It took eight innings until Southern Miss put together a glimpse of its full potential.
Aided by a strong start on the mound, the Golden Eagles’ lineup finally unleashed an 8-run rally in the eighth inning to carry USM to a 9-2 win over Lafayette to open the season.
It’s the 11th straight season-opening win for Southern Miss’ program.
Through the first five innings of Friday’s game at Pete Taylor Park, Southern Miss’ lineup had just two hits to show for itself.
“There was some nerves built up,” said first baseman Matthew Russo. “Coach (Travis) Creel said that once those nerves calmed down during the eighth, we were able to execute and extend the lead.”
Adding to the somewhat frustrating start, USM couldn’t find answers for the Leopards’ start pitcher, Joe Skapinetz, who pitched five clean innings, as he gave up just two hits and two walks.
“He was locating three pitches for strikes,” said Russo, who was 1-for-3. “Whenever an opening day guy does that, it’s natural that we are going to have some struggles. I mean, we were barreling balls up, but we just weren’t finding the hole early, and then, obviously, it was the tension. We were not sticking to the approaches the way we could be."
Then in the sixth inning, Lafayette made a pitching change, which led to a leadoff double by Nick Monistere, followed by an RBI single from Russo to break the stalemate.
“I wanted to break it open,” Russo said. “I was able to catch a pitch out in front. Do my job and just get Nick over. It ended up finding a hole, and Nick scored. I think that released a little bit of attention. Two innings later, we were able to break it open.”
However, on the mound, starting pitcher JB Middleton delivered six clean innings as he put up four strikeouts and one walk and gave up just three hits.
“I was just trying to go out and attack, pound the zone, and execute pitches,” said Middleton, who topped out at 97 mph on the radar gun. “I thought we swung it really well tonight. It was an around good game, I thought.
“I thought (my) off speed looked pretty good, and the fastball had some good life to it. I was relaxing up there and just finding ways to get comfortable. The fans packed it out tonight and that makes it real exciting.”
Russo’s hit and Middleton’s start on the mound culminated in the eighth inning’s scoring frenzy. An RBI single from Paetow first kickstarted the rally. On the next at-bat, Drey Barrett hit an RBI single, followed by an RBI double from Jake Cook to push the score to 4-0.
“There’s a lot of good guys that are on that bench that could easily been in that lineup,” Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. “I think that’s the mark of a good team. We want to have some depth, and we do.
“It was hard to figure out which lineup and which order and stuff like that. I felt like there were multiple good answers. I’m very proud of the way it looked tonight.”
After Ben Higdon drew an RBI walk, Pratt then cleared the bases with a three-run double. The final run of the inning came after the Leopard’s first baseman fumbled the ball allowing for Joey Urban to reach first base on an error and Pratt to score to extend the lead to 9-0.
“You got some freebies, hit by pitches and walks, but it can be a long lineup,” Ostrander said. “I think there can be a lot of damage in that lineup. There are a lot that can slug, and some guys have some good base percentages as well. It’s early. It’s Game 1. There’s so much more to do, but we really like this group.”
Middleton was then followed by Allen, who preserved the lead heading into the eighth. Allen’s lone blemish was a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth.
“I’m very proud of the guys,” Ostrander said. “Game 1 on opening night, there is going to be excitement, emotion, and stuff and just settling in. It’s a long season, and I'm very proud to win this game tonight.”
Southern Miss will play a doubleheader against Lafayette on Saturday. Both games will be nine innings. The first pitch for the first game is set for 12 p.m., with the second following roughly 45 minutes later.
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