Photo by: Joe Harper
Baseball and the Conference USA Tournament
5/20/2020 1:29:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Rain, lightning delays, extra-inning affairs and late-night starting times are things Southern Miss baseball fans have grown accustomed to at this time of year.
These fans also know that the Wednesday before Memorial Day – today - opens the Conference USA Tournament. MGM Park in Biloxi, was set to host the event for the fourth consecutive year, but this week's tournament and most of the 2020 season were wiped out due to COVID-19. The Golden Eagles were 12-4 when the season ended in mid-March.
In the history of this event, the Golden Eagles remain the only school in league history to reach every postseason C-USA tournament and the only institution to win at least one game in each of its appearances.
The Golden Eagles boast a 56-38 overall record in C-USA tournament contests including five championships - 2003, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Southern Miss won both the regular season and tournament crowns in 2003 and 2018 seasons.
Under the tenure of coach Scott Berry, the Golden Eagles have won three of the last four events and are 16-3 since the 2016 event at Pete Taylor Park. Since Berry's first season running the program in 2010, he has led the program to six tournament finals.
Many fond memories remain from over the years from these tournaments, including a pair from last year's event that were a walk-off, extra-inning home run Matt Wallner, the school's career leader in that category, as well as a combined no-hitter by three pitchers, highlighted by starter Gabe Shepard.
The Golden Eagles have provided fantastic memories for their fans. The following contains a listing of one memory from each of the school's appearance in this event:
* Mason Strickland threw a complete-game 6-0 shutout over Charlotte in 2018 that lasted one hour, 58 minutes, earning him tournament most valuable player honors. Later in the day, the Golden Eagles beat Florida Atlantic 12-3 in the championship contest for their fifth league postseason title.
* Taylor Braley belted a walk-off home run over Charlotte in 2017 in a 6-5 victory, allowing the team to stave off elimination. The Golden Eagles beat the 49ers again that evening to advance to the title game.
* In 2016, the Golden Eagles threw out the tying run at the plate for the game's final out in a 3-2 championship game victory over Rice, highlighting the end of a three-year run of hosting the tournament at Pete Taylor Park. Storme Cooper drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the eighth with an opposite-field single.
* It took 12 innings, but Connor Barron collected an RBI single in the final frame and another run scored on an error on the play as Southern Miss posted a 2-0 victory over Old Dominion in the team's longest extra-inning victory in 2015.
* Cameron Giannini threw a complete-game five-hitter in defeating East Carolina 3-1 during the 2014 event.
* In what proved to be the fourth and final year of pod play for C-USA, the Golden Eagles won their first two games to advance to the championship. In the final game of pod play, though, Berry called on senior Paxton King to make his first collegiate start. Despite losing the game 8-7, King went six strong innings to keep the Golden Eagles in the game and Austin Roussel collected three doubles.
* The final game of the two-run run at Trustmark Park in Pearl saw Southern Miss defeat Rice 4-2 in its only victory in three games in 2012.
* A 9:06 p.m., first pitch helped unfold a Houston and Southern Miss tilt that lasted for 14 innings during the 2011 event and finished on an RBI bunt single some 4 hours, 43 minutes later in the second-longest C-USA Tournament game in terms of time.
* In the first year of pod play, Southern Miss took advantage of a two-run, walk-off home run by Memphis over East Carolina and then defeated Houston later in the day to reach the title game in Berry's first season. The Golden Eagles then knocked off No. 20 Rice the next night 7-4 to reach the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
* Southern Miss reached its first championship tilt since 2004, when they met Rice in the 2009 title game at Pete Taylor Park. Due to an expected rain storm, the game started three hours early on a Sunday morning on front of 3,219. The Golden Eagles used a four-run sixth to the game at 4-4, before falling to 8-6 in the contest. Southern Miss, though, went on to win the NCAA Atlanta Regional and NCAA Gainesville Super Regional to earn its first College World Series appearance.
