Baseball Returns Home to Entertain UConn this Weekend
2/25/2021
UConn (1-2) at Southern Miss (2-2)
Games 5-7 | Feb. 26-28, 2021 | Pete Taylor Park | Hattiesburg, Miss.
| Upcoming Games | Time (CT) | Probable Pitchers | Radio & Webstream |
| Friday, Feb. 26 | 4 p.m. | RH Ben Casparius, Jr. (0-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. RH Hunter Stanley, Sr. (1-0, 0.00 ERA) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Saturday, Feb. 27 | 1 p.m. | RH Joe Simeone, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RH Ben Ethridge, Fr. (0-0, 1.59 ERA) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sunday, Feb. 28 | 11 a.m. | RH Austin Peterson, Fr. (0-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. RH Walker Powell, Sr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
This Weekend: Southern Miss returns home for the second weekend of the regular season as they welcome UConn from the Big East to Hattiesburg for the first time. This will be the first Big East opponent to play at Pete Taylor Park since Xavier was here March 10-11, 2017. The Golden Eagles took two of three from the Musketeers in that series. The Golden Eagles are 4-1 all-time against the curent alignment of the Big East.
UConn: The Huskies, the presesaon favorite in the Big East Conference by most media outlets, comes into the weekend with a 1-2 record after dropping two of three at nationally ranked Virginia during the opening weekend. UConn is under 18th-year coach Jim Penders who has posted a 573-399-5 mark in his tenure at the school. The Huskies have been to 21 NCAA Tournaments with the last coming in 2019 when they traveled to Oklahoma City.
Only Previous Meeting: Adam Doleac came off the bench for a pinch hit, two-run single in the sixth and added a two-run double in the seventh, while Geoffrey Thomas tossed a complete game to lead the Golden Eagles in the final day of the Colege of Charleston Tournament with a 6-3 win over the Huskies in Charleston, S.C., in the two teams only previous meeting. Thomas gave up two earned runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts in his outing. B.A. Vollmuth added a solo home run for the Eagles.
Winning at Home: Since utilizing Pete Taylor Park as its home facility in 1984, the Golden Eagles are 814-340 (.705) at their venue, having won at least 20 or more home games in 30 of the 37 campaigns played at the park. During the 1985 and 1986 campaigns, Southern Miss played a handful of home games at Smokey Harrington Park, which is currently the home of Hattiesburg High School. Southern Miss finishes a string of six of its first seven games at home this weekend.
In February Under Berry: The Golden Eagles have posted a 64-30-1 record (.679) under Scott Berry in the month of February. Southern Miss has not had a losing month during his tenure and enjoyed a 7-0 start during the 2016 campaign.
Pitching Strong Over First Four Games: The Golden Eagles have registered 56 strikeouts and walked just eight over the first four games. In the second game of the doubleheader last Sunday, four Southern Miss pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts against the Demons tying a school record for a pitching staff for most punchouts in a game. It tied a mark that was originally done against Loyola (N.O.) in 1948. The team has fanned double digit batters in each of the first four games, which is the first time that has happened since 4/8-14/17 against FIU (twice), Ole Miss and Rice.
Trimble Enjoying Fast 2021 Start: No Golden Eagle has had a better offensive start than second-year Reed Trimble, who has posted .250 average with team bests of two home runs and seven RBI. He collected the two home runs in the Northwestern State series finale last Monday - both three-run shots - and then added a sacrifice fly this past Tuesday at South Alabama to account for his RBI total. He collected the first two-home run game for a Golden Eagle since Matt Guidry hit a pair versus Valparaiso in Lake Charles, La., on Feb. 29, 2020.
