PEARL — Scott Berry wasn’t afraid to admit he was a little jealous of Conference USA rival Tulane when he was an assistant at Southern Miss.

The Green Wave teams of the early 2000s often had a player who was able to pitch a complete game one day and go 4-for-4 the next while playing in the field. Future major leaguers Micah Owings and Brian Bogusevic both played that role.

Berry and then-head coach Corky Palmer tried to recruit similar players, with little success. Until now.

Berry, now in his third season as USM’s head coach, has found two guys who brought his long talent search to a fulfilling end.

Freshman left-hander Mason Robbins has emerged as USM’s Sunday starter. He also hit .332 and led the team with 36 RBIs as a designated hitter and right fielder.

Another freshman, Bradley Roney, has 11 saves as the team’s closer and recently broke into the starting lineup as a third baseman and designated hitter.

“Most people don’t have to worry about handling two aspects of the game. I think we’ve both done a pretty good job handling what we have to do on the mound and at the plate,” Roney said.

Both Robbins and Roney said part of Berry’s recruiting pitch was the possibility of playing both positions. It took a while for that to come to fruition, however.

Robbins hit well enough in fall practice to crack the opening day lineup. He’s now the cleanup hitter and leads the team in batting average, RBIs and triples heading into today‘s C-USA Tournament opener against Memphis. He’s second with three home runs and third with 10 doubles. On Monday, he was selected C-USA Freshman of the Year.

It wasn’t until late April, however, that Robbins got his first real action on the mound. After making four relief appearances in the first six weeks of the season, he was called into action to start the series finale at Memphis. He allowed one run in 52⁄3 innings, followed that up the next Sunday by allowing two runs and three hits in five innings against Marshall, and solidified his spot in the rotation.

“I was really nervous. I had butterflies that first inning. I guess after that first start I got that out of me for good now, on the mound,” Robbins said.

Roney took the opposite path. He became the Golden Eagles’ closer early on, then worked his way into the lineup as a hitter. He was 4-for-7 with six RBIs and three runs scored in last weekend’s series against UAB.

“Roney, I felt like his arm was ahead of his bat coming out of the fall. I could see he had closer-type stuff. He had that make up, that mentality that it takes,” Berry said. “I knew he would factor in for us early on the mound more than at the plate. Now, he got that break over at UAB, he’s done well and he’s earned his right to be out there.”

While enjoying their dual roles, Robbins and Roney both said it can take a moment to shift gears during a game. The pace of the action quickens or slows, depending on which way they’re switching.

“You have to have a different mindset, hitting and pitching. If you do bad at bat, you just have to clear it and go out there to pitch,” Robbins said. “When I’m hitting you have to be all out. As a starting pitcher, you have to stay calm and relaxed, and save your energy because you have to go most of the game.”

Berry attributed his players’ success to youthful energy. Pitching, especially as a starter, can be physically taxing, and Berry said both Robbins and Roney have shown the ability to be ready to play the next day.

Mentally, being freshmen has also helped. Both players pitched in high school, where doing that one game and playing a position the next is a fact of life. Being just a year removed from that, rather than having committed one way or the other for several seasons, has allowed them to stay in the same routine.

“The only thing that’s different is instead of pitching five, or six, or seven innings like I did in high school, I’m just pitching one now,” Roney said. “It makes it easier. I don’t have to do as much between appearances like rehabbing and running and getting soreness out.”

It’s not certain yet whether Robbins and Roney will continue pitching and playing the field for their entire careers at Southern Miss, or whether this is a one-year experiment. Robbins, at least, said he’ll be happy to do it as long as he can.

“They like me pitching, and they like me hitting. I could see myself doing this next year,” he said.