University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, March 8
Pete Taylor Park
4 pm
Southern Miss
14-2
9
vs
2
North Alabama
7-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
North Alabama
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
5
0
Southern Miss
3
1
0
0
0
0
4
1
9
13
0
Baseball Completes Sweep of North Alabama with 9-2 Sunday Victory
3/8/2026 7:45:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Both Davis Gillespie and Kyle Morrison had a pair of hits and each drove in three runs to lead No. 10 Southern Miss to a 9-2 victory Sunday afternoon over North Alabama at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field, completing a three-game sweep in the series.
The Golden Eagles (14-2) swept their third weekend series to open the campaign, including three wins in the Round Rock Classic last month. The Lions fell to 7-9.
Gillespie got the Golden Eagles on the board with a pair of runs in the first with an opposite field two-run home run to right center, his third of the year which followed a Joey Urban leadoff walk and a popout to short by Matthew Russo. Higdon then followed Gillespie with a home run of his own to left, his second of 2026, to give the home squad a 3-0 advantage. It was the first back-to-back home runs for the Golden Eagles since Carson Paetow and Drey Barrett did it against Georgia State, April 19, 2025.
An RBI double by Gillespie an inning later increased the lead to 4-0 and the game stayed that way until the seventh. Southern Miss doubled their lead with four more runs in that frame as they opened things with consecutive walks to Russo and Gillespie. After a sacrifice bunt by Higdon, Barrett walked and Morrison cleared the bases with a triple to right center. Caleb Stelly then knocked in the final run of the frame with a single.
Southern Miss added one more run in the eighth on an RBI double from Drey Barrett.
Golden Eagle starter McCarty English went five shutout innings as he retired the first 10 batters he faced and finished the outing with five strikeouts and one walk to go along with three hits surrendered to get the win and improve to 1-0.
The Lions scored both of their runs in the contest in the eighth. After two walks and a single to open the inning off JW Armistead, Dylan Causey got a popout and a strikeout before Nash Rippen knocked in the first run with a single. The second tally came via a wild pitch, before a flyout to center ended the threat.
UNA starter Josh Allen Stogner (1-1) went five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts to suffer the loss.
The Golden Eagles next face Ole Miss Tuesday night at home to complete a six-game homestand. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
The Golden Eagles (14-2) swept their third weekend series to open the campaign, including three wins in the Round Rock Classic last month. The Lions fell to 7-9.
Gillespie got the Golden Eagles on the board with a pair of runs in the first with an opposite field two-run home run to right center, his third of the year which followed a Joey Urban leadoff walk and a popout to short by Matthew Russo. Higdon then followed Gillespie with a home run of his own to left, his second of 2026, to give the home squad a 3-0 advantage. It was the first back-to-back home runs for the Golden Eagles since Carson Paetow and Drey Barrett did it against Georgia State, April 19, 2025.
An RBI double by Gillespie an inning later increased the lead to 4-0 and the game stayed that way until the seventh. Southern Miss doubled their lead with four more runs in that frame as they opened things with consecutive walks to Russo and Gillespie. After a sacrifice bunt by Higdon, Barrett walked and Morrison cleared the bases with a triple to right center. Caleb Stelly then knocked in the final run of the frame with a single.
Southern Miss added one more run in the eighth on an RBI double from Drey Barrett.
Golden Eagle starter McCarty English went five shutout innings as he retired the first 10 batters he faced and finished the outing with five strikeouts and one walk to go along with three hits surrendered to get the win and improve to 1-0.
The Lions scored both of their runs in the contest in the eighth. After two walks and a single to open the inning off JW Armistead, Dylan Causey got a popout and a strikeout before Nash Rippen knocked in the first run with a single. The second tally came via a wild pitch, before a flyout to center ended the threat.
UNA starter Josh Allen Stogner (1-1) went five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts to suffer the loss.
The Golden Eagles next face Ole Miss Tuesday night at home to complete a six-game homestand. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: English, McCarty (1-0)
L: Allen Stogner, John (1-1)
Batting:
RBI: Rippen, Nash 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Loving, Bryant 1 ; Westmoreland, Jackson 1
Batting:
2B: Barrett, Drey 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1
3B: Morrison, Kyle 1
HR: Higdon, Ben 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1
RBI: Higdon, Ben 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 3 ; Morrison, Kyle 3 ; Stelly, Caleb 1
SH: Higdon, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Urban, Joey 2 ; Higdon, Ben 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 3 ; Morrison, Kyle 1
HBP: Higdon, Ben 1 ; Odom, Lawson 1 ; Morrison, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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