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Many Southern Miss baseball fans were in the aisles of the bleachers, filing out of the stadium as Virginia's Kyle Johnson's two-run homer sailed through the sky and over the center field wall to give the Cavaliers a 15-11 lead in the 10th inning.
Of course, there was always a chance their beloved Golden Eagles could score four or more runs in the bottom of the inning to extend or win the game. They already rallied once, scoring three runs in the eighth to tie the score at 11, but the overwhelming feeling at Pete Taylor Park on May 30 was that Southern Miss' magic had run out.
The No. 9 national seed Golden Eagles (44-17) went down in order in the bottom of the 10th, sealing the 15-11 loss to No. 2 regional seed Virginia (37-22). The defeat eliminated Southern Miss from its own regional and put an abrupt end to its season.
"We were close," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "Would you love to go back and take a few pitches differently or get a few swings here and there? Of course. But you can't today, you gotta go with what you got."
It was another strong regular season capped by a disappointing postseason performance for the Golden Eagles, who have won at least 40 games in each of the past 10 seasons. In that span, they advanced past the regionals only twice.
"Fans are yearning to get back to Omaha," Ostrander said. "They're yearning to win that regional, win that super (regional). We are too. My message to them is keep supporting and keep encouraging and believing in this program because we're not gonna go anywhere. We're gonna think about what we need to do to be better for next year. I'm thankful for the fans. They have frustrations. Great, so be it, so do we.
Southern Miss and Virginia went back and forth in the early stages of a game that featured five lead changes in the first five innings.
The Golden Eagles held a 6-4 lead entering the top of the fourth inning, but the Cavaliers scored five runs to take a 9-6 advantage entering the bottom of the inning. Virginia loaded up the bases against pitcher Grayden Harris, who started the game for Southern Miss, and scored its first run of the inning on a one-run single by RJ Holmes.
With the bases still loaded and no outs, Ostrander visited the mound and elected to keep Harris in the game, despite the three relief arms warming up in the bullpen. Harris subsequently gave up a bases-clearing triple off the bat of AJ Gracia that swung the momentum away from Southern Miss and gave Virginia a 9-6 lead.
"He's been our horse and he's had a great year," Ostrander said. "His pitch count was in good shape. We felt very confident that he was still strong."
The loss to Virginia signified the end of the Southern Miss careers of eight senior players, four of whom were on the team when Ostrander took over in the 2024 season. Matthew Russo, who was a major contributor for the offense, is among those players.
"It's been a blessing to put on whatever jersey we're wearing that day and go out there," Russo said. "I'm glad I cherished it all."
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 misses another chance to continue success in regional
Continue reading...
Of course, there was always a chance their beloved Golden Eagles could score four or more runs in the bottom of the inning to extend or win the game. They already rallied once, scoring three runs in the eighth to tie the score at 11, but the overwhelming feeling at Pete Taylor Park on May 30 was that Southern Miss' magic had run out.
The No. 9 national seed Golden Eagles (44-17) went down in order in the bottom of the 10th, sealing the 15-11 loss to No. 2 regional seed Virginia (37-22). The defeat eliminated Southern Miss from its own regional and put an abrupt end to its season.
"We were close," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "Would you love to go back and take a few pitches differently or get a few swings here and there? Of course. But you can't today, you gotta go with what you got."
It was another strong regular season capped by a disappointing postseason performance for the Golden Eagles, who have won at least 40 games in each of the past 10 seasons. In that span, they advanced past the regionals only twice.
"Fans are yearning to get back to Omaha," Ostrander said. "They're yearning to win that regional, win that super (regional). We are too. My message to them is keep supporting and keep encouraging and believing in this program because we're not gonna go anywhere. We're gonna think about what we need to do to be better for next year. I'm thankful for the fans. They have frustrations. Great, so be it, so do we.
Southern Miss and Virginia went back and forth in the early stages of a game that featured five lead changes in the first five innings.
The Golden Eagles held a 6-4 lead entering the top of the fourth inning, but the Cavaliers scored five runs to take a 9-6 advantage entering the bottom of the inning. Virginia loaded up the bases against pitcher Grayden Harris, who started the game for Southern Miss, and scored its first run of the inning on a one-run single by RJ Holmes.
With the bases still loaded and no outs, Ostrander visited the mound and elected to keep Harris in the game, despite the three relief arms warming up in the bullpen. Harris subsequently gave up a bases-clearing triple off the bat of AJ Gracia that swung the momentum away from Southern Miss and gave Virginia a 9-6 lead.
"He's been our horse and he's had a great year," Ostrander said. "His pitch count was in good shape. We felt very confident that he was still strong."
The loss to Virginia signified the end of the Southern Miss careers of eight senior players, four of whom were on the team when Ostrander took over in the 2024 season. Matthew Russo, who was a major contributor for the offense, is among those players.
"It's been a blessing to put on whatever jersey we're wearing that day and go out there," Russo said. "I'm glad I cherished it all."
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 misses another chance to continue success in regional
Continue reading...
