Efficient pitching and a solid hitting performance led to Southern Miss taking down Marist 10-5 on Saturday night.
At the plate, the Southern Miss lineup posted eight hits and took advantage of numerous pitching and defensive errors committed by Marist (0-2). However, the Golden Eagles did leave 10 runners on base despite the Red Fox pitchers walking nine batters.
“We finally put some crooked numbers up there offensively,” Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. “We needed that. I still feel like we left them off the hook a little bit. I think we had some opportunities to extend that lead a little bit earlier, but that’s baseball.
“We have to put a whole game together.”
On the mound, starting pitcher Billy Oldham delivered six solid innings that featured him striking out seven batters, walking one and allowing two runs off six hits.
“I think Billy was Billy,” Ostrander said. “On a cold night, sometimes it’s hard to get the feel on all your stuff. He made a couple of mistakes that they capitalized on, but that’s part of it. You have to learn from, and he will. Overall, it was exactly what I wanted.”
However, Marist got on the board with a two-out RBI triple in the first inning, but the Golden Eagles answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Nick Monistere hit an RBI sac fly, followed by an RBI double from Ozzie Pratt and an RBI single by Davis Gillespie.
From there, the Red Foxes’ pitching and defense began to struggle. In the third inning, A leadoff error set up Pratt scoring on an error after Marist’s catcher failed to tag home plate.
In the fifth, the two teams traded runs, with Marist hitting a leadoff solo home run and Tucker driving in a run with a sac fly to make the score 5-2.
“It was definitely not my best stuff,” Oldham said. “It was definitely a little chilly out there. Everyone was making jokes, but I’m used to it.
“I didn’t feel my best, but I got through six innings, so I’ll take it.”
In the sixth inning, Southern Miss added four runs, with Monistere and Pratt drawing RBI walks. Another fielding error allowed Slade Wilks to score, followed by Pratt reaching home off a wild pitch.
An error by Marist’s shortstop in the seventh inning led to Wilks driving in Tucker from a fielder’s choice. Following a clean two-inning outing by freshman relief pitcher McCarty English, Jake Cook surrendered three runs in the top of the ninth, all of which came with two outs.
Southern Miss’ first pitch against Marist is set for 1 p.m.
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