Southern Miss Places Five on Sun Belt All-Conference Teams
5/20/2024 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss baseball squad placed five players on the All-Sun Belt Conference baseball teams, including starting pitcher Billy Oldham and designated hitter Slade Wilks on the first team, along with shortstop Ozzie Pratt, outfielder Dalton McIntyre and starting pitcher Niko Mazza getting second-team nods based on voting from the 14 league schools.
Oldham, from Brookfield, Conn., went 7-2 in 14 starts during the year, with 85 strikeouts and only 24 walks in 82 2/3 innings. His statistics include being 4-2 with a complete-game victory in league play. He went five or more innings in 12 games, and had four starts of throwing seven innings, before finishing the regular season with a five-inning performance at home against Texas State. Oldham enjoyed double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back starts including 10 versus Louisiana (4/26) and a career-high 11 versus Coastal Carolina (5/3). He also won the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week award once, while posting five or more strikeouts 11 times and seven or more six times.
Wilks, from Columbia, Miss., finished the regular season batting .332 with 16 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs to go along with 58 RBI. His home run and RBI totals rank first on the squad. Heading into the Sun Belt Tournament, Wilks holds a 28-game hitting streak, which is tied for third longest in school history. His hitting numbers during the streak are a .393 (44x112) average with 10 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 22 runs and 37 RBI. Wilks also has 46 career home runs which is tied for fifth on the school career chart. He also is tied for the team best multi-RBI games with 16 (9-2RBI, 5-3RBI and 2-4RBI) and has a current streak of 35 straight games of reaching base. He collected at least one hit in all 21 true road games during the year.
Pratt, from Oxford, Miss., is the only Golden Eagle to start in all 53 games this season as he enjoyed a .330 batting average with a team-best 18 doubles, two triples and three home runs with 36 RBI. He also heads into the postseason with a 13-game hitting streak with the last 10 contests being multi-hit affairs. He finished the regular season with a .330 batting average and was the team's top hitter in league games at .421 with 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 21 RBI. He made just one error in league play and eight total for the year for a .957 fielding percentage. He leads the team in multi-hit games with 25 and had nine multi-RBI contests.
McIntyre, from Jackson, Tenn., has the highest batting average on the team with a .374, which ranks No. 3 overall in the Sun Belt. He has added 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 31 RBI this season, while leading the team in stolen bases with 10. The team holds a 24-4 record when he scores a run in a game, and he also has totaled 23 infield hits. McIntrye ranks second on the team in multi-hit games with 24, while putting together two hitting streaks of 10 games during the year. He collected a five-hit game against Troy on March 28. He also was the school's Ferriss Trophy finalist this spring.
Mazza, a starting pitcher from Madison, Miss., went 8-3 with 15 appearances and 14 starts. His pitching numbers including 87 strikeouts and 30 walks over 77 1/3 innings as his win total was tops on the squad this season. He went five innings or more 11 times and had six starts of six innings or more. He won his last two decisions to end the regular season. Mazza pitched once in relief and won against Nicholls (4/16) with a two-inning performance. Mazza fanned a season-high of 10 against Marshall (3/15) and collected seven or more strikeouts in eight outings this season. He captured the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors once.
The Golden Eagles open the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., against the highest seeded winner in Tuesday's two play-in contests that include No. 7 Coastal Carolina versus No. 10 Georgia State at 3 p.m., followed by No. 9 South Alabama vs. No. 8 Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m., from Riverfront Stadum in Montgomery, Ala.
2024 Sun Belt Baseball Honors
Player of the Year
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
Pitcher of the Year
LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
Newcomer of the Year
Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
Freshman of the Year
Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Sam Blancato, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., OF – Marietta, Ga.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Matt Deggs, Louisiana
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
P Bryce Blevins, Marshall (So., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
P Billy Oldham, Southern Miss (Sr., RHP – Brookfield, Conn.)
RP LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
C Brooks Bryan, Troy (So., C – Opelika, Ala.)
1B Trey LaFleur, Louisiana (Sr., 1B – Pensacola, Fla.)
2B Blake Barthol, Coastal Carolina (So., 2B – Allentown, Pa.)
SS Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
3B Sam Antonacci, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 3B – Springfield, Ill.)
OF Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
OF Graham Brown, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., OF – Middletown, Md.)
OF Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (Jr., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
DH Slade Wilks, Southern Miss (Sr., DH – Columbia, Miss.)
UT Austin St. Laurent, App State (RS Jr., UT – Elon, N.C.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Andrew Hermann, Louisiana (Jr., LHP – Kennesaw, Ga.)
P Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Madison, Miss.)
P Luke Lyon, Troy (Jr., RHP – Hattiesburg, Miss.)
RP Grant Wood, South Alabama (RS Jr., RHP – Georgetown, Texas)
C Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B Will Butcher, Troy (Sr., 1B – Arden, N.C.)
2B Ethan Kavanagh, Troy (Sr., 2B – Cincinnati, Ohio)
SS Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Oxford, Miss.)
3B Will Mize, Georgia State (Sr., 3B – Snellville, Ga.)
OF Luke Waters, Old Dominion (Jr., OF – Laurel, Del.)
OF Dalton McIntyre, Southern Miss (Jr., OF – Jackson, Tenn.)
OF Kole Myers, Troy (Sr., OF – Lafayette, La.)
