Dustin Dickerson's response was simple when asked how his Southern Miss team would respond after losing to Tennessee 8-4 in the second game of the Hattiesburg Super Regional.
"The message is you win and go to Omaha, or you lose, and the season is done," Dickerson said. "We have been faced with this the last couple of weeks. We had many opportunities to fold and go home, and we have yet to do that."
Southern Miss' loss came after the Golden Eagles finished off the first game of the Super Regional with a 5-3 victory after weather delays forced it to resume on Sunday. Tennessee's victory now forces a decisive winner-take-all game to be played on Monday.
Dickerson's point has validation as Southern Miss is familiar with the situation. The Golden Eagles have played in five elimination matchups in their last 10 games dating back to the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinals.
In the last 28 games, which the Golden Eagles have won 24 of those, the first three losses in the stretch USM came back and won the next day. In those three games, the Golden Eagles outscored their opponents 29-11. Those victories came against Louisiana, Appalachian State and Auburn.
But at the end of the day, four errors along with USM's lineup putting up just one hit after the fifth inning culminated in falling short to Tennessee in the second game of the Super Regional on Sunday.
USM rode the momentum from the first game and jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Tennessee.
Southern Miss's Tanner Hall and Tennessee's Chase Dollander each had polar opposite starts and finishes to the game. Hall cruised through Tennessee's lineup as he retired nine of the first 11 batters he faced, while Dollander gave up four runs in the third inning. But Hall exited early in the fifth while Dollander nearly completed the game.
Southern Miss took a 4-0 lead came in the third inning, with Matthew Etzel leading off with a triple after the Vol's centerfielder made a failed diving catch attempt to allow the ball to get past him. Dickerson then drove in Etzel with an RBI single. One at-bat later, Christopher Sargent hit a 3-run home run that hit the scoreboard in left center.
Despite the lead, the Volunteers answered by plating six runs in the fourth inning. A 1-out RBI single kickstarted the rally, followed by a 2-run homer from Tennessee's Blake Burke, which traveled 479 feet. An RBI single then scored two runs, but the ball got past Etzel in centerfield and allowed one run to score from his error.
"They brought the fight back to the middle of the ring," Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. "It's winner take all tomorrow. We need to be stronger mentally to come out and compete. Tennessee is a very good club, and we know that. They showed that today after answering after the 4-spot and being able to create the inning that they did."
After giving up the home run to Sargent, Dollander retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced.
"He's a really good pitcher," said Dickerson of Dollander. "We got to him early on, and then he kind of settled in. He has an electric fastball. He has three other pitchers that he can land for strikes and keep you off balance. His fastball got some more ride as the game went on, and that's a credit to him and how good of a pitcher he is."
Hall exited the game after he hit the leadoff batter and then allowed a runner to reach on a fielder's choice. In 4.1 innings, Hall allowed six earned runs off six hits, struck out five batters, walked on and hit three more.
"I feel like they were getting their timely hits," Hall said. "There wasn't really something that I felt like I was doing differently. I felt like I was making the same pitches. I left a pitch or two up to make it a little easier for them. They definitely capitalized on the mistakes I made along with the mistakes in the field. I think that's why they were able to get that momentum and keep rolling and made that inning a lot longer than it should have been."
Tennessee then added two more runs in the fifth inning after a fielder's choice scored a run. After recording the out, a throwing error by Sargent to home scored a second run.
Reliever Kros Sivley shut down the Vols for the next four innings as he gave up just three hits in the final four innings. In Sivley's outing, he allowed one run to score off hits, struck out five batters, and did not issue a walk, but his line would be too little to late without an offensive to support the left-hander.
"It's the same message that has been going on for the last couple of weeks," Dickerson said. "We have dealt with this before, and we'll deal with it again. We have a veteran group of guys in that locker room. We are going to be ready to play tomorrow."
The first pitch for Monday's game will be at 5 p.m. and televised on ESPN2.
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