* A string of three-straight games between Southern Miss and Marshall at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans in 2008 as the Thundering Herd winning three games over a two-day stretch, including two over the Golden Eagles to reach the finals. Marshall used nine pitchers in the first win over Southern Miss – six of which threw fewer than an inning – to push the final meeting between the two schools on the final day of the tournament. The tournament also saw one day lost due to rain that year.
* Despite eight shutout innings from Barry Bowden, the Golden Eagles gave up solo runs in the ninth and 10th innings to loss to host East Carolina 2-1 in 2007, at Greenville, N.C., in a winner's bracket game. ECU stole home in the extra frame, proving to be the difference. Jody Blount drove in the visitor's lone run with a solo homer to start the sixth.
* The Golden Eagles entered as the No. 5 seed in 2006 and defeated Memphis 6-2 in the opener. Trey Sutton and Toddric Johnson each had three hits to lead Southern Miss in the tournament-opening victory. In an elimination game against Memphis later in the week, Johnson hit a ball down the rightfield line that looked to be a homer, but instead called a foul ball and the Golden Eagles could not hold an early 4-1 lead in the contest before falling 8-5.
* Southern Miss played host to the 2005 event and captured a pair of wins. TCU and Tulane did not get to play the championship game as hail caused the game to be canceled and the teams were declared co-champions.
* In the only time Southern Miss played six games in a C-USA Tournament, the 2004 affair was held at Cougar Field in Houston. In an elimination game against UAB, Jarrett Hoffpauir hit two home runs in the same inning as the Golden Eagles exploded for an 11-run, seventh inning to rally for a 16-10 victory. Southern Miss advanced to the championship game, before falling to TCU 3-1 in the final.
* The Golden Eagles went 4-0 in the 2003 event at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans to win their first crown. In a 1-1 game against East Carolina in the tournament semifinal, Southern Miss cut down a runner at the plate – as centerfielder Jeff Cook threw to shortstop Matt Shepherd relayed to catcher Brad Willcutt - to keep the game tied. Southern Miss scored solo runs in the eighth and ninth innings to pull away in the 3-1 victory. The team also found out during the championship game that they would be set to host their first ever regional.
* At the 2002 event in Kinston, N.C., Willcutt hit one of the longest home runs in the tournament history in an elimination game against Tulane. Willcutt's blast was the furthest that former Southern Miss SID Mike Montoro had seen and hit off the top of a car dealership across the street.
* A bout of food poisoning during the pre-tournament's banquet in 2001 left several players sick, including a couple of Golden Eagles. Southern Miss went on to score its most runs in a game in the tournament with 18 on 20 hits in a 18-5 victory over USF in a winner's bracket game. Unfortunately, the Bulls beat the Golden Eagles in the next two games to eliminate USM.
* The tournament went to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the only time in 2000 and the Golden Eagles came away with one victory in that event. Southern Miss defeated Tulane 10-9 in their only win that season. A three-run seventh for the Golden Eagles with Josh Hoffpauir plating the first run on a sacrifice bunt with Darren Welch followed with a two RBI single, helped Southern Miss rally from a three-run deficit in the contest.
* Another one-time event city, Milligan, Tenn., was the host in 1999, and the Golden Eagles defeated Louisville twice.
* A pair of one-run victories highlighted the 1998 tournament at Zephyr Field in Metairie, La. The Golden Eagles defeated Memphis 7-6 and Houston 6-5.
* The 1997 event saw the Golden Eagles win once in that tournament, shutting out Cincinnati 5-0 in New Orleans, La.
* The inaugural event took place in Hattiesburg at Pete Taylor Park and it proved to be the first of six times that Southern Miss has played host to this tourney. While the Golden Eagles went 2-2 in the event, an offensive record was broken that year that has not been broken since. A total of 56 home runs were hit in the 14 games, along with six grand slams. A quarter of a century later both high marks still stand.