DH Kyle Mock, Troy (Sr., DH – Orlando, Fla.)
UT Josh Tate, Georgia Southern (So., UT – Peachtree City, Ga.)
Oldham, from Brookfield, Conn., went 7-2 in 14 starts during the year, with 85 strikeouts and only 24 walks in 82 2/3 innings. His statistics include being 4-2 with a complete-game victory in league play. He went five or more innings in 12 games, and had four starts of throwing seven innings, before finishing the regular season with a five-inning performance at home against Texas State. Oldham enjoyed double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back starts including 10 versus Louisiana (4/26) and a career-high 11 versus Coastal Carolina (5/3). He also won the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week award once, while posting five or more strikeouts 11 times and seven or more six times.
Wilks, from Columbia, Miss., finished the regular season batting .332 with 16 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs to go along with 58 RBI. His home run and RBI totals rank first on the squad. Heading into the Sun Belt Tournament, Wilks holds a 28-game hitting streak, which is tied for third longest in school history. His hitting numbers during the streak are a .393 (44x112) average with 10 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 22 runs and 37 RBI. Wilks also has 46 career home runs which is tied for fifth on the school career chart. He also is tied for the team best multi-RBI games with 16 (9-2RBI, 5-3RBI and 2-4RBI) and has a current streak of 35 straight games of reaching base. He collected at least one hit in all 21 true road games during the year.
Pratt, from Oxford, Miss., is the only Golden Eagle to start in all 53 games this season as he enjoyed a .330 batting average with a team-best 18 doubles, two triples and three home runs with 36 RBI. He also heads into the postseason with a 13-game hitting streak with the last 10 contests being multi-hit affairs. He finished the regular season with a .330 batting average and was the team's top hitter in league games at .421 with 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 21 RBI. He made just one error in league play and eight total for the year for a .957 fielding percentage. He leads the team in multi-hit games with 25 and had nine multi-RBI contests.
McIntyre, from Jackson, Tenn., has the highest batting average on the team with a .374, which ranks No. 3 overall in the Sun Belt. He has added 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 31 RBI this season, while leading the team in stolen bases with 10. The team holds a 24-4 record when he scores a run in a game, and he also has totaled 23 infield hits. McIntrye ranks second on the team in multi-hit games with 24, while putting together two hitting streaks of 10 games during the year. He collected a five-hit game against Troy on March 28. He also was the school's Ferriss Trophy finalist this spring.
Mazza, a starting pitcher from Madison, Miss., went 8-3 with 15 appearances and 14 starts. His pitching numbers including 87 strikeouts and 30 walks over 77 1/3 innings as his win total was tops on the squad this season. He went five innings or more 11 times and had six starts of six innings or more. He won his last two decisions to end the regular season. Mazza pitched once in relief and won against Nicholls (4/16) with a two-inning performance. Mazza fanned a season-high of 10 against Marshall (3/15) and collected seven or more strikeouts in eight outings this season. He captured the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors once.
The Golden Eagles open the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., against the highest seeded winner in Tuesday's two play-in contests that include No. 7 Coastal Carolina versus No. 10 Georgia State at 3 p.m., followed by No. 9 South Alabama vs. No. 8 Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m., from Riverfront Stadum in Montgomery, Ala.
2024 Sun Belt Baseball Honors
Player of the Year
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
Pitcher of the Year
LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
Newcomer of the Year
Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
Freshman of the Year
Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Sam Blancato, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., OF – Marietta, Ga.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Matt Deggs, Louisiana
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
P Bryce Blevins, Marshall (So., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
P Billy Oldham, Southern Miss (Sr., RHP – Brookfield, Conn.)
RP LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
C Brooks Bryan, Troy (So., C – Opelika, Ala.)
1B Trey LaFleur, Louisiana (Sr., 1B – Pensacola, Fla.)
2B Blake Barthol, Coastal Carolina (So., 2B – Allentown, Pa.)
SS Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
3B Sam Antonacci, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 3B – Springfield, Ill.)
OF Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
OF Graham Brown, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., OF – Middletown, Md.)
OF Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (Jr., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
DH Slade Wilks, Southern Miss (Sr., DH – Columbia, Miss.)
UT Austin St. Laurent, App State (RS Jr., UT – Elon, N.C.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Andrew Hermann, Louisiana (Jr., LHP – Kennesaw, Ga.)
P Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Madison, Miss.)
P Luke Lyon, Troy (Jr., RHP – Hattiesburg, Miss.)
RP Grant Wood, South Alabama (RS Jr., RHP – Georgetown, Texas)
C Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B Will Butcher, Troy (Sr., 1B – Arden, N.C.)
2B Ethan Kavanagh, Troy (Sr., 2B – Cincinnati, Ohio)
SS Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Oxford, Miss.)
3B Will Mize, Georgia State (Sr., 3B – Snellville, Ga.)
OF Luke Waters, Old Dominion (Jr., OF – Laurel, Del.)
OF Dalton McIntyre, Southern Miss (Jr., OF – Jackson, Tenn.)
OF Kole Myers, Troy (Sr., OF – Lafayette, La.)
DH Kyle Mock, Troy (Sr., DH – Orlando, Fla.)
UT Josh Tate, Georgia Southern (So., UT – Peachtree City, Ga.)
Players Mentioned
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OF/LHP
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RHP
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INF
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OF
/ 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