Davis Gillespie has always heard the horn sound throughout Pete Taylor Park after every national anthem. But in his second at-bat on Sunday, the redshirt freshman got to hear it sound for a different occasion.
This time, it sounded for his two-run homer that hit the top of Southern Miss’ scoreboard in the Golden Eagles’ 5-4 rubber match win over Missouri State.
“You hear (the horn) after the national anthem, but when you hit the home run, it’s a different feeling,” said Gillespie, whose home run ball left his bat at 102 mph. “It was a 3-2 fastball in the middle. I just got my swing off. We were challenged yesterday to compete. I think we did a really good job of coming out today and getting the win.
“You can’t expect what it’s going to be like with all the fans here cheering for you, so it’s awesome.”
Also rounding the bases from Gillespie’s big swing was Billy Butler, who instantly knew that ball was a no-doubter home run.
“I took my secondary step, and I saw it leave his bat,” Butler said. “I’ve seen enough, no-doubt home runs to know that I’ll just trot to home. The wind carried it out even more and banged off the top of the scoreboard. You’re going to see a lot more of that, too, from Dave. He’s a special talent and is so young. He’s going to keep figuring it out, and he’ll be dangerous for sure.”
Butler took over the designated hitter role and delivered a 2-for-3 day that featured him scoring twice.
“Coach (Christian Ostrander) knows what he is doing,” Butler said. “It’s been really easy, honestly, for me to sit back and wait my turn. It’s early in the year; we are so deep. I’m a veteran, and so I’m leaning into it.”
Aiding an offensive performance that included Southern Miss (6-2) posting nine hits was the Golden Eagles’ pitching staff, which combined for 17 strikeouts.
Despite the end result, the beginning of the game initially indicated a day that would have the opposite result through the first three and a half innings.
Missouri State (4-3) struck first after slugger Zach Stewart homered for a third time in the series and gave the Bears a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, Butler led off with a double, followed by a single from Gillespie.
“Davis had a great day,” Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. “Just like we said at the beginning, we have to let guys grow. We have to figure out the right formula and find some rhythm; hopefully, this is a step in the right direction.”
Braden Luke drove in Butler with a sac fly, with Gabe Broadus coming up with an RBI double. However, the inning ended early with Seth Smith thrown out rounding third base.
“I’m proud of (Butler),” Ostrander said. “You have to keep yourself ready. He’s been waiting patiently. He’s been a great teammate and chomping at the bit. I’m so proud that he kept himself ready so when his time did come, he delivered.”
In the fourth inning, the Bears put up a three-run frame partly due to the Golden Eagles committing a pair of errors to keep the inning alive. That led to starting pitcher Will Armistead surrendering a pair of RBI singles, which gave Missouri State a 4-2 lead. Armistead allowed four runs off three hits but struck out seven batters and did not give up a walk.
However, Gillespie’s big swing evened the score in the bottom of the fourth.
Relievers Chase Adams, McCarty English, and JB Middleton kept Missouri State scoreless as they combined to give up three hits, hit a batter and walked another.
Sealing the win for Southern Miss for a second time in the series was freshman second baseman Seth Smith, who delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth inning.
The eighth inning was the only trouble USM’s bullpen dealt with after the Bears had a pair of runners reach base off singles. Smith managed to save a run from scoring as he made a diving grab that prevented a ground ball from getting into the outfield and stopping a potential run from scoring. Middleton capitalized on the play by coming up with a strikeout to end the threat.
“I’m really proud of the response after yesterday being a subpar performance,” Ostrander said. “(Missouri State is) a regional caliver team. I think when the dust settles at the end of the year, that’s a postseason team. That’s a really good lineup that I feel like our pitching staff kept under control. They had good pitching. They showed us what it takes to go out there and beat a really good opponent.”
Southern Miss will travel to Biloxi to play Nicholls State on Tuesday at the Shuckers Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
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