And while no champion will be crowned this Sunday, the Golden Eagles look forward to returning to this event in 2021 and making more memories for Southern Miss fans in the future.
These fans also know that the Wednesday before Memorial Day – today - opens the Conference USA Tournament. MGM Park in Biloxi, was set to host the event for the fourth consecutive year, but this week's tournament and most of the 2020 season were wiped out due to COVID-19. The Golden Eagles were 12-4 when the season ended in mid-March.
In the history of this event, the Golden Eagles remain the only school in league history to reach every postseason C-USA tournament and the only institution to win at least one game in each of its appearances.
The Golden Eagles boast a 56-38 overall record in C-USA tournament contests including five championships - 2003, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Southern Miss won both the regular season and tournament crowns in 2003 and 2018 seasons.
Under the tenure of coach Scott Berry, the Golden Eagles have won three of the last four events and are 16-3 since the 2016 event at Pete Taylor Park. Since Berry's first season running the program in 2010, he has led the program to six tournament finals.
Many fond memories remain from over the years from these tournaments, including a pair from last year's event that were a walk-off, extra-inning home run Matt Wallner, the school's career leader in that category, as well as a combined no-hitter by three pitchers, highlighted by starter Gabe Shepard.
The Golden Eagles have provided fantastic memories for their fans. The following contains a listing of one memory from each of the school's appearance in this event:
* Mason Strickland threw a complete-game 6-0 shutout over Charlotte in 2018 that lasted one hour, 58 minutes, earning him tournament most valuable player honors. Later in the day, the Golden Eagles beat Florida Atlantic 12-3 in the championship contest for their fifth league postseason title.
* Taylor Braley belted a walk-off home run over Charlotte in 2017 in a 6-5 victory, allowing the team to stave off elimination. The Golden Eagles beat the 49ers again that evening to advance to the title game.
* In 2016, the Golden Eagles threw out the tying run at the plate for the game's final out in a 3-2 championship game victory over Rice, highlighting the end of a three-year run of hosting the tournament at Pete Taylor Park. Storme Cooper drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the eighth with an opposite-field single.
* It took 12 innings, but Connor Barron collected an RBI single in the final frame and another run scored on an error on the play as Southern Miss posted a 2-0 victory over Old Dominion in the team's longest extra-inning victory in 2015.
* Cameron Giannini threw a complete-game five-hitter in defeating East Carolina 3-1 during the 2014 event.
* In what proved to be the fourth and final year of pod play for C-USA, the Golden Eagles won their first two games to advance to the championship. In the final game of pod play, though, Berry called on senior Paxton King to make his first collegiate start. Despite losing the game 8-7, King went six strong innings to keep the Golden Eagles in the game and Austin Roussel collected three doubles.
* The final game of the two-run run at Trustmark Park in Pearl saw Southern Miss defeat Rice 4-2 in its only victory in three games in 2012.
* A 9:06 p.m., first pitch helped unfold a Houston and Southern Miss tilt that lasted for 14 innings during the 2011 event and finished on an RBI bunt single some 4 hours, 43 minutes later in the second-longest C-USA Tournament game in terms of time.
* In the first year of pod play, Southern Miss took advantage of a two-run, walk-off home run by Memphis over East Carolina and then defeated Houston later in the day to reach the title game in Berry's first season. The Golden Eagles then knocked off No. 20 Rice the next night 7-4 to reach the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
* Southern Miss reached its first championship tilt since 2004, when they met Rice in the 2009 title game at Pete Taylor Park. Due to an expected rain storm, the game started three hours early on a Sunday morning on front of 3,219. The Golden Eagles used a four-run sixth to the game at 4-4, before falling to 8-6 in the contest. Southern Miss, though, went on to win the NCAA Atlanta Regional and NCAA Gainesville Super Regional to earn its first College World Series appearance.
