University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Tuesday, February 24
Pete Taylor Park
6 pm
Southern Miss
7-1
14
vs
4
Alabama
7-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Alabama
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
4
3
Southern Miss.
1
4
0
7
0
0
1
1
14
13
2
Grand Slams by Higdon and Morrison Lead Baseball in 14-4, 8-Inning Win over Alabama
2/24/2026 10:19:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Ben Higdon and Kyle Morrison each hit grand slams to lead No. 12 Southern Miss to a 14-4 non-conference baseball victory over Alabama in eight innings Tuesday night at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles (7-1) won for the seventh time in a row and defeated the Crimson Tide (7-2) for the sixth-straight time at Pete Taylor Park. It was the first game Southern Miss hit two grand slams in the same contest since Danny Lynch hit a pair against Louisiana, May 20, 2023.
After falling behind in the first 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Jason Torres and a run-scoring single by Luke Vaughn, the Golden Eagles cut into the gap in the bottom of the frame with a solo tally. Davis Gillespie, who had a game-high four hits, singled home Joey Urban, who doubled earlier in the inning.
Down 2-1, Southern Miss took the lead for good in the second on Ben Higdon's grand slam. The Eagles collected a single, a double and a walk before Higdon's first home run of the season to center field off Crimson Tide starter TJ Blackwood.
Blackwood lasted into the third but suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 after allowing five runs on six hits with a walk and no strikeouts.
The Crimson Tide cut the deficit to one on a two-run homer by Vaughn, his third of the year, but that was the last scoring opportunity for the visitors and the closest they would get the remainder of the night as Southern Miss rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Golden Eagles' biggest scoring inning of the season started with two walks. After a change in pitchers, Higdon put down a bunt single to load the bases. Joey Urban then walked in the first run before Matthew Russo drove in a pair of runs with a single. Three batters later, Morrison hit his second homer of the year, clearing the bases, to complete the scoring.
Southern Miss then added solo runs in the seventh and eighth innings to end the game via 10-run rule in the eighth.
Gillespie drove in one of those runs in the eighth, while the final, game-ending run was scored on the Crimson Tide's third error of the night on a fielder's choice throw that was wild to second.
Bruce Littleton, the second of nine Golden Eagle pitchers, fanned all three batters he faced in the second inning to garner the victory in his collegiate debut.
Southern Miss outhit the Crimson Tide 13-4, with Seth Smith collecting three along with two each from Higdon and Morrison.
The Golden Eagles now return to the road to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech in a three-game weekend series. The first game of the set is Friday at 6 p.m.
The Golden Eagles (7-1) won for the seventh time in a row and defeated the Crimson Tide (7-2) for the sixth-straight time at Pete Taylor Park. It was the first game Southern Miss hit two grand slams in the same contest since Danny Lynch hit a pair against Louisiana, May 20, 2023.
After falling behind in the first 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Jason Torres and a run-scoring single by Luke Vaughn, the Golden Eagles cut into the gap in the bottom of the frame with a solo tally. Davis Gillespie, who had a game-high four hits, singled home Joey Urban, who doubled earlier in the inning.
Down 2-1, Southern Miss took the lead for good in the second on Ben Higdon's grand slam. The Eagles collected a single, a double and a walk before Higdon's first home run of the season to center field off Crimson Tide starter TJ Blackwood.
Blackwood lasted into the third but suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 after allowing five runs on six hits with a walk and no strikeouts.
The Crimson Tide cut the deficit to one on a two-run homer by Vaughn, his third of the year, but that was the last scoring opportunity for the visitors and the closest they would get the remainder of the night as Southern Miss rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Golden Eagles' biggest scoring inning of the season started with two walks. After a change in pitchers, Higdon put down a bunt single to load the bases. Joey Urban then walked in the first run before Matthew Russo drove in a pair of runs with a single. Three batters later, Morrison hit his second homer of the year, clearing the bases, to complete the scoring.
Southern Miss then added solo runs in the seventh and eighth innings to end the game via 10-run rule in the eighth.
Gillespie drove in one of those runs in the eighth, while the final, game-ending run was scored on the Crimson Tide's third error of the night on a fielder's choice throw that was wild to second.
Bruce Littleton, the second of nine Golden Eagle pitchers, fanned all three batters he faced in the second inning to garner the victory in his collegiate debut.
Southern Miss outhit the Crimson Tide 13-4, with Seth Smith collecting three along with two each from Higdon and Morrison.
The Golden Eagles now return to the road to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech in a three-game weekend series. The first game of the set is Friday at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Littleton, Bruce (1-0)
L: J. Blackwood (0-1)
Batting:
HR: L. Vaughn 1
RBI: J. Torres 1 ; L. Vaughn 3
SF: J. Torres 1
Base Running:
RUNS: B. Fowler 1 ; J. Lebron 1 ; J. Lemm 1 ; L. Vaughn 1
SB: J. Lebron 1
HBP: J. Lebron 2 ; J. Lemm 1
Batting:
2B: Urban, Joey 1 ; Smith, Seth 1
HR: Higdon, Ben 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 1
RBI: Higdon, Ben 4 ; Urban, Joey 1 ; Russo, Matthew 2 ; Gillespie, Davis 2 ; Morrison, Kyle 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Higdon, Ben 2 ; Urban, Joey 3 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 2 ; Smith, Seth 2 ; Long, Ty 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
4
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
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