HATTIESBURG, Miss. – UTSA was defeated Sunday afternoon by No. 11 Southern Miss 9-5 at Pete Taylor Field. The loss secured a Southern Miss weekend series victory and was the first Roadrunner weekend series loss since late March.
Sunday's game featured the long ball, as there was seven total in the game. UTSA and Southern Miss were knotted at five heading into the bottom of the fourth. There, USM had a two-run home run to pull ahead and didn't look back as they totaled six homers on the afternoon.
The loss drops UTSA (33-18, 17-10) to three games back of league-leading Southern Miss with a weekend of conference play yet to go. Southern Miss is just the third C-USA school to get the better of the Roadrunners in a weekend series on the season.
UTSA produced ten hits on the day and were again led by their steady first baseman Ryan Flores. Flores went 3-4 at the plate with two RBI. Both RBI came off his tenth home run of the season that he launched in the top of the first inning. Also collecting multi-hit games were Shane Sirdashney and Chase Keng with two apiece. Keng also had the only other multi-RBI game as he knocked two in with his single in the third.
UTSA started sophomore righty Drake Smith for the Sunday rubber match. Smith went for just a third of the first inning, allowing three runs on three hits as the Golden Eagles jumped to an early lead. Entering in relief of Smith was Friday night's closer, Luke Malone. Malone would go on to pitch the majority of the game, hurling 6.2 innings. During his time on the mound, Malone allowed five runs on seven hits with each run that was scored coming off of a home run. Fischer Kingsbery took the mound for UTSA to pitch the ninth. Kingsbery allowed a run on two hits with one walk as he finished the eighth inning.
Southern Miss (38-14, 20-7) starter Hurston Waldrep tossed the first three innings for the Golden Eagles. During his stint, Waldrep allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out six. Taking over for Waldrep in the fourth was Matthew Adams. Adams would throw an inning and a third where he didn't allow a run or a hit before being replaced by Justin Storm. Storm (2-0) finished the fifth and the entire sixth for USM. Storm allowed no hits or runs and struck out two while pitching. Entering for Storm in the seventh was Garrett Ramsey. Ramsey would allow one hit in the seventh before coming back out for the eighth. In the eighth Ramsey faced two batters before a line drive hit his ankle and forced him out of the game. Landon Harper would take over for Ramsey and complete the game, earning his tenth save of the season.
The Sunday rubber match got off to a furious start as both offenses started hot. In the top of the first, following a Tapia fly out, Killeen reached on a single through the left side. Flores was up with one on and one out as he launched his second homer of the series and tenth of the year over the rightfield fence and put the Roadrunners up 2-0 early.
Not to be outdone, Southern Miss had a hot start of its own. In the bottom of the frame, the No. 11 Golden Eagles responded with three runs of their own. After a leadoff strikeout, Dustin Dickerson singled through the right side to put a runner on. Reece Ewing was next up and doubled to right-centerfield, plating Dickerson and giving the Golden Eagles their first run. Then, with one on and one out, Christopher Sargent smashed his 16th homer of the year to give USM a 3-2 lead.
After a scoreless second, UTSA retook the lead in the top of the third. The Roadrunners were able to get runners on the corners with one out as Sirdashney entered the batter's box. Sirdashney struck a single through the left side, scoring Tapia from third and tying the game at three all. Flores, who was on second, and Sirdashney were both able to advance following a Southern Miss wild pitch. Then Keng came to the plate and blasted a two-run single to rightfield, giving the Roadrunners a 5-3 lead.
In the bottom of the third, No. 11 Southern Miss saw its four and five hole hitters launch back-to-back solo home runs as the Golden Eagles tied the game up at five apiece.
USM would strike again in the bottom of the fourth, as the Golden Eagles added two more to their lead. With a runner on first and one out, Reece Ewing sent a homer over the rightfield fence to give Southern Miss a two-run lead at 7-5.
The Golden Eagles tacked on additional runs in the seventh and the eighth, as they got another solo shot from Christopher Sargent, his third homer of the game, as they extended their lead to 8-5. Then in the bottom of the eighth Carson Paetow had a solo shot of his own, his third home run of the series, pushing the USM lead to four.
Sunday Notes
Home Runs
UTSA: Ryan Flores (10)
USM: Christopher Sargent 3(18), Slade Wilks (8), Reece Ewing (9), Carson Paetow (12)
WP – Justin Storm (2-0): 1.2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
SV – Landon Harper (10): 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
LP – Luke Malone (7-3): 6.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Up Next
UTSA will return home next weekend as it plays host to fellow Conference USA school UAB. The regular season series finale will take place from May 19-21. Unlike every other weekend series format, the final series of the season will take place over a Thursday-Saturday timeframe. All games will be played at Roadrunner Field and each game will be broadcast on CUSA TV.
- UTSA -
