Christian Ostrander knew the importance of having Davis Gillespie’s bat in the lineup.
And so last weekend, the Southern Miss coach decided to start Gillespie at first base after only receiving reps at the new position for a couple of weeks. That decision has started to pay off, as was the case on Friday, with Gillespie delivering five RBIs in the Golden Eagles’ 8-4 win over Marshall.
“You are trying to find places to put guys,” Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. “We knew he was a bat that you want in there. You want to let him go. He’s still a freshman since it’s his first year of playing at this level. He’s growing and getting better every time. I think experience is crucial.”
Gillespie initially took reps at third base in the fall and then moved to left field at the start of the spring, which made the move to first base even more surprising.
“I didn’t (expect it), and on Saturday against Louisiana Tech, I saw the lineup that I was in,” said Gillespie, who did see action at first in his senior of high school. “I felt ready for it.
“I had been getting work there for a couple of weeks. It’s an adjustment, but I’m starting to feel a little better over there.”
Since last Saturday, Gillespie is 8-for-15, which includes a 3-for-4 performance against Marshall.
Southern Miss (12-6, 1-0 Sun Belt) took a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Nick Monistere hit an RBI single. Later in the inning, with two outs, Gillespie hit a two-run double down the right-field line.
In the third inning, Marshall (6-11, 0-1) got on the board with a two-run double, but Southern Miss responded in the bottom of the frame after Carson Paetow drove in a run with a sac fly to make the score 4-2.
Gillespie continued his hot night in the fifth inning with a two-run home run over the right center wall. Ironically, the redshirt freshman nearly homered in the exact same spot back in the third but flew out at the warning track.
“It was a first-pitch slider,” Gillespie said. “It kind of hung up there, and I was ready to hit it. In the at-bat before, I didn’t realize how far that one was going to go, but then I knew I got that (home run) based on the last (at-bat).
“I just saw the ball well and felt really comfortable out there.”
Starting pitcher Niko Mazza began to struggle as he approached over 100 pitches by the seventh inning. He first gave up a solo homer to start the inning and then gave up a one-out walk and a single before being pulled. Kros Sivley minimized the damage after he only gave up one run from a fielder’s choice RBI, which narrowed the score to 7-4.
“(Mazza) said he felt great and felt as good as he has, and I trust him,” Ostrander said. “I thought his stuff maintained. The guy got a hit, and it doesn’t always go exactly as you plan, but I felt good about extending him. I don’t think we overdid it.”
In his outing, Mazza struck out 10 batters, walked three, and allowed four runs off six hits while throwing a career-high 109 pitches.
“The changeup was a good pitch for me tonight,” Mazza said. “It hasn’t been great coming into the season, but definitely tonight, it was a pitch that was working for me. The fastball was working for me early, and I started throwing a good bit of cutters late.”
Gillespie added an insurance run for Southern Miss as he capped off his night with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
“It was really impressive,” Ostrander said of Gillespie’s performance. “That double in the first inning kind of broke it there, and that backside home run was really impressive. He’s capable, and we have known that. He has strength and can drive the ball out of the park and opposite field as well as pull side.”
Saturday’s first pitch is set for 2 p.m.
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