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MONTGOMERY, AL — For the second day in a row, No. 1 seed Southern Miss fell behind fourth-seeded Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
On May 22, the Golden Eagles (42-15) were able to put together a dramatic comeback, winning 7-6 on a walk-off grand slam. On May 23, however, they didn't have enough magic and weren't able to overcome their slow start, losing to Troy 9-6.
Southern Miss can still win the tournament title, but it will have to win back-to-back games on May 24 in the double-elimination tournament. It will face Troy for the third time in three days (9 a.m. CT, ESPN+) for a spot in the championship game (1 p.m. CT, ESPN+) against either Texas State or Louisiana.
This loss should not affect Southern Miss' hopes to host an NCAA regional, but it made securing a top-eight seed for a potential Hattiesburg Super Regional less likely.
Southern Miss' offense provided the heroics in the previous game against Troy, but for much of this night, it was quiet. Outside of Drey Barrett's three hits and six RBIs, the offense produced eight hits and scored one run.
On May 23 it was a similar story. The Golden Eagles came to life with four hits and four runs in the ninth inning, but before that had six hits and two runs. The team struck out 13 times.
"I'm just disappointed a little bit that we couldn't get much more going," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "I felt like the game was in balance there early."
On May 22, Southern Miss had only two innings in which it had more than one hit. The next day, the offense recorded more than one hit in three innings.
It was an underwhelming performance from an offense facing a Trojans pitching staff that was playing its third game in 24 hours. Starting pitcher Zach Crotchfelt had thrown 67 pitches in Troy's win over South Alabama two days prior. Against Southern Miss, he struck out eight and allowed just one run in five innings.
"(Crotchfelt) had a good mix of off-speed and he kind of just kept us off balance," Southern Miss center fielder Joey Urban said. "He dealed. They got to our starter and we just couldn't get to him and get to the bullpen quick enough."
The lineup produced its best inning in the bottom of the ninth inning for the second night in a row. Urban ripped a triple to right field to clear the bases. Second baseman Kyle Morrison scored Urban from third with a single, but the game ended with the next at-bat. Southern Miss scored its other two runs in the fourth and sixth innings.
Any real concerns about the team's offense could be categorized as overblown, seeing that during its 11-game winning streak, it averaged 8.2 runs per game. But as the Golden Eagles venture deeper into postseason play, opponents will get more talented, making improbable comebacks more difficult.
"When you get down, that's part of the game," Ostrander said. "It's a long game, you're not out until the final out is made. If you get behind you've got to figure out a way to scratch and claw and get back. We've done that twice and we didn't do that tonight. Obviously we would love to go out there and get a commanding lead."
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss baseball's slow start too much to overcome vs Troy in Sun Belt
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On May 22, the Golden Eagles (42-15) were able to put together a dramatic comeback, winning 7-6 on a walk-off grand slam. On May 23, however, they didn't have enough magic and weren't able to overcome their slow start, losing to Troy 9-6.
Southern Miss can still win the tournament title, but it will have to win back-to-back games on May 24 in the double-elimination tournament. It will face Troy for the third time in three days (9 a.m. CT, ESPN+) for a spot in the championship game (1 p.m. CT, ESPN+) against either Texas State or Louisiana.
This loss should not affect Southern Miss' hopes to host an NCAA regional, but it made securing a top-eight seed for a potential Hattiesburg Super Regional less likely.
Southern Miss' offense provided the heroics in the previous game against Troy, but for much of this night, it was quiet. Outside of Drey Barrett's three hits and six RBIs, the offense produced eight hits and scored one run.
On May 23 it was a similar story. The Golden Eagles came to life with four hits and four runs in the ninth inning, but before that had six hits and two runs. The team struck out 13 times.
"I'm just disappointed a little bit that we couldn't get much more going," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "I felt like the game was in balance there early."
On May 22, Southern Miss had only two innings in which it had more than one hit. The next day, the offense recorded more than one hit in three innings.
It was an underwhelming performance from an offense facing a Trojans pitching staff that was playing its third game in 24 hours. Starting pitcher Zach Crotchfelt had thrown 67 pitches in Troy's win over South Alabama two days prior. Against Southern Miss, he struck out eight and allowed just one run in five innings.
"(Crotchfelt) had a good mix of off-speed and he kind of just kept us off balance," Southern Miss center fielder Joey Urban said. "He dealed. They got to our starter and we just couldn't get to him and get to the bullpen quick enough."
The lineup produced its best inning in the bottom of the ninth inning for the second night in a row. Urban ripped a triple to right field to clear the bases. Second baseman Kyle Morrison scored Urban from third with a single, but the game ended with the next at-bat. Southern Miss scored its other two runs in the fourth and sixth innings.
Any real concerns about the team's offense could be categorized as overblown, seeing that during its 11-game winning streak, it averaged 8.2 runs per game. But as the Golden Eagles venture deeper into postseason play, opponents will get more talented, making improbable comebacks more difficult.
"When you get down, that's part of the game," Ostrander said. "It's a long game, you're not out until the final out is made. If you get behind you've got to figure out a way to scratch and claw and get back. We've done that twice and we didn't do that tonight. Obviously we would love to go out there and get a commanding lead."
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss baseball's slow start too much to overcome vs Troy in Sun Belt
Continue reading...