* A string of three-straight games between Southern Miss and Marshall at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans in 2008 as the Thundering Herd winning three games over a two-day stretch, including two over the Golden Eagles to reach the finals. Marshall used nine pitchers in the first win over Southern Miss – six of which threw fewer than an inning – to push the final meeting between the two schools on the final day of the tournament. The tournament also saw one day lost due to rain that year.
* Despite eight shutout innings from Barry Bowden, the Golden Eagles gave up solo runs in the ninth and 10th innings to loss to host East Carolina 2-1 in 2007, at Greenville, N.C., in a winner's bracket game. ECU stole home in the extra frame, proving to be the difference. Jody Blount drove in the visitor's lone run with a solo homer to start the sixth.
* The Golden Eagles entered as the No. 5 seed in 2006 and defeated Memphis 6-2 in the opener. Trey Sutton and Toddric Johnson each had three hits to lead Southern Miss in the tournament-opening victory. In an elimination game against Memphis later in the week, Johnson hit a ball down the rightfield line that looked to be a homer, but instead called a foul ball and the Golden Eagles could not hold an early 4-1 lead in the contest before falling 8-5.
* Southern Miss played host to the 2005 event and captured a pair of wins. TCU and Tulane did not get to play the championship game as hail caused the game to be canceled and the teams were declared co-champions.
* In the only time Southern Miss played six games in a C-USA Tournament, the 2004 affair was held at Cougar Field in Houston. In an elimination game against UAB, Jarrett Hoffpauir hit two home runs in the same inning as the Golden Eagles exploded for an 11-run, seventh inning to rally for a 16-10 victory. Southern Miss advanced to the championship game, before falling to TCU 3-1 in the final.
* The Golden Eagles went 4-0 in the 2003 event at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans to win their first crown. In a 1-1 game against East Carolina in the tournament semifinal, Southern Miss cut down a runner at the plate – as centerfielder Jeff Cook threw to shortstop Matt Shepherd relayed to catcher Brad Willcutt - to keep the game tied. Southern Miss scored solo runs in the eighth and ninth innings to pull away in the 3-1 victory. The team also found out during the championship game that they would be set to host their first ever regional.
* At the 2002 event in Kinston, N.C., Willcutt hit one of the longest home runs in the tournament history in an elimination game against Tulane. Willcutt's blast was the furthest that former Southern Miss SID Mike Montoro had seen and hit off the top of a car dealership across the street.
* A bout of food poisoning during the pre-tournament's banquet in 2001 left several players sick, including a couple of Golden Eagles. Southern Miss went on to score its most runs in a game in the tournament with 18 on 20 hits in a 18-5 victory over USF in a winner's bracket game. Unfortunately, the Bulls beat the Golden Eagles in the next two games to eliminate USM.
* The tournament went to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the only time in 2000 and the Golden Eagles came away with one victory in that event. Southern Miss defeated Tulane 10-9 in their only win that season. A three-run seventh for the Golden Eagles with Josh Hoffpauir plating the first run on a sacrifice bunt with Darren Welch followed with a two RBI single, helped Southern Miss rally from a three-run deficit in the contest.
* Another one-time event city, Milligan, Tenn., was the host in 1999, and the Golden Eagles defeated Louisville twice.
* A pair of one-run victories highlighted the 1998 tournament at Zephyr Field in Metairie, La. The Golden Eagles defeated Memphis 7-6 and Houston 6-5.
* The 1997 event saw the Golden Eagles win once in that tournament, shutting out Cincinnati 5-0 in New Orleans, La.
* The inaugural event took place in Hattiesburg at Pete Taylor Park and it proved to be the first of six times that Southern Miss has played host to this tourney. While the Golden Eagles went 2-2 in the event, an offensive record was broken that year that has not been broken since. A total of 56 home runs were hit in the 14 games, along with six grand slams. A quarter of a century later both high marks still stand.
And while no champion will be crowned this Sunday, the Golden Eagles look forward to returning to this event in 2021 and making more memories for Southern Miss fans in the future.
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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