Baseball Opens C-USA Play with Louisiana Tech
3/25/2021
Louisiana Tech (14-5, 0-0 C-USA) at Southern Miss (13-6, 0-0 C-USA)
Games 20-22 | March 26-28, 2021 | Pete Taylor Park | Hattiesburg, Miss.
| Upcoming Games | Time (CT) | Probable Pitchers | Radio & Webstream |
| Fri., March 26 | 6 p.m. | LH Jonathan Fincher, RJr. (3-0, 1.50) vs. RH Hunter Stanley, Sr. (3-1, 2.64) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sat., March 27 | 2 p.m. | RH Ryan Jennings, RJr. (2-1, 3.33) vs. RH Walker Powell, Sr. (3-1, 1.29)* | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sat., March 27 | Game 2 | LH Cade Gibson, RSr. (1-1, 3.54) vs. RH Ben Ethridge, Fr. (1-0, 2.45)* | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sun., March 28 | 1 p.m. | RH Jarret Whorff, Sr. (4-1, 2.59) vs. LH Drew Boyd, So. (1-2, 4.61) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Live Stats - | Friday | Sat. (G1) | Sat. (G2) | Sunday | Game Notes |
Last Time Out: Gabe Montenegro registered a seventh inning two-run, two-out double in the right field corner and 10 Golden Eagle pitchers fanned 13 Alabama batters as Southern Miss recorded a 5-4 victory at No. 23 Alabama Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Montenegro led the way with his first three-hit game of the season, while Blake Wehunt (1-0) got the victory and Garrett Ramsey notched his seventh save in seven tries to lead the nation in Division I. It was the first win in three tries in Tuscaloosa as the last win came in 2014.
The Bulldogs: Louisiana Tech heads into Hattiesburg having posted a 14-5 record with three wins over Rice and Tulane and one each over nationally ranked Arkansas and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are coached by Lane Burroughs, a former Southern Miss assistant coach from 1999-2007 under Golden Eagle legend Corky Palmer.
| Series (1921-2019) | |
| All-Time | 28-16-1 |
| In Hattiesburg (Since 1949) | 14-7 |
| In Ruston (Since 1949) | 12-3 |
| Neutral | 1-1 |
| Since Joining C-USA (2014) | 14-4 |
| C-USA Series records | 4-1-1 |
| Streak | Won 3 |
| Last 10 | 8-2 |
Familiar Faces in the Dugouts: While Burroughs was an assistant for Southern Miss, two current Southern Miss assistants worked for Burroughs at LA Tech, including Christian Ostrander (2016-17) and Travis Creel (2017-19). Creel returned to his alma mater in 2020, having lettered for the Golden Eagles form 2010-13. Southern Miss assistant coach Nick Ammirati was an assistant coach under Burroughs at Northwestern State for two years and Burroughs signed Ammirati at Mississippi State when he was an assistant coach there.
Playing Well: Southern Miss has won nine of its last 10 games heading into the weekend against Louisiana Tech. Despite hitting just .232 with eight home runs and 44 RBI over this nine-game stretch, the Golden Eagle pitching staff has posted a 1.51 ERA with 108 strikeouts and only 21 walks with five saves and three shutouts during this part of the schedule. Southern Miss has outscored its opponents 46-22 over this period.
Opening Conference Play: Southern Miss begins its 25th season of Conference USA play this weekend - last year’s schedule was canceled due to COVID-19 - and the Golden Eagles have posted a 408-238 (.632) and are 138-76-3 in league series over that time. The Golden Eagles have won 20 league games seven times over that time, including in each of the last four years played.
Game-Winning Grand Slam: Freshman Reed Trimble hit a game-winning, 11th-inning grand slam to lift the Golden Eagles over Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-3, on March 14. It was the first game-winning homer since Matt Wallner defeated Rice 6-4 with a blast in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament on May 22, 2019. It also marked the first game-winning grand slam since Jeff Cook beat Louisiana Tech 17-15 at Pete Taylor Park on March 1, 2003. Since the start of the 2017 campaign, Southern Miss has enjoyed 20 walk-off wins, including two courtesy of Trimble the last two seasons. His first, a two-run double, came against New Orleans on Feb. 22 last season.
Winning at Home: Since utilizing Pete Taylor Park as its home facility in 1984, the Golden Eagles are 822-341-2 (.706) 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.
In March Under Berry: The Golden Eagles have posted a 126-69 record (.646) under Scott Berry in the month of March. The program has enjoyed five winning streak of five or more games under Berry including a long of nine games during the 2017 campaign.
Double-Digit Strikeouts: Southern Miss has posted 14 double-digit strikeout games over its first 19 contests with three more games of nine strikeouts.
National Statistics: The Golden Eagles pitching staff is listed among the nation’s leaders both as a team and iits individuals. Here is a look at the team’s Top 20 leaders for all categories (through Thursday’s games):
Pitching
Team
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 1st (5.42)
Walks per 9 Inns.: 3rd (2.16)
Shutouts: 3rd (4)
WHIP: 8th (1.07)
Strikeouts per 9 Inns.: 11th (11.7)
ERA: 16th (2.91)
Individual
Saves: Garrett Ramsey, 1st (7)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: Ben Ethridge, 3rd (33.00)
Strikeouts: Hunter Stanley, 7th (46)
Walks Taken: Charlie Fischer, 8th (19)
Sacrifice Hits: Gabe Montenegro, 11th (4)
Walks per 9 Inns.: Ben Ethridge, 15th (0.35)
Back to the NCAAs in 2019: Southern Miss appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year and the 16th time overall, playing in the Baton Rouge Regional to complete its 2019 season. The Golden Eagles made their first-ever appearance in the postseason in 1990, with a trip to Baton Rouge, and at one point, reached regional play nine-straight seasons, from 2003-11.
Golden Eagles Take C-USA Title: Southern Miss captured the last Conference USA tournament title in 2019 and have won three of the last four events - making the championship game in all four seasons. The Golden Eagles also captured the 2018 C-USA regular season and tournament titles, marking the second time Southern Miss had won both C-USA championships in the same season with the other time coming in 2003. Four of the school’s five C-USA regular season titles have come under current head coach Scott Berry, while he has also led Southern Miss to four of their five tournament titles.
The Schedule
