Box Score HAMMOND, La. – Southern Miss rallied for a 9-7 win over Southeastern Louisiana in a wild game Tuesday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Southeastern (6-6) exploded for six runs in the third inning, wiping out a 4-0 Golden Eagle (11-2) lead.
Southern Miss starting pitcher Nick Johnson hit Lion third baseman
Derrick Mount with a pitch leading off the inning.
Jacob Seward lofted a lazy fly ball to left field, but Hunter Slater dropped the ball. With two on and none out,
Brennan Breaud advanced both runners into scoring position on a grounder to first.
First baseman
Jameson Fisher followed by crushing his fourth home run of the season to center field, a 3-run blast that pulled the Lions within one.
Johnson then walked second baseman
Carson Crites and
Daniel Midyett reached on a throwing error by Golden Eagle third baseman Taylor Braley. After
Ryan Byers sacrificed both runners into scoring position, catcher
Sam Roberson ripped a 2-run double into right field to give Southeastern the lead. Right fielder
Webb Bobo plated the final run by smashing an RBI triple into the right-center field gap.
Southeastern tacked on a run in the seventh.
With one out, reliever Luke Lowery hit Breaud with a pitch. He advanced to third on Fisher's single to center and scored on Crites' fielder's-choice grounder to second to put the Lions up, 7-4.
Southern Miss grabbed that run back in the eighth.
Freshman reliever
Payton Robinson walked Braley, the Golden Eagle cleanup hitter, to lead off the inning. With one out, he was erased on a fielder's choice that allowed pinch hitter Claudio Rubiera to reach. Pinch runner J. C. Keys then scored all the way from first on designated hitter Daniel Keating's double into the left-field corner.
Southeastern, which left the bases loaded in the seventh when it scored, left the bases loaded again in the eighth without scoring a run.
In the ninth, Robinson walked the leadoff batter before yielding to reliever
Drew Avans (0-1).
Golden Eagle right fielder Dylan Burdeaux greeted Avans with a single up the middle, putting runners at first and second with no outs. Center fielder Jake Sandlin sacrificed both runners into scoring position, but Roberson's throw to first pulled Crites off the bag.
First baseman Tim Lynch followed with his first hit of the game, an RBI single through the right side. Burdeaux then scored on a passed ball to tie the game, 7-7.
After Avans fanned Braley and got Southern Miss catcher Chuckie Robinson to line out to short, Breaud forced a throw to first in an attempt to double off Lynch. The throw bounced away from Fisher, allowing Sandlin to score for an 8-7 Golden Eagle lead.
Michael Gilbert, the third left fielder of the game for Southern Miss, knocked an RBI single to right for the final run of the game.
In the ninth, left-hander Cody Livingston retired the Lions in order to earn the save. Mason Walley (1-0), who worked 1.1 scoreless relief innings in his season debut, earned the win. Avans, who surrendered three unearned runs in the ninth, was tagged with the loss.
Fisher (2-for-3) and Roberson (2-for-5) enjoyed multi-hit nights for Southeastern.
The Lions will face Southern Miss again, traveling to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for a 6 p.m. rematch Wednesday at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field. Sophomore right-hander
Josh Green (0-0, 0.00) earns the first start of his career, while the Golden Eagles will counter with left-hander Stevie Powers (0-0, 3.00).
There will be no local radio coverage, but fans can keep up with the game through live statistics and streaming audio or video. Links for audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Southern Miss 9, Southeastern 7 (March 8, 2016 at Hammond, La.)
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Southern Miss....... 040 000 014 - 9 12 2 (11-2)
Southeastern......... 006 000 100 - 7 6 2 (6-6)
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Pitchers: Southern Miss – Johnson, Nick; Lowery, Luke (6); Millet, Austin (7); Walley, Mason (7);
Livingston, Cody (9) and Robinson, Chuckie. Southeastern - Cashman, Pat; Robinson, Payton (7); Avans, Drew (9) and Roberson, Sam.
Win-Walley, Mason (1-0) Save-Livingston, Cody (3) Loss-Avans, Drew (0-1) T-3:17 A-1137
HR SLU - Fisher, Jameson (4).
Weather: Cloudy 68, SE 19 mph
