University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, June 1
Knoxville, Tenn. (Lindsey Nelson Stadium)
11 a.m. CT (Noon ET)
Southern Miss
42-19
6
vs
0
(4) Northern Kentucky
35-24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern Miss
0
0
0
2
0
3
1
0
0
6
8
0
Northern Kentucky
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Blanks NKU 6-0 to Advance in NCAA Knoxville Regional Saturday
6/1/2024 3:36:00 PM | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Niko Mazza threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout to help Southern Miss to a 6-0 NCAA Knoxville Regional loser's bracket victory Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Golden Eagles (42-19) got three hits and two RBI from Davis Gillespie, while Braden Luke knocked in a pair with a single to give Southern Miss its eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearance with at least one win.
Mazza allowed just four base runners in the game, giving up a single and a walk in the first, before getting a groundout to third to end the threat. The Norse (35-24) got a walk and single to also open the fifth, but after a sacrifice bunt, Mazza then got a couple of lazy fly outs to Gillespie in left to end threat.
After the first inning walk, Mazza retired 10 batters in a row before retiring the final 15 he faced after this fifth-inning single surrendered.
Mazza fanned three in the contest and improved to 9-3, giving the Golden Eagles their first nine-inning complete game since Tanner Hall defeated James Madison on May 24, 2023, in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The last nine-inning complete-game shutout for the Golden Eagles was done by Hunter Riggins against Louisiana on March 5, 2022.
The Golden Eagles did not strike offensively until the fifth as Gillespie homered to right with a runner on, for his eighth of the year.
Southern Miss extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth. After a groundout, Slade Wilks and Gillespie registered consecutive singles. For Wilks, he extended his hitting streak to 34 games, which is the second longest in school history.
Nick Monistere then doubled in a run, before Braden Luke's single up the middle drove in the final two runs of the frame. Wilks plated the final run in the eighth via a sacrifice fly.
NKU starter Ben Gerl allowed five runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 5-7.
The Golden Eagles now play the loser of the Tennessee/Indiana contest slated for later Saturday at 11 a.m. CT Sunday.
The Golden Eagles (42-19) got three hits and two RBI from Davis Gillespie, while Braden Luke knocked in a pair with a single to give Southern Miss its eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearance with at least one win.
Mazza allowed just four base runners in the game, giving up a single and a walk in the first, before getting a groundout to third to end the threat. The Norse (35-24) got a walk and single to also open the fifth, but after a sacrifice bunt, Mazza then got a couple of lazy fly outs to Gillespie in left to end threat.
After the first inning walk, Mazza retired 10 batters in a row before retiring the final 15 he faced after this fifth-inning single surrendered.
Mazza fanned three in the contest and improved to 9-3, giving the Golden Eagles their first nine-inning complete game since Tanner Hall defeated James Madison on May 24, 2023, in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The last nine-inning complete-game shutout for the Golden Eagles was done by Hunter Riggins against Louisiana on March 5, 2022.
The Golden Eagles did not strike offensively until the fifth as Gillespie homered to right with a runner on, for his eighth of the year.
Southern Miss extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth. After a groundout, Slade Wilks and Gillespie registered consecutive singles. For Wilks, he extended his hitting streak to 34 games, which is the second longest in school history.
Nick Monistere then doubled in a run, before Braden Luke's single up the middle drove in the final two runs of the frame. Wilks plated the final run in the eighth via a sacrifice fly.
NKU starter Ben Gerl allowed five runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 5-7.
The Golden Eagles now play the loser of the Tennessee/Indiana contest slated for later Saturday at 11 a.m. CT Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mazza, Niko (9-3)
L: Ben Gerl (5-7)
Batting:
2B: McIntyre, Dalton 1 ; Monistere, Nick 1
HR: Gillespie, Davis 1
RBI: Wilks, Slade 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 2 ; Monistere, Nick 1 ; Luke, Braden 2
SF: Wilks, Slade 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McIntyre, Dalton 2 ; Wilks, Slade 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 2 ; Monistere, Nick 1
SB: Pratt, Ozzie 1
HBP: Monistere, Nick 1
Batting:
SH: Jake Paulick 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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