Ninth-Inning Rally Lifts No. 20 Southern Miss Past Southeastern Louisiana
No. 20 Southern Miss used a two-out rally in the ninth inning and another strong pitching performance to defeat Southeastern Louisiana 3-1 on Tuesday night at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
The Golden Eagles improved to 3-1 on the season with their third straight victory and now head to the Round Rock Classic in Texas this weekend to face Purdue, Oregon State and Baylor.
With the game tied 1-1 entering the ninth, Southern Miss mounted its decisive push. Pinch hitter Seth Smith singled to right with two outs, and Kyle Morrison followed with a walk. Joey Urban then delivered a go-ahead RBI single to left to score Smith. Matthew Russo added an insurance run with a single to right-center, plating Morrison and giving the Golden Eagles a two-run cushion.
Camden Clark closed it out in the bottom of the ninth, needing just seven pitches to retire the side and earn his second save of the season.
Pitching dominated much of the contest. Southern Miss starter Camden Sunstrom tossed three scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out a career-high five. The Golden Eagles’ bullpen combined to limit the Lions to four hits overall.
Southern Miss broke a scoreless tie in the seventh when Davis Gillespie led off the inning with a solo home run to left-center. Southeastern Louisiana answered in the eighth, using a leadoff triple and a sacrifice fly to even the score at 1-1 before the Golden Eagles responded in the ninth.
Josh Och earned the win in relief, improving to 2-0 after working one inning and allowing one hit with one strikeout.
Southern Miss totaled eight hits and drew nine walks in the victory while continuing to showcase depth on the mound.
By the Numbers
- 3 – Consecutive wins for Southern Miss
- 8 – Hits by the Golden Eagles
- 9 – Walks drawn by Southern Miss hitters
- 11 – Strikeouts by Southern Miss batters
- 12 – Strikeouts recorded by the Golden Eagle pitching staff
- 4 – Hits allowed by Southern Miss pitchers
- 1 – Walk issued by the pitching staff
- 7 – Pitches thrown by Camden Clark in the ninth inning
- 11 – Runners left on base by Southern Miss
- 1 – Home run by Davis Gillespie
Southern Miss will look to carry its strong pitching and late-inning execution into a challenging weekend slate in Round Rock.
