University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, February 14
Pete Taylor Park
4 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Murray State
Photo by: Joe Harper
Baseball Opens 2020 Season Friday with Murray State
2/13/2020 12:16:00 PM | Baseball
Probable Rotation for Murray State series:
Friday, Feb. 14 - RH Trevor McMurray, Sr. (3-7, 5.56) vs. RH Gabe Shepard, So. (3-0, 2.35), 4 pm
Saturday, Feb. 15 - LH Shane Burns, So. (3-3, 3.84) vs. RH Walker Powell, Sr. (6-2, 2.81), 4 pm
Sunday, Feb. 16 - RH Sam Gardner, GS (Transfer) vs. LH Chandler Best, Fr. (HS in 2019), 1 pm
* stats from 2019 season
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The quest for a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and at least one Conference USA championship over that same span fuels the 2020 Southern Miss baseball team as they open the season this weekend with a three-game series against Murray State.
Game times for the opening weekend at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field are 4 p.m., on both Friday and Saturday with a 1 p.m., start on Sunday. Prior to the game on Friday, there will be a field dedication ceremony for the new synthetic turf that was provided by FieldTurf.
The Golden Eagles come off a 40-21 season from a year ago and a C-USA Tournament championship. It marked the fourth-straight 40-win season, which is tied for the fourth-longest string in the NCAA for consecutive years of reaching that win plateau.
Southern Miss returns 16 letterwinners from last season, including five position player starters and eight pitchers.
In the field, senior second baseman Matthew Guidry and junior leftfielder Gabe Montenegro headline the position player returnees as both were named to the C-USA preseason all-league team. Guidry hit .297 with eight home runs and 47 RBI in 2019, while Montenegro batted a team-high .342 with six homers and 25 RBI.
On the mound, preseason all-league pick Walker Powell comes back for one final season. The senior right-hander led the squad with a 6-2 record with a 2.72 earned run average. Another starter, sophomore right-hander Gape Shepard, who was on pitch restrictions for most of last year, won his last three starts which included a combined no-hitter against Rice in the C-USA Tournament. Shepard finished with a 3-0 record and a 2.35 ERA.
Reliever Hunter Stanley also returns for the Golden Eagles and should see action over the late innings after posting a 5-2 mark with a 3.07 ERA with four saves.
Murray State enters the weekend under second-year coach Dan Skirka, after finishing 24-30 last season and 16-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Southern Miss leads the overall series with the Racers 7-2, which dates back to the 1996 season. The two teams played once in the postseason as the Golden Eagles captured an 18-0 decision over the Racers in the 2003 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional at Pete Taylor Park.
Following the Murray State series, the Golden Eagles continue their season-opening seven-game homestand with New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 18. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Promotions Schedule for the Weekend:
Friday – Opening Day, free "Meet Ya at the Pete: t-shirts for the first 500 in attendance
Saturday – 2020 Home Schedule magnets for the first 500 in attendance
Sunday - Family Funday Sunday (4 drinks, 4 hot dogs and 4 tickets for $40). Kids run the bases after the game.
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Friday, Feb. 14 - RH Trevor McMurray, Sr. (3-7, 5.56) vs. RH Gabe Shepard, So. (3-0, 2.35), 4 pm
Saturday, Feb. 15 - LH Shane Burns, So. (3-3, 3.84) vs. RH Walker Powell, Sr. (6-2, 2.81), 4 pm
Sunday, Feb. 16 - RH Sam Gardner, GS (Transfer) vs. LH Chandler Best, Fr. (HS in 2019), 1 pm
* stats from 2019 season
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The quest for a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and at least one Conference USA championship over that same span fuels the 2020 Southern Miss baseball team as they open the season this weekend with a three-game series against Murray State.
Game times for the opening weekend at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field are 4 p.m., on both Friday and Saturday with a 1 p.m., start on Sunday. Prior to the game on Friday, there will be a field dedication ceremony for the new synthetic turf that was provided by FieldTurf.
The Golden Eagles come off a 40-21 season from a year ago and a C-USA Tournament championship. It marked the fourth-straight 40-win season, which is tied for the fourth-longest string in the NCAA for consecutive years of reaching that win plateau.
Southern Miss returns 16 letterwinners from last season, including five position player starters and eight pitchers.
In the field, senior second baseman Matthew Guidry and junior leftfielder Gabe Montenegro headline the position player returnees as both were named to the C-USA preseason all-league team. Guidry hit .297 with eight home runs and 47 RBI in 2019, while Montenegro batted a team-high .342 with six homers and 25 RBI.
On the mound, preseason all-league pick Walker Powell comes back for one final season. The senior right-hander led the squad with a 6-2 record with a 2.72 earned run average. Another starter, sophomore right-hander Gape Shepard, who was on pitch restrictions for most of last year, won his last three starts which included a combined no-hitter against Rice in the C-USA Tournament. Shepard finished with a 3-0 record and a 2.35 ERA.
Reliever Hunter Stanley also returns for the Golden Eagles and should see action over the late innings after posting a 5-2 mark with a 3.07 ERA with four saves.
Murray State enters the weekend under second-year coach Dan Skirka, after finishing 24-30 last season and 16-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Southern Miss leads the overall series with the Racers 7-2, which dates back to the 1996 season. The two teams played once in the postseason as the Golden Eagles captured an 18-0 decision over the Racers in the 2003 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional at Pete Taylor Park.
Following the Murray State series, the Golden Eagles continue their season-opening seven-game homestand with New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 18. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Promotions Schedule for the Weekend:
Friday – Opening Day, free "Meet Ya at the Pete: t-shirts for the first 500 in attendance
Saturday – 2020 Home Schedule magnets for the first 500 in attendance
Sunday - Family Funday Sunday (4 drinks, 4 hot dogs and 4 tickets for $40). Kids run the bases after the game.
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Players Mentioned
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