left runners on second and third bases with no outs.
Tony Yett's sacrifice fly brought a run home, but after Och walked Vazquez, he was replaced by Hunter Stanley, who got a strikeout and hard grounder to the mound to quell the rally and pick up his first save of the season.
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"Can't say enough about him," Berry said. "(Friday), he finished off a game, didn't get a save. (Saturday), he got his first save. Once again, inherits runners, first and third, and got us two big outs to preserve the win."
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Charlotte got two hits each from Johnson and Vazquez, outhitting Southern Miss 11-8 in the contest. Cole Donaldson joined Wallner as the only other Golden Eagle with multiple hits.
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Southern Miss freshman Danny Lynch saw a 13-game hitting streak come to an end.
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Starter Mason Strickland (4-0) picked up the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He struck out two, walked none.
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Pinkney (2-4) allowed seven runs on six hits in two innings to take the loss, walking two and striking out two. Charlotte reliever Joey Cooner gave the 49ers a chance, allowing just two hits and a run over 5 1/3 innings.
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Southern Miss will play five games next week, starting by hosting Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Strickland, Mason (4-0)
L: Carson Pinkney (2-4)
S: Stanley, Hunter (1)
Batting:
2B: Todd Elwood 1 ; Harris Yett 1 ; Tommy Bullock 1 ; Dominick Cammarata 1
RBI: Carson Johnson 1 ; Harris Yett 1 ; Rafi Vazquez 2 ; Dominick Cammarata 1 ; Riley Cheek 1
SF: Harris Yett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carson Johnson 1 ; Todd Elwood 1 ; Harris Yett 1 ; Rafi Vazquez 1 ; Josh Haney 1 ; Dominick Cammarata 1
HBP: Drew Ober 1
Batting:
2B: Donaldson, Cole 1
HR: Guidry, Matthew 1 ; Slater, Hunter 1 ; Wallner, Matt 2
RBI: Guidry, Matthew 2 ; Slater, Hunter 1 ; Bowen, Bryant 1 ; Wallner, Matt 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Montenegro, Gabe 1 ; Guidry, Matthew 2 ; Slater, Hunter 1 ; Bowen, Bryant 1 ; Wallner, Matt 2 ; McGillis, Will 1
