
Baseball Wins Series with Missouri State with 5-4 Victory Sunday
2/25/2024 5:01:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Seth Smith broke open a tie game with a run-scoring double in the sixth and three Golden Eagle relief pitchers held Missouri State scoreless over the final five frames to lead Southern Miss to a 5-4 series-clinching victory over the Bears Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles improved to 6-2 on the season and travel to Biloxi to face Nicholls State (7-1) Tuesday night at Shuckers Ballpark for a 6 p.m. contest.
Southern Miss rallied from two deficits in the contest before taking the lead for good in the sixth. Davis Gillespie opened the frame with a single, one of three hits for him in the game, before Braden Luke was hit by a pitch. Ater a strikeout on a bunt, Smith lined a Kaleb Thomas offering to the right-center field gap scoring Gillespie.
Will Armistead threw four innings for the Golden Eagles, and he allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits and seven strikeouts but did not figure in the decision.
Chase Adams came in to start the fifth and threw two innings with five strikeouts and hit a batter to get the victory and improve to 2-0 on the year. McCarty English then followed with 1 2/3 innings in which he gave up a pair of hits and a walk with two strikeouts, while JB Middleton fired the final 1 1/3 to earn his first save as he gave up just a single with three strikeouts.
The Bears (4-3) jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage in the second on a solo home run from Zack Stewart to right. It was his third homer of the year and third of the series.
That lead did not hold up as the home team registered two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Billy Butler, in his first Golden Eagle start, opened the frame with a double. After a Gillespie single to put runners on the corners, Braden Luke registered a sacrifice fly. Gabe Broadus then added an RBI double later in the inning for a 2-1 advantage.
Missouri State then scored their final three tallies in the fourth as they took advantage of two Golden Eagle errors. With one out, Taeg Gollert reached on a throwing error. After a hit by pitch, Nick Rodriguez knocked in a run with a single. Jake McCutcheon later added a two-run single to make the score 4-2.
Southern Miss then tied the score in the bottom of the inning on a two-run home run by Gillespie, which was his first of the season.
Thomas (1-1), the fourth of sixth MSU pitchers, suffered the loss by allowing a run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings.
The Golden Eagle pitching staff registered a season-high 17 strikeouts in the contest, with just one walk.
The Golden Eagles improved to 6-2 on the season and travel to Biloxi to face Nicholls State (7-1) Tuesday night at Shuckers Ballpark for a 6 p.m. contest.
Southern Miss rallied from two deficits in the contest before taking the lead for good in the sixth. Davis Gillespie opened the frame with a single, one of three hits for him in the game, before Braden Luke was hit by a pitch. Ater a strikeout on a bunt, Smith lined a Kaleb Thomas offering to the right-center field gap scoring Gillespie.
Will Armistead threw four innings for the Golden Eagles, and he allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits and seven strikeouts but did not figure in the decision.
Chase Adams came in to start the fifth and threw two innings with five strikeouts and hit a batter to get the victory and improve to 2-0 on the year. McCarty English then followed with 1 2/3 innings in which he gave up a pair of hits and a walk with two strikeouts, while JB Middleton fired the final 1 1/3 to earn his first save as he gave up just a single with three strikeouts.
The Bears (4-3) jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage in the second on a solo home run from Zack Stewart to right. It was his third homer of the year and third of the series.
That lead did not hold up as the home team registered two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Billy Butler, in his first Golden Eagle start, opened the frame with a double. After a Gillespie single to put runners on the corners, Braden Luke registered a sacrifice fly. Gabe Broadus then added an RBI double later in the inning for a 2-1 advantage.
Missouri State then scored their final three tallies in the fourth as they took advantage of two Golden Eagle errors. With one out, Taeg Gollert reached on a throwing error. After a hit by pitch, Nick Rodriguez knocked in a run with a single. Jake McCutcheon later added a two-run single to make the score 4-2.
Southern Miss then tied the score in the bottom of the inning on a two-run home run by Gillespie, which was his first of the season.
Thomas (1-1), the fourth of sixth MSU pitchers, suffered the loss by allowing a run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings.
The Golden Eagle pitching staff registered a season-high 17 strikeouts in the contest, with just one walk.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Adams, Chase (2-0)
L: Thomas,Kaleb (1-1)
S: Middleton, JB (1)
Batting:
HR: Stewart,Zack 1
RBI: Stewart,Zack 1 ; Rodriguez,Nick 1 ; McCutcheon,Jake 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gollert,Taeg 1 ; Stewart,Zack 2 ; Rodriguez,Nick 1
HBP: Stewart,Zack 2

Batting:
2B: Broadus, Gabe 1 ; Butler, Billy 1 ; Smith, Seth 1
HR: Gillespie, Davis 1
RBI: Broadus, Gabe 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 2 ; Luke, Braden 1 ; Smith, Seth 1
SF: Luke, Braden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Butler, Billy 2 ; Gillespie, Davis 3
SB: Gillespie, Davis 1
CS: Pratt, Ozzie 1
HBP: Butler, Billy 1 ; Luke, Braden 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
Players Mentioned
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