HATTIESBURG – Southern Miss preseason All-American Matt Wallