Southern Miss stays hot, routs Nicholls State 20-4
Published 7:50 pm Sunday, March 4, 2018
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Southern Miss had yet another prolific day at the plate Sunday and earned another victory.
Bryant Bowen went 3-for-7 with four RBIs and two runs scored, Daniel Keating was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored, and the Golden Eagles routed Nicholls State 20-4 in their finale at the Cox Diamond Invitational in Pensacola.
Southern Miss (8-3) scored eight runs in the top of the second inning and had 16 hits in the game. It marked the eighth time in 11 games this season that it has scored at least nine runs in a game.
Keating’s bases-loaded triple keyed the big second inning and was one of six extra base hits for the Golden Eagles.
Casey Maack hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and finished with three hits. Luke Reynolds was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Nicholls State (1-10) didn’t score until Xane Washington delivered an RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh. By then, Southern Miss was ahead 16-0.
Reliever Sean Tweedy, the second of five pitchers used by Southern Miss, was credited with the win despite throwing just two-thirds of an inning.
Starter Cody Carroll allowed two hits and one walk in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts.
The Golden Eagles will visit Tuscaloosa, Ala., at 6 p.m. Wednesday to take on Alabama.
Ole Miss 12, Long Beach St. 1
Ole Miss routed Long Beach State in the finale of a three-game series in California.
Grae Kessinger went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Chase Cockrell homered for the Rebels (10-1), who took two out of three games from the Dirtbags (4-8).
Ole Miss banged out 14 hits in the finale and blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning. Kessinger and Cole Zabowski each had an RBI single, and Will Golsan singled in two more runs as the Rebels took a 6-0 lead.
Ole Miss scored in each of its last five at-bats to put away the victory.
Starting pitcher James McArthur (1-0) had five strikeouts in five scoreless innings. He walked three batters and allowed two hits.
Nick Fortes, Cooper Johnson and Tyler Keenan had two hits apiece for the Rebels. Thomas Dillard scored two runs.
LSU 4, SE Louisiana 2
Beau Jordan and Antoine Duplantis both homered, and LSU (8-4) beat Southeastern Louisiana (7-5).
Jordan went 3-for-4 for the Tigers, who had lost 5-4 to the Lions in Hammond, La., on Wednesday night. LSU also beat Toledo and Sacred Heart in a three-game split weekend series in Baton Rouge.
LSU used five pitchers. Ma’Khail Hilliard (3-0) threw four scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the win, while Austin Bain pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the season.
Mississippi State 4, Sam Houston State 1
Tanner Poole had three hits and drove in a run, and Tanner Allen went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple and a run scored as Mississippi State (6-5) beat Sam Houston State (7-4) in the finale of the Shriner’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Allen’s RBI triple was part of a three-run first inning for the Bulldogs. Allen scored on a single by Luke Alexander, and then Poole drew a bases-loaded walk for an early 3-0 lead.
Jacob Billingsley pitched six shutout innings for Mississippi State. He allowed five hits and two walks, and struck out six. Cole Gordon worked the last 1 1/3 innings for his first save of the season.