Golden Eagles Capture Friday Night Pitchers' Duel at Charlotte

Friday, April 8

Charlotte, N.C.

5 pm CT

Southern Miss

21-8, 8-2

Charlotte

17-12, 4-6

Southern Miss

Charlotte

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Golden Eagles Capture Friday Night Pitchers' Duel at Charlotte

4/8/2022 9:24:00 PM | Baseball

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CHARLOTTE – Pitching ruled the night for the Southern Miss baseball team Friday in its series opener at Charlotte.

Despite managing two hits in the contest, the No. 18 ranked Golden Eagles saw Tanner Hall, Dalton Rogers and Landon Harper limit one of the top hitting teams in check in a 2-1 series opening victory at Hayes Stadium.

The victory gave the Golden Eagles their third win in a row and 11th over the last 13 games as they improved to 21-8 overall and 8-2 in C-USA to remain at the top of the league standings. Charlotte (17-12, 4-6) lost for the fifth-straight time.

Hall went seven innings and scattered seven hits and two walks, while fanning nine in the contest to earn the victory and improve to 5-0. Dalton Rogers got the first five batters he faced – including three strikeouts – before allowing a walk with two outs in the ninth. The Golden Eagles then went to Landon Harper. After giving up a single to put two runners on, Harper fanned Jake Cunningham to end the game.

"The offense wasn't where we wanted it tonight, obviously," said coach Scott Berry on the Southern Miss radio postgame show. "But we did some good things with Slade Wilks with the solo homer early in the game. It was pitching, defense, a timely hit here and there, and a base-running play by (Dustin) Dickerson catching them off guard going from second to third to set up that sacrifice fly, a two-strike situation for (Christopher) Sargent, and he delivered big with the game-winning RBI."

Although Hall gave up seven hits, he did get one base runner out on a caught stealing while two more were erased on a pair of Golden Eagle double plays and another thrown out at the plate.
With the triumph, Southern Miss improved 3-1 in one-run games.

Southern Miss jumped out to an early lead as Slade Wilks homered to the opposite field in the second for his sixth long ball of the season. Cam Fisher then answered with a solo homer of his own – his 10th – an opposite field shot just inside the foul pole in left to open the fourth.

The 49ers then tried to take the lead in the fifth. With a runner at second and two outs, Nate Furman hit a slow roller to second that the Golden Eagles could not get the runner out in time. But the pinch runner Dante DeFranco at second tried to take home on the play and Christopher Sargent threw a strike to the plate in which Rodrigo Montenegro made the perfect tag to end the inning. The call on the field was challenged on the field by the 49ers, but the original out call stood.

The visitors added their other run in the sixth. Dickerson led off the inning with a walk. When Reece Ewing walked one batter later, no one was covering third base for the 49ers and an alert Dickerson stole third.

Christopher Sargent then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Dickerson, which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Southern Miss tried to add to its lead in the eighth as the first two hitters, Dickerson and Ewing, opened the frame with a single and a walk, respectively. Charlotte reliever Spencer Giesting, though, worked out of the jam and although he took the loss and fell to 1-3, he limited the Golden Eagles to a run on one hit over 6 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and seven walks.

Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. CT, Saturday.