As Danny Lynch rounded the bases for a second time, all the senior captain did was absorb the moment.
For the first time in Southern Miss' history, Lynch hit two grand slams in one game, which helped the Golden Eagles overcome an early 4-run deficit and pull away for an 11-9 victory over Louisiana to conclude the final game of the regular season.
In each folklorish-like at-bat, Lynch said he felt the emotion of it being head coach Scott Berry's last game at Pete Taylor Park as well as it being senior day for himself and the other six seniors on USM's roster.
"Walking up the plate, I kind of felt like that was going to happen," said Lynch, whose eight RBI ties the most in a game in program history. "I'll remember walking up to the plate, and it was Coach Berry's last game here and senior day.
"It's Coach Berry's last day at Pete Taylor Park. You just kind of had that feeling all day. You knew we were going to come out on top if we kept doing the right things, and I was able to get the hits."
Southern Miss (37-16, 22-8 Sun Belt) went down 4-0 to UL in the first after the Ragin Cajuns hit a pair of home runs, but that's when Lynch answered with his first grand slam of the day in the bottom of the frame.
"Not only has he been our captain for two years, he's had big moments, but none was bigger than today and those two swings that he had," Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said.
After USM took the lead with a solo home run by Dustin Dickerson, UL responded by scoring a run in the fourth and three more in the fifth inning to go up 8-5, but Lynch promptly answered in the bottom of the fifth with his second grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a 9-8 lead.
"It was crazy," Lynch said. "I'm just thankful for my guys for putting me in the situation like that. It's kind of what my whole career has been. I'm a solid player, but I have been surrounded by great players and great guys that have put me in awesome positions to succeed all the time. I'm blessed to have awesome teammates my whole career."
As Lynch crossed the plate, chants of 'DANNY' echoed in the stadium.
"I was focusing on soaking everything in," Lynch said. "I was focused on everything because I wanted to remember it."
At the same time, down in the bullpen, all closer Justin Storm could do was stand and watch in disbelief.
"I'm sure nobody saw it, but I was down in the bullpen during the second (grand slam) that gave us the one run, and for about two minutes, I was sitting in the corner, and my mouth was just wide open," Storm said. "I was just looking around and taking it all in. Danny Lynch, everything they say about the guy is true. He's just an incredible leader. A great guy and a great friend. I can't say enough good things about him. Seeing him have that moment today was incredible. He is 100% deserving."
Storm's relief outing was critical in the final stretch of the game. After UL tied the game at 9-9 in the sixth, the Ragin Cajuns (36-20, 18-12) looked to cash in more in the seventh as they had runners on first and second with two outs as Storm took over. Storm picked off a runner and then threw two scoreless innings in which he surrendered just one hit and struck out three to pick up his third win of the season.
The Golden Eagles picked up the last two runs in the eighth after Christopher Sargent, who was 4-for-5, delivered the go-ahead run on an RBI single, while Reece Ewing followed with another RBI single for insurance.
Southern Miss will now prepare for the postseason as the Golden Eagles head to Montgomery, Alabama, for the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Still, despite the positive momentum, Berry feels his team needs to do more if his program hopes to host a regional for a second straight season.
"We need to do more," Berry said. "I would love to sit here and tell you yes (we'll host)…Certainly, if we go over there and do some things in that tournament, then I think we are worthy. We have been in and out of the top 25 all year. We have established ourselves in one of the top programs. We are finishing at the top of a very good league, which I think is a top-five RPI league. If we continue to do what we are supposed to do and control what we can control, and that's win baseball games, then maybe we get rewarded with a tournament here."
Follow @Andrew Abadie on Twitter for Southern Miss coverage. Slideshow photos by Andrew Abadie.
