University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Friday, May 8
Harrisonburg, Va.
5 pm CT
Southern Miss
36-14, 17-8
8
at
5
James Madison
20-28, 10-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Miss. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
| James Madison | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Sixth-Run Seventh Lifts Baseball over James Madison 8-5 Friday Night
5/8/2026 9:10:00 PM | Baseball
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Drey Barrett belted a two-run home run to cap a six-run seventh inning in leading No. 12 Southern Miss over James Madison 8-5 Friday night in a comeback victory at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Golden Eagles (35-14 overall, 17-8 Sun Belt) won for the fourth-straight game and the 10th time over the last 12 contests. The series continues Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
Barrett led the Golden Eagle 10-hit attack with his fifth homer as well as a double and two RBI. Matthew Russo also added two hits and two RBI as well.
Down 5-2 heading into the seventh, the Golden Eagles sent nine batters to the plate. Ty Long opened the frame with a walk. After a free pass to Seth Smith, Joey Urban singled in Long to make the score 5-3. A walk to Davis Gillespie loaded the bases for Russo. After one run scored on a wild pitch, Russo gave Southern Miss the lead for good with a two-run double down the left field line. Barrett then followed with a homer to left center that went 406 feet to complete the scoring
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead with a lone run in the second. After Russo was hit by a pitch to open things, Barrett doubled him to third. The second out was then made on a lineout before Tucker Stockman drove in Russo with a single to center.
Southern Miss added to its lead by manufacturing another run in the third. After Urban posted a leadoff double, he went to third on a Kyle Morrison flyout to center and then scored on an RBI groundout to second by Gillespie.
JMU answered with a run on their own in the bottom half of that frame. After a single and a sacrifice bunt to start the inning, Grayden Harris then hit a batter. After a flyout, Ike Schmidly singled through the right side to plate the Dukes' first run.
A two-run fourth put the Dukes ahead as they strung together three-straight singles with the last one by Jack Cannizzaro, which drove in the inning's first run. A sacrifice fly by Jack Cannizzaro gave the home squad the 3-2 advantage.
The Dukes (20-28, 10-15) added to their lead with two more runs in the fifth, chasing Harris in the process. After back-to-back singles to open the frame, JMU put both runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Clay Thompson accounted for the first run with a sacrifice fly to center, before Wyatt Campbell added a run-scoring double.
Harris finished with 4 1/3 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. JW Armistead got the final two outs in the fifth and handed it off to Josh Och (5-2) who threw a scoreless sixth to earn the victory.
Colby Allen then retired nine of team hitters he faced over the final three frames with six strikeouts – including the side in the ninth – with one walk to earn his second save and 21st of his career. It moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the school's career save list.
JMU reliever Jaden Kinsler (4-2) allowed four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout to suffer the loss.
Smith extended his current team-high hitting streak to 10 games by singling on the game's first pitch.
The Golden Eagles (35-14 overall, 17-8 Sun Belt) won for the fourth-straight game and the 10th time over the last 12 contests. The series continues Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
Barrett led the Golden Eagle 10-hit attack with his fifth homer as well as a double and two RBI. Matthew Russo also added two hits and two RBI as well.
Down 5-2 heading into the seventh, the Golden Eagles sent nine batters to the plate. Ty Long opened the frame with a walk. After a free pass to Seth Smith, Joey Urban singled in Long to make the score 5-3. A walk to Davis Gillespie loaded the bases for Russo. After one run scored on a wild pitch, Russo gave Southern Miss the lead for good with a two-run double down the left field line. Barrett then followed with a homer to left center that went 406 feet to complete the scoring
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead with a lone run in the second. After Russo was hit by a pitch to open things, Barrett doubled him to third. The second out was then made on a lineout before Tucker Stockman drove in Russo with a single to center.
Southern Miss added to its lead by manufacturing another run in the third. After Urban posted a leadoff double, he went to third on a Kyle Morrison flyout to center and then scored on an RBI groundout to second by Gillespie.
JMU answered with a run on their own in the bottom half of that frame. After a single and a sacrifice bunt to start the inning, Grayden Harris then hit a batter. After a flyout, Ike Schmidly singled through the right side to plate the Dukes' first run.
A two-run fourth put the Dukes ahead as they strung together three-straight singles with the last one by Jack Cannizzaro, which drove in the inning's first run. A sacrifice fly by Jack Cannizzaro gave the home squad the 3-2 advantage.
The Dukes (20-28, 10-15) added to their lead with two more runs in the fifth, chasing Harris in the process. After back-to-back singles to open the frame, JMU put both runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Clay Thompson accounted for the first run with a sacrifice fly to center, before Wyatt Campbell added a run-scoring double.
Harris finished with 4 1/3 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. JW Armistead got the final two outs in the fifth and handed it off to Josh Och (5-2) who threw a scoreless sixth to earn the victory.
Colby Allen then retired nine of team hitters he faced over the final three frames with six strikeouts – including the side in the ninth – with one walk to earn his second save and 21st of his career. It moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the school's career save list.
JMU reliever Jaden Kinsler (4-2) allowed four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout to suffer the loss.
Smith extended his current team-high hitting streak to 10 games by singling on the game's first pitch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Och, Josh (5-2)
L: Jaden Kinsler (4-2)
S: Allen, Colby (2)
Batting:
2B: Urban, Joey 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Barrett, Drey 1
HR: Barrett, Drey 1
RBI: Urban, Joey 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Russo, Matthew 2 ; Barrett, Drey 2 ; Stockman, Tucker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Seth 1 ; Urban, Joey 2 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Russo, Matthew 2 ; Barrett, Drey 1 ; Long, Ty 1
HBP: Russo, Matthew 1
Batting:
2B: Reece Moody 1 ; Wyatt Campbell 1
RBI: Ike Schmidly 1 ; Clay Thompson 1 ; Wyatt Campbell 1 ; Jack Cannizzaro 1 ; Jack Anderson 1
SH: Reece Moody 1 ; Jack Anderson 1
SF: Jack Anderson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Josiah Seguin 1 ; Ike Schmidly 1 ; Wyatt Campbell 1 ; Jack Guerrero 1 ; Jack Cannizzaro 1
HBP: Kyle Langley 1
Game Leaders
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