Saturday, May 29
Ruston, LA
12:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
37-18
10
at
11
Louisiana Tech
39-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Southern Miss
0
2
1
5
0
1
0
0
1
0
10
15
2
Louisiana Tech
0
0
0
0
6
0
2
2
0
1
11
12
1
Baseball Falls in Extra Innings to LA Tech; Play Again Saturday Night
5/29/2021 6:30:00 PM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech rallied from an 8-0 deficit in the fourth inning to beat No. 3 seed Southern Miss 11-10 in 10 innings to force a deciding game for the final spot in the championship game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Championship at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
The winner of the 7:30 p.m. CT game will face Old Dominion in Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
After Southern Miss went out in order in the top of the 10th, Louisiana Tech got a one-out walk by Hunter Wells. Parker Bates flew out to center for the second out, and then Steele Netterville drove a pitch to the gap in right center for a double that scored Wells from first ahead of the relay throw for the game-winning run.
Southern Miss (37-18) tied the game 10-10 in the top of the 9th when Danny Lynch hit a solo home run to center to lead off the inning.
The Bulldogs (39-17) grabbed a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Wells reached on a fielding error by USM pitcher Tyler Stuart (2-2) with the bases loaded that scored Philip Matulia from third. Two batters later, Netterville lifted a sac fly to right that scored Taylor Young.
Kyle Crigger (3-2) picked up the victory for the Bulldogs in relief, as he pitched two innings and struck out two.
Southern Miss took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Reece Ewing, Danny Lynch and Will McGillis all singled to load the bases. After Ewing was cut down at the plate after a Blake Johnson fielder's choice and a strikeout, Gabe Montenegro slapped a two-run single through the right side to score Lynch and McGillis off LA Tech starter Cade Gibson.
In the USM third, Christopher Sargent hit a solo homer that cleared the batter's eye in center field for a 3-0 Golden Eagles lead.
The Southern Miss lead grew to 8-0 in the fourth as Reed Trimble and Charlie Fischer hit back-to-back RBI singles. Sargent followed with a three-run homer to left, his second of the game.
Louisiana Tech mounted a comeback with six runs in the bottom of the fifth. Alex Ray had a RBI single, Young lifted a sacrifice fly to center and Bates added an RBI single off USM starter Drew Boyd, who was relieved by Tanner Hall after Bates' hit. Netterville promptly hit an RBI double down the left-field line, and Cole McConnell followed with a two-RBI single to center. The Golden Eagles got out of the inning when Hall coaxed Manny Garcia to bounce into a double play.
Southern Miss got a run back in the sixth when Montenegro doubled to open the inning and scored on a RBI single by Sargent.
The Bulldogs trimmed the margin to 9-8 in the seventh with a pair of runs as Young doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and Garcia singled home Bates with the bases loaded. On that play, the Southern Miss defense relayed home to nail Netterville at the plate attempting to score. Southern Miss reliever Garrett Ramsey then struck out Corona looking to strand a pair of runners.
Seven Bulldogs had at least one RBI, led by Netterville with three on a 2-3 game. Sargent was 3-4 with two homers, a walk and five RBI for the Golden Eagles.
The winner of the 7:30 p.m. CT game will face Old Dominion in Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
After Southern Miss went out in order in the top of the 10th, Louisiana Tech got a one-out walk by Hunter Wells. Parker Bates flew out to center for the second out, and then Steele Netterville drove a pitch to the gap in right center for a double that scored Wells from first ahead of the relay throw for the game-winning run.
Southern Miss (37-18) tied the game 10-10 in the top of the 9th when Danny Lynch hit a solo home run to center to lead off the inning.
The Bulldogs (39-17) grabbed a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Wells reached on a fielding error by USM pitcher Tyler Stuart (2-2) with the bases loaded that scored Philip Matulia from third. Two batters later, Netterville lifted a sac fly to right that scored Taylor Young.
Kyle Crigger (3-2) picked up the victory for the Bulldogs in relief, as he pitched two innings and struck out two.
Southern Miss took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Reece Ewing, Danny Lynch and Will McGillis all singled to load the bases. After Ewing was cut down at the plate after a Blake Johnson fielder's choice and a strikeout, Gabe Montenegro slapped a two-run single through the right side to score Lynch and McGillis off LA Tech starter Cade Gibson.
In the USM third, Christopher Sargent hit a solo homer that cleared the batter's eye in center field for a 3-0 Golden Eagles lead.
The Southern Miss lead grew to 8-0 in the fourth as Reed Trimble and Charlie Fischer hit back-to-back RBI singles. Sargent followed with a three-run homer to left, his second of the game.
Louisiana Tech mounted a comeback with six runs in the bottom of the fifth. Alex Ray had a RBI single, Young lifted a sacrifice fly to center and Bates added an RBI single off USM starter Drew Boyd, who was relieved by Tanner Hall after Bates' hit. Netterville promptly hit an RBI double down the left-field line, and Cole McConnell followed with a two-RBI single to center. The Golden Eagles got out of the inning when Hall coaxed Manny Garcia to bounce into a double play.
Southern Miss got a run back in the sixth when Montenegro doubled to open the inning and scored on a RBI single by Sargent.
The Bulldogs trimmed the margin to 9-8 in the seventh with a pair of runs as Young doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and Garcia singled home Bates with the bases loaded. On that play, the Southern Miss defense relayed home to nail Netterville at the plate attempting to score. Southern Miss reliever Garrett Ramsey then struck out Corona looking to strand a pair of runners.
Seven Bulldogs had at least one RBI, led by Netterville with three on a 2-3 game. Sargent was 3-4 with two homers, a walk and five RBI for the Golden Eagles.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kyle Crigger (3-2)
L: Stuart, Tyler (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Montenegro, Gabe 1
HR: Sargent, Christopher 2 ; Lynch, Danny 1
RBI: Montenegro, Gabe 2 ; Trimble, Reed 1 ; Fischer, Charlie 1 ; Sargent, Christopher 5 ; Lynch, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Montenegro, Gabe 1 ; Trimble, Reed 1 ; Fischer, Charlie 1 ; Sargent, Christopher 2 ; Lynch, Danny 2 ; McGillis, Will 1 ; Johnson, Blake 1 ; Dickerson, Dustin 1
SB: Sargent, Christopher 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor Young 1 ; Steele Netterville 2 ; Cole McConnell 1 ; Jorge Corona 1
RBI: Taylor Young 1 ; Hunter Wells 1 ; Parker Bates 1 ; Steele Netterville 3 ; Cole McConnell 2 ; Manny Garcia 1 ; Alex Ray 1
SF: Steele Netterville 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor Young 2 ; Hunter Wells 2 ; Parker Bates 2 ; Steele Netterville 1 ; Jorge Corona 1 ; Philip Matulia 2 ; Alex Ray 1
HBP: Steele Netterville 1 ; Jorge Corona 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballUTIL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballTrue Grit: Final Episode
Friday, October 20
Episode 1: War Damn Golden Eagle
Tuesday, August 22
Episode 5: Battle for the Belt
Thursday, August 17
Episode 4: Battle for the Belt
Saturday, August 12