University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, June 2
Knoxville, Tenn. (Lindsey Nelson Stadium)
5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET)
Southern Miss
43-20
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(1) Tennessee
53-11
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Southern Miss
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Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Tennessee Eliminates Southern Miss in NCAA Knoxville Regional 12-3 Sunday Night
6/2/2024 10:42:00 PM | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The nation's No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament, Tennessee, hit five home runs Sunday evening to eliminate Southern Miss from the NCAA Knoxville Regional 12-3 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Golden Eagles ended their season at 43-20, capturing their eighth consecutive 40-win season which ranks No. 1 in Division I baseball.
The teams traded runs in the first three innings with the Volunteers (53-11) scoring first on a Hunter Ensley single in the second, before the Golden Eagles tied the game in the third.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Lawson Odom walked and then went to second on a Gabe Broadus bunt single. Dalton McIntyre then hit a grounder to first that Vol first baseman Blake Burke whose throw to second hit Broadus in the back. The ball kicked away, and Odom scored on the play.
After the Volunteers took a 2-1 advantage on a solo home run by Cal Stark to open the fifth, his first of the game, the Golden Eagles then took their only advantage in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Odom reached via a fielding error before Broadus walked. McIntyre then hit a rocket up the middle but hit the runner, Odom, who was then called out on the play. The next batter, Ozzie Pratt, doubled in the right center gap to plate both runners for the lead.
UT then quickly grabbed the advantage for good in the top of the sixth with four runs. After a three-run homer from Kavares Tears, his 18th of the year, Christian Moore knocked in the final run with a groundout to the pitcher up the first base line.
Dylan Dreiling and Dean Curley each hit homers in the seventh, a solo and a two-run shot, respectively, to increase the lead to 9-3. The home run numbers were No. 19 for Dreiling and No. 11 for Curley.
Stark then added his second home run of the game in the ninth, a three-run shot, for his ninth of the season.
UT reliever Nate Snead pitched the final 4 1/3 innings to earn the victory and improve to 9-2. He limited the Golden Eagles to no runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Chandler Best, the second of seven Golden Eagle pitchers, gave up four runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings with a walk and two strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 3-1.
Slade Wilks, who played in his final Golden Eagle contest, extended his hitting streak to 36 games in his final at bat with a single up the middle. His hitting streak finishes at No. 2 on the school chart, trailing only Todd Nace, who hit safely in 41 games in 1991.
Three Southern Miss players, Niko Mazza, Pratt and Wilks, were named to the All-Regional Team.
The Volunteers advance to the NCAA Super Regional and play the winner of the Greenville Regional.
The Golden Eagles ended their season at 43-20, capturing their eighth consecutive 40-win season which ranks No. 1 in Division I baseball.
The teams traded runs in the first three innings with the Volunteers (53-11) scoring first on a Hunter Ensley single in the second, before the Golden Eagles tied the game in the third.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Lawson Odom walked and then went to second on a Gabe Broadus bunt single. Dalton McIntyre then hit a grounder to first that Vol first baseman Blake Burke whose throw to second hit Broadus in the back. The ball kicked away, and Odom scored on the play.
After the Volunteers took a 2-1 advantage on a solo home run by Cal Stark to open the fifth, his first of the game, the Golden Eagles then took their only advantage in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Odom reached via a fielding error before Broadus walked. McIntyre then hit a rocket up the middle but hit the runner, Odom, who was then called out on the play. The next batter, Ozzie Pratt, doubled in the right center gap to plate both runners for the lead.
UT then quickly grabbed the advantage for good in the top of the sixth with four runs. After a three-run homer from Kavares Tears, his 18th of the year, Christian Moore knocked in the final run with a groundout to the pitcher up the first base line.
Dylan Dreiling and Dean Curley each hit homers in the seventh, a solo and a two-run shot, respectively, to increase the lead to 9-3. The home run numbers were No. 19 for Dreiling and No. 11 for Curley.
Stark then added his second home run of the game in the ninth, a three-run shot, for his ninth of the season.
UT reliever Nate Snead pitched the final 4 1/3 innings to earn the victory and improve to 9-2. He limited the Golden Eagles to no runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Chandler Best, the second of seven Golden Eagle pitchers, gave up four runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings with a walk and two strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 3-1.
Slade Wilks, who played in his final Golden Eagle contest, extended his hitting streak to 36 games in his final at bat with a single up the middle. His hitting streak finishes at No. 2 on the school chart, trailing only Todd Nace, who hit safely in 41 games in 1991.
Three Southern Miss players, Niko Mazza, Pratt and Wilks, were named to the All-Regional Team.
The Volunteers advance to the NCAA Super Regional and play the winner of the Greenville Regional.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nate Snead (9-2)
L: Best, Chandler (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Dylan Dreiling 1 ; Hunter Ensley 1
HR: Dylan Dreiling 1 ; Kavares Tears 1 ; Dean Curley 1 ; Cal Stark 2
RBI: Christian Moore 1 ; Dylan Dreiling 1 ; Hunter Ensley 1 ; Kavares Tears 3 ; Dean Curley 2 ; Cal Stark 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Dylan Dreiling 3 ; Hunter Ensley 1 ; Kavares Tears 3 ; Dean Curley 2 ; Cannon Peebles 1 ; Cal Stark 2
CS: Hunter Ensley 1
HBP: Dean Curley 1 ; Bradke Lohry 1 ; Cannon Peebles 1
Batting:
2B: Pratt, Ozzie 1
RBI: Pratt, Ozzie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: McIntyre, Dalton 1 ; Odom, Lawson 1 ; Broadus, Gabe 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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C/INF
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/ BaseballOF
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