For just the second time this season, Southern Miss closed out a weekend series with a sweep as the Golden Eagles held on to defeat Coastal Carolina 6-5.
The game was called in the seventh inning as it had to be played by 2:30 p.m. due to Coastal Carolina travel plans. The Golden Eagles were previously 1-5 in potential sweep games.
"It's hard to (sweep) at this level," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "The message we had with the guys before the game is that we have an angry dog back there in a corner. The best thing I know to do to defeat that is go right at him. You can't stand back. I thought our guys competed really hard. I like the energy they are giving off right now."
BOSWELL'S STRONG START
Deep outings by starting pitchers Billy Oldham and Niko Mazza preserved Southern Miss' thin pitching staff for Sunday. They also allowed for to go-to relief pitchers Kros Sivley and Colby Allen to shrink the duration of their outings.
But Cole Boswell gave Southern Miss (31-17, 15-9 Sun Belt) the start it needed as the Golden Eagles have been desperate for more efficient innings. Boswell allowed for Southern Miss to take a 3-0 lead.
The right-hander opened the game by throwing three scoreless innings before being relieved with two outs in the fourth.
"Cole was lights out," Ostrander said. "He gave us everything we needed. We needed that. Not just a guy that would start us and give us one or two innings, but go as deep as you can. I thought he pitched with a lot of conviction and confidence. That was the shot to the arm that we needed to get us to the fourth inning."
In his final line, Boswell gave up just four hits, walked one batter and threw 52 pitches, 34 of which were for strikes.
Boswell walked his final batter, but the game entered into a 42-minute lightning delay. However, after the resumption, true freshman Josh Och ended Coastal Carolina's threat by recording a strikeout to end the fourth inning.
WILKS & GILLESPIE STAY RED HOT
Slade Wilks and Davis Gillespie combined for four hits and five runs in the victory.
"Everybody knows, including us, that we have had the monkey on the back that we've been 2-0 on a lot of weekends," Wilks said. "Today, we competed at a really high level and deserved that sweep."
The duo put Southern Miss on the board in the third inning, with Wilks hitting a two-run double and Gillespie following with an RBI single. The hit by Wilks also extends his hitting streak to 21 straight games, which is the longest since 2015.
There's some luck in there," said Wilks of the streak. "But I'm constanly just getting my swing off. That's the biggest thing for me is hitting pitches that I can handle. I try to take the pitcher's best pitch when I can.
After Coastal Carolina tied the game in the fifth inning, Wilks and Gillespie answered the call again. Wilks hit an RBI single, and Gillespie came up with an RBI double to give the Golden Eagles a 5-3 lead. Gillespie finished the weekend with three RBI doubles.
"Davis in the four-hole behind is awesome," Wilks said. "It's awesome to see what he is doing. He's a freshman, but he fits the part behind me."
ALLEN SOLIDIFIES CLOSER ROLE
Colby Allen came to close out the second straight game against Coastal Carolina (27-20, 11-13). The night prior, Allen appeared in the ninth inning and needed only 17 pitches to put the Chanticleers away.
"I knew last night that I had a chance of throwing," Allen said. "I felt pretty good and was ready to roll."
This time, Allen entered the game in the sixth inning, and although he gave up two runs that tied the game at 5-5, he knew the time limit was looming.
"Coach (Keller) Bradford came to me and Kros (Sivley) and said we have got until 2:30 to play it, so when we get to about 1:30, we need both of y'all rolling," Allen said. "I looked up at the board, and it was 2:25, and I knew this was it. You have to get him out.
"I treated it like the ninth inning."
Following Gabe Broadus driving in a go-ahead run with an RBI double, which was the third time in the last six games, Allen made sure to treat the top of the seventh like it was the final inning.
"(The pitching staff) stepped up huge, and we did exactly what we needed to do," Allen said. "We did what we are capable of doing. We've been saying that all year long. We're capable of going out there and throwing up low numbers against the opposing team. It just all clicked this weekend. I hope it keeps rolling."
Allen allowed two runs off four hits, but struck out two batters and improved his record to 7-2.
MONISTERE'S INJURY
Southern Miss second baseman left the game in the fifth inning after colliding with Coastal Carolina's Ty Dooley on first base. Dooley's knee appeared to drive into Monistere's back, forcing the sophomore to exit the game.
"He got a pretty good knee in the kidney/ribs area," Ostrander said. "We are going to get him X-rayed to make sure nothing is broken."
Monistere, who wanted to stay on the field, did not leave the stadium and was with the team for the duration of the game.
WHAT IT MEANS
The sweep against Coastal Carolina adds three Quadrant 1 wins for Southern Miss and moves the Golden Eagles' record against Q1 teams to 8-6. The victories moved Southern Miss' RPI to inside the top 40, which could solidify an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the Golden Eagles, barring any disaster.
Southern Miss returns to action on Friday as the Golden Eagles travel to play Arkansas State.
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