University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 27
Pete Taylor Park
6 pm
Southern Miss
20-6, 4-3
6
vs
5
App State
12-12, 2-5
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
App State
0
0
3
0
0
2
0
0
0
5
8
3
Southern Miss
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
4
X
6
8
2
Baseball uses Fourth-Run Eighth to Trip App State 6-5 Friday Night in Sun Belt Action
3/27/2026 9:27:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 11 Southern Miss plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth to capture a 6-5 Sun Belt Conference victory over App State Friday night at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.
The Golden Eagles (20-6 overall 4-3 Sun Belt) defeated the Mountaineers (12-12, 2-5) for the sixth consecutive time.
Down 4-2 in the eighth, Matthew Russo captured his second single of the night to open the frame. After a walk to Drey Barrett, Ben Higdon doubled to left center to score Russo. Tucker Stockman was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. App State then went to their third pitcher of the game, Reyn Watson, who got Seth Smith to hit a grounder to second base. The Mountaineer defender mishandled the ground ball to allow a run to score and keep the bases loaded.
Pinch hitter Caleb Stelly then lined a ball to right to score Higdon on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run. Joey Urban followed with a ground ball to third that was misplayed and allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Camden Clark, who was the second reliever behind starting pitcher Grayden Harris and Colby Allen, fanned the side in the ninth to get this fifth save of the year.
Harris was touched for five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings to not figure in the decision. Allen followed Harris and surrendered just one hit over the next 2 2/3 with a pair of strikeouts to earn the victory and improve to 2-1.
The Mountaineers jumped out with three runs in the third. Steven Smith got the visitors on the board with a two-run double and later scored on an attempted double steal from third base.
A sacrifice fly from Davis Gillespie in the bottom of that inning cut, along with an RBI single from Kyle Morrison in the fifth cut the deficit to 3-2.
App State added two more runs in the sixth, taking advantage of a pair of Golden Eagle errors in the frame. Ethan Puig knocked in the first run with a single and the second run via an RBI fielder's choice by Colton Denton.
Ethan Wilson, who had entered the game in the seventh for the Mountaineers, allowed four runs (three earned) on two hits and a walk with a strikeout and over an inning-plus to suffer the loss and fall to 1-1.
The series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m., contest. It will be Military Appreciation Day, and the Golden Eagles will wear Camp Shelby inspired uniforms.
The Golden Eagles (20-6 overall 4-3 Sun Belt) defeated the Mountaineers (12-12, 2-5) for the sixth consecutive time.
Down 4-2 in the eighth, Matthew Russo captured his second single of the night to open the frame. After a walk to Drey Barrett, Ben Higdon doubled to left center to score Russo. Tucker Stockman was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. App State then went to their third pitcher of the game, Reyn Watson, who got Seth Smith to hit a grounder to second base. The Mountaineer defender mishandled the ground ball to allow a run to score and keep the bases loaded.
Pinch hitter Caleb Stelly then lined a ball to right to score Higdon on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run. Joey Urban followed with a ground ball to third that was misplayed and allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Camden Clark, who was the second reliever behind starting pitcher Grayden Harris and Colby Allen, fanned the side in the ninth to get this fifth save of the year.
Harris was touched for five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings to not figure in the decision. Allen followed Harris and surrendered just one hit over the next 2 2/3 with a pair of strikeouts to earn the victory and improve to 2-1.
The Mountaineers jumped out with three runs in the third. Steven Smith got the visitors on the board with a two-run double and later scored on an attempted double steal from third base.
A sacrifice fly from Davis Gillespie in the bottom of that inning cut, along with an RBI single from Kyle Morrison in the fifth cut the deficit to 3-2.
App State added two more runs in the sixth, taking advantage of a pair of Golden Eagle errors in the frame. Ethan Puig knocked in the first run with a single and the second run via an RBI fielder's choice by Colton Denton.
Ethan Wilson, who had entered the game in the seventh for the Mountaineers, allowed four runs (three earned) on two hits and a walk with a strikeout and over an inning-plus to suffer the loss and fall to 1-1.
The series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m., contest. It will be Military Appreciation Day, and the Golden Eagles will wear Camp Shelby inspired uniforms.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Allen, Colby (2-1)
L: Wilson, Ethan (1-1)
S: Clark, Camden (5)
Batting:
2B: Smith, Steven 2
RBI: Puig, Ethan 1 ; Smith, Steven 2 ; Denton, Colton 1
SH: Zamora, Joseph 1 ; Yaghoubi, Tank 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Evans, Charlie 1 ; Smith, Steven 1 ; Luft, Riley 1 ; Yaghoubi, Tank 1 ; Seward, Jalen 1
CS: Yaghoubi, Tank 1
PO: Denton, Colton 2
Batting:
2B: Urban, Joey 1 ; Higdon, Ben 2
RBI: Urban, Joey 1 ; Higdon, Ben 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Smith, Seth 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 1
SF: Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Stelly, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Urban, Joey 2 ; Long, Ty 1 ; Higdon, Ben 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1
HBP: Stockman, Tucker 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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