Southern Miss earned a conference sweep, while Mississippi State and Ole Miss blew opportunities to earn road series wins versus ranked opponents.
In Hattiesburg, the No. 12 Golden Eagles (34-14, 16-8 Sun Belt) got the brooms out against Louisiana Monroe. Christian Ostrander’s club earned a 2-1 win in an 11-inning pitcher’s duel Friday, before winning 3-1 in Saturday’s low-scoring affair and leaving no room for potential defeat Sunday in a 7-3 victory. Though the black and gold struggled at the plate for the most part, the pitching was dominant.
Colby Allen (5-1) got the game-one win with seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings. He took over for ace Grayden Harris, who had nine strikeouts while only allowing one run in seven innings. Camden Clark (6-0) earned Saturday’s win with a whopping 15 strikeouts and allowed only one earned run on three hits in seven innings. Camden Sunstrom (4-3) got the Sunday win with five strikeouts while only giving up an earned run on four hits in six innings.
Hitting-wise, Matthew Russo was solid with a walk-off hit in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader. In total, the senior had five hits and two RBI over the weekend. Davis Gillespie was the most consistent bat for Southern Miss as he had six hits in the series.
Meanwhile, the No. 10 Bulldogs (36-12, 14-10 SEC) were unable to get two at No. 4 Texas, despite leading 5-0 in a crucial rubber match. Brian O’Connor’s club, after getting off to a hot start, was outscored 11-1 the rest of the way to drop game three. Texas won the series opener 3-1 as Mississippi State struck out a whopping 19 times in the game. The maroon and white rallied late in game two, breaking a 1-1 stalemate with six combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings to eventually win 7-4 before ultimately falling Sunday.
Bryce Chance was a consistent bat for the Bulldogs over the weekend. The Ridgeland native had five hits, a home run, and five RBI. His home run was a grand slam that gave his team an early lead in game three. Jacob Parker continued to put the ball in play after a strong Governor’s Cup performance, notching three hits and three RBI at Texas.
Jack Bauer (4-0) was the lone winning pitcher for Mississippi State. The fast-throwing freshman fanned three batters in 2.1 scoreless innings Saturday. Tomas Valincius (7-2) was tabbed with the game-one loss after surrendering three earned runs on four hits in five innings. Jack Gleason (3-1), taking over for a struggling Charlie Foster, was hit with the game-three loss after giving up four earned runs on three hits without recording an out in a third-inning onslaught that found Texas scoring nine runs.
The No. 17 Rebels (32-17, 12-12 SEC) lost their sixth straight series to Arkansas, despite having a puncher’s chance to defeat the No. 22 Razorbacks in Fayetteville. After getting smacked 12-2 in a shortened game one, the red and blue bounced back with a dominant 11-4 win Saturday, only to get walked off 5-4 in the rubber match. Ole Miss led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, but a leadoff single followed by a home run found the home club continuing a streak of dominance.
Austin Fawley, after struggling early in the season, came to life offensively with four hits, three home runs, and three RBI across the series. Owen Piano swung it well in the back-end of the series, notably hitting a three-run homer on Sunday. Judd Utermark made Ole Miss history on Sunday, tying the program’s all-time home run record of 48, now jointly held by him and Kyle Gordon
Cade Townsend (5-1) was the only Ole Miss pitcher to get a win. The talented right-hander had five strikeouts while only giving up two earned runs on four hits in 5.2 innings. Hunter Elliott (4-2) was tattooed Friday, giving up three home runs for the first time as a starter, allowing Arkansas to score six runs in three innings. Walker Hooks (3-1) was hit with the game three loss after giving up the two-run jack to lose the game. Taylor Rabe started the finale and had seven strikeouts in five innings.
Next up
Southern Miss will skip midweek action this week and head straight into a road series at James Madison.
Mississippi State will host Nicholls on Tuesday night before welcoming a red-hot No. 8 Auburn to Dudy Noble Field.
Ole Miss will enjoy a midweek break before welcoming No. 7 Texas A&M to Swayze Field.
