Baseball Returns Home for Sun Belt Series with James Madison

Dates        Time (CT)        Probable Rotation
Fri., 14       6 p.m.             RH Tanner Hall, Jr. (6-2, 1.99 ERA)
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Sat., 15      2 p.m.             RH Billy Oldham, Jr. (3-1, 4.34 ERA)
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Sun., 16     11:30 a.m.     TBA
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After playing the last two Sun Belt Conference series on the road, the Southern Miss baseball team returns home this weekend to face James Madison in a three-game set at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

The game times are set for 6 p.m., Friday, 2 p.m., Saturday and 11:30 p.m., Sunday. All three games can be seen via ESPN+ as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network.

The James Madison series gives the Golden Eagles (19-12 overall, 7-5 SBC) their final three home games during a stretch that currently has them playing 12 of 16 games away from Pete Taylor Park. Southern Miss is currently 5-3 during this current stretch, including a 4-3 road record. Southern Miss defeated Old Dominion in two of three games last weekend, outscoring the Monarchs 22-18, before dropping a 13-0 midweek decision Tuesday at Alabama.

The Dukes came to Hattiesburg having posted a 20-12 record overall and a 5-5 mark in league play. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in baseball and signify the 81st different opponent a Scott Berry-led team has met in his 14 seasons as head coach. It is also the second-straight weekend the Golden Eagles have met a team from the state of Virginia.

The Golden Eagles have won their last three Sun Belt Conference series, winning on the road at Troy and Old Dominion over the last two weekends, while also beating Georgia Southern at home. Southern Miss also took one of three in their first-ever league set at Texas State. All four league opponents were in the Top 100 RPI by the NCAA through April 12, including Troy at No. 46, Old Dominion at No. 47, Georgia Southern at No. 65, and Texas State at No. 82. Both Georgia Southern and Texas State were NCAA Tournament teams last season. Southern Miss also meets Coastal Carolina and Louisiana later this season, two more league teams that reached last season's NCAA Tournament.

Slade Wilks leads the way for the Golden Eagles offensively with a .345 average to go along with a team-bests of 11 home runs and 28 RBI. He had a 10-game hitting streak snapped at Alabama Tuesday night. Dustin Dickerson saw his current hitting streak increased to 11 games with a single against the Crimson Tide. Dickerson is hitting .322 with 12 doubles, two home runs and 19 RBI.

Southern Miss will change its pitching rotation for the weekend against the Dukes. Following Tanner Hall to open the series on Friday, Billy Oldham is expected to throw in the Saturday tilt. The Golden Eagles are undecided in their Sunday starter at this point.

Following the JMU series, the Golden Eagles return to the road for a Tuesday night contest at Louisiana Tech. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Baseball Returns Home for Sun Belt Series with James Madison

Players Mentioned

Dustin Dickerson

Tanner Hall

Billy Oldham

Slade Wilks

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