University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, February 13
Pete Taylor Park
4 pm
Southern Miss
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UC Santa Barbara
1-0
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8
9
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E
UC Santa Barb.
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5
11
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Southern Miss.
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6
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Baseball Falls Short in Season Opener 5-1 Against UC Santa Barbara
2/13/2026 8:27:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Three UC Santa Barbara pitchers limited the Golden Eagles to just six hits as the visiting Gauchos defeated Southern Miss 5-1 in both team's season opener Friday afternoon in front of 5,498 at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Gauchos, who made their first ever appearance in Hattiesburg in baseball, jumped out with a solo run off Golden Eagle starter Colby Allen with a run in the first, snapping a string of 36-straight scoreless innings by Southern Miss starting pitchers on opening day. The season-opening loss was the first one for Southern Miss since 2014 and the first one at home since 2012.
Rowan Kelly doubled to open the game off Allen. After a hit by pitch, Cole Kosciusko singled to load the bases. Nick Husovsky then collected a sacrifice fly to left to put the visitors on the board, 1-0. Allen then registered a pickoff at second base, before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
Kyle Morrison, a transfer from South Alabama, opened his Golden Eagle career in the bottom of the first by swatting UCSB starting pitcher Jackson Flora's first pitch to right for a double. Flora then settled down and got the next three hitters to get out of the frame.
After hitting a batter to open the second, Flora retired the next 11 hitters before surrendering back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth to Caleb Stelly and Ty Long. Morrison then popped out to third to end the threat.
Flora recorded the victory by allowing no runs on three hits with five strikeouts over six innings.
Meanwhile, the Gauchos extended their lead in the fourth with two more runs. With one out, Jonathan Mendez singled and Xavier Esquer doubled two batters later before Noah Karliner belted a two-run single to right center.
Allen, who suffered the loss, allowed three runs on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Kros Sivley covered the final four frames for the Golden Eagles, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
Morrison gave the Golden Eagles their lone run with a solo home to right in the eighth, while the Gauchos completed their scoring with a two-run blast in the ninth by Kelly.
Raymond Olivas gave up a run on two hits over an inning, while Chase Hoover threw the final two innings and limited Southern Miss to one hit with two strikeouts to garner the save.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 12 noon. The game can be seen via ESPN+ as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network.
The Gauchos, who made their first ever appearance in Hattiesburg in baseball, jumped out with a solo run off Golden Eagle starter Colby Allen with a run in the first, snapping a string of 36-straight scoreless innings by Southern Miss starting pitchers on opening day. The season-opening loss was the first one for Southern Miss since 2014 and the first one at home since 2012.
Rowan Kelly doubled to open the game off Allen. After a hit by pitch, Cole Kosciusko singled to load the bases. Nick Husovsky then collected a sacrifice fly to left to put the visitors on the board, 1-0. Allen then registered a pickoff at second base, before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
Kyle Morrison, a transfer from South Alabama, opened his Golden Eagle career in the bottom of the first by swatting UCSB starting pitcher Jackson Flora's first pitch to right for a double. Flora then settled down and got the next three hitters to get out of the frame.
After hitting a batter to open the second, Flora retired the next 11 hitters before surrendering back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth to Caleb Stelly and Ty Long. Morrison then popped out to third to end the threat.
Flora recorded the victory by allowing no runs on three hits with five strikeouts over six innings.
Meanwhile, the Gauchos extended their lead in the fourth with two more runs. With one out, Jonathan Mendez singled and Xavier Esquer doubled two batters later before Noah Karliner belted a two-run single to right center.
Allen, who suffered the loss, allowed three runs on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Kros Sivley covered the final four frames for the Golden Eagles, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
Morrison gave the Golden Eagles their lone run with a solo home to right in the eighth, while the Gauchos completed their scoring with a two-run blast in the ninth by Kelly.
Raymond Olivas gave up a run on two hits over an inning, while Chase Hoover threw the final two innings and limited Southern Miss to one hit with two strikeouts to garner the save.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 12 noon. The game can be seen via ESPN+ as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Flora (1-0)
L: Allen, Colby (0-1)
S: Hoover (1)
Batting:
2B: Kelly 1 ; Esquer 1
HR: Kelly 1
RBI: Kelly 2 ; Husovsky 1 ; Karliner 2
SH: Kelly 1
SF: Husovsky 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelly 2 ; Mendez 1 ; Esquer 2
HBP: Goldstein 1
PO: Goldstein 1
Batting:
2B: Morrison, Kyle 1
HR: Morrison, Kyle 1
RBI: Morrison, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morrison, Kyle 1
HBP: Urban, Joey 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Stockman, Tucker 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
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