Thursday, April 17
Pete Taylor Park
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
26-12, 11-5
8
vs
1
Georgia State
22-17, 8-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Georgia State
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
0
Southern Miss
1
4
0
0
1
0
2
0
X
8
12
0
Baseball Homers Five Times in 8-1 Sun Belt Win over Georgia State Thursday Night
4/17/2025 9:19:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss belted a season-high five home runs to account for all of its runs in an 8-1 Sun Belt Conference series-opening victory over Georgia State Thursday night at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles (26-12 overall, 11-5 Sun Belt) won for the second consecutive game as they got eight quality innings from starting pitcher JB Middleton.
Middleton, who limited the Panthers (22-17, 8-8) to a run on three hits with a walk and a career-high tying 12 strikeouts, took advantage of an early lead provided by Nick Monistere who collected a solo home run in the first. It was Monistere's third-straight game and four of the last five contests in which he has homered and now has driven in 17 runs over the last five games. It was his team-best 13th homer of the year.
The Golden Eagles added to their lead in the third when freshman Drey Barrett ripped his fifth homer of the year, a solo shot, before Matthew Russo provided a three-run blast of his own, his 11th, to make the score 5-0.
Ben Higdon's first homer of the year in the fifth, a solo shot, extended the lead again before Tucker Stockman added a two-run round-tripper in the seventh, his third of the campaign, completed the home team's scoring.
The Panthers tallied their lone run on a homer by Michael Maginnis in the sixth.
GSU starter Cole Roberts (6-3) suffered the loss by allowing six runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. He left the game in the fifth with an apparent leg injury.
Eight of the nine Golden Eagle starters registered hits including two each from Monistere, Russo, Stockman and Jake Cook.
The last time Southern Miss hit five home runs in a season came on April 13, 2024, against Georgia State.
Middleton captured the victory earning his fifth-straight winning decision to improve to 7-1. Chandler Best threw a scoreless ninth.
The two teams continue the series on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest.
The Golden Eagles (26-12 overall, 11-5 Sun Belt) won for the second consecutive game as they got eight quality innings from starting pitcher JB Middleton.
Middleton, who limited the Panthers (22-17, 8-8) to a run on three hits with a walk and a career-high tying 12 strikeouts, took advantage of an early lead provided by Nick Monistere who collected a solo home run in the first. It was Monistere's third-straight game and four of the last five contests in which he has homered and now has driven in 17 runs over the last five games. It was his team-best 13th homer of the year.
The Golden Eagles added to their lead in the third when freshman Drey Barrett ripped his fifth homer of the year, a solo shot, before Matthew Russo provided a three-run blast of his own, his 11th, to make the score 5-0.
Ben Higdon's first homer of the year in the fifth, a solo shot, extended the lead again before Tucker Stockman added a two-run round-tripper in the seventh, his third of the campaign, completed the home team's scoring.
The Panthers tallied their lone run on a homer by Michael Maginnis in the sixth.
GSU starter Cole Roberts (6-3) suffered the loss by allowing six runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. He left the game in the fifth with an apparent leg injury.
Eight of the nine Golden Eagle starters registered hits including two each from Monistere, Russo, Stockman and Jake Cook.
The last time Southern Miss hit five home runs in a season came on April 13, 2024, against Georgia State.
Middleton captured the victory earning his fifth-straight winning decision to improve to 7-1. Chandler Best threw a scoreless ninth.
The two teams continue the series on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Middleton, JB (7-1)
L: Roberts, Cole (6-3)
Batting:
HR: Maginnis, Michael 1
RBI: Maginnis, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maginnis, Michael 1
SB: Milford, Cooper 1
Batting:
2B: Cook, Jake 1
HR: Monistere, Nick 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Higdon, Ben 1 ; Stockman, Tucker 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1
RBI: Monistere, Nick 1 ; Russo, Matthew 3 ; Higdon, Ben 1 ; Stockman, Tucker 2 ; Barrett, Drey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Monistere, Nick 2 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Higdon, Ben 2 ; Stockman, Tucker 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Pratt, Ozzie 1
HBP: Monistere, Nick 1 ; Higdon, Ben 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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