Baseball Travels to Houston for C-USA Series with Rice
4/29/2021
Southern Miss (26-13, 13-6 C-USA) at Rice (17-23-1, 5-14-1 C-USA)
Games 40-43 | April 30- May 2, 2021 | Reckling Park | Houston, Texas
| Upcoming Games | Time (CT) | Probable Pitchers | Radio & Webstream |
| Fri., April 30 | 4 p.m. | RH Hunter Stanley, Sr. (5-1, 2.51) vs. RH Mitchell Holcomb, Gr. (4-4, 7.35) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Fri., April 30 | Game 2 | RH Walker Powell, Sr. (6-2, 3.20) vs. RH Roel Garcia, Jr. (1-3, 5.36) | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sat., May 1 | 1 p.m. | TBA vs. TBA | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Sun., May 2 | 1 p.m. | TBA vs. TBA | Southern Miss Network/C-USA.TV |
| Live Stats - | Friday | Sat. (G1) | Sat. (G2) | Sunday | Game Notes |
Last Weekend: Southern Miss captured three of four games from WKU last weekend, including a pair of one-run contests to start the series. The loss on Sunday ended a streak of 10-straight league wins against teams not named Louisiana Tech to start the league season. In the opener, back-to-back doubles in the eighth by Gabe Montenegro and Reed Trimble and a dropped fly ball led to the first 6-5 victory, while consecutive homers by Charlie Fischer (two-run) and Christopher Sargent led to the second 6-5 win. Ben Ethridge threw a three-hit shutout to account for the third Golden Eagle win. Southern Miss jumped out to a 3-2 advantage in the final game, but WKU came back with a five-run sixth to pull away in the contest.
A Solid Month of April: The Golden Eagles have enjoyed another solid month of April by winning 12 of 16 games and have also won 22 of their last 30 games dating back to a 6-0 victory at Jacksonville State (March 6). The triumph also marked coach Scott Berry’s 400th career win at Southern Miss. The program has won at least 12 game during April in each season dating back to 2017. (The Golden Eagles did not play in April last season due to COVID).
Ethridge Named Pitcher of the Week: Ethridge registered his first complete-game shutout, allowing three hits over seven innings in a 3-0 victory last Saturday over WKU. He allowed just four base runners in the contest (three via singles and one hit by pitch) and only two runners got as far as second base. After allowing back-to-back singles in the third – one of which caromed off his throwing hand – Ethridge rallied to retire the final 14 batters he faced, including seven strikeouts down the stretch. That strikeout total included fanning the side in the sixth. His 11 strikeouts were the second most he has recorded this season and the second double-digit strikeout game this season. It was the first complete-game shutout for the Golden Eagles in 2021 and the fifth shutout for the squad.The award is the first for Ethridge in his Golden Eagle career and the third for Southern Miss in 2021.
Back in the Rankings: The Golden Eagles are back in the polls for the first time this season, earning a No. 23 spot by D1Baseball and a No. 22 spot by USA Today.
The Owls: Rice enters play this weekend with a 17-23-1 overall record and are 5-14-1 in league play under third-year coach Matt Bragga, who has posted a 45-70-1 record at Rice and a 491-462-3 overall record in 18 seasons as a Division I head coach. His squad has played well of late, having won three of its last six games including a split at UTSA last weekend.
| Series (2006-2019) | |
| All-Time | 22-29 |
| In Hattiesburg | 10-13 |
| In Houston (at Rice) | 8-15 |
| Neutral | 4-1 |
| Since Joining C-USA (1996) | 22-29 |
| C-USA Series records | 4-10-0 |
| Streak | Won 2 |
| Last 10 | 6-4 |
Last Time Against Rice: The Golden Eagles posted their first no-hitter since 2004 when Gabe Shepard, Cody Carroll and Hunter Stanley combined to defeat Rice 6-0 on May 25, 2019, which advanced Southern Miss to the league title contest. It was the second time Southern Miss defeated Rice that weekend as Matt Wallner helped the Golden Eagles rally from a last 4-0 deficit completing the comeback with a two-run game-winning homer in the 10th for a 6-4 victory. The Owls did take two of three from Southern Miss in Houston during the regular season.
National Statistics: The Golden Eagles pitching staff is listed among the nation’s leaders both as a team and its individuals. Here is a look at the team’s Top 20 leaders for all categories (through games of April 28):
Pitching
Team
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio: 1st (4.54)
Walks per 9 Inns.: 2nd (2.20)
WHIP: 7th (1.15)
Shutouts: 9th (5)
Individual
Saves: Garrett Ramsey, 4th (9)
Doubles: Gabe Montenegro, 5th (16)
On-Base Percentage: Charlie Fischer, 9th (.523)
Walks Taken Per Game: Charlie Fischer, 17th (0.97)
Walks Taken: Charlie Fischer, 17th (32)
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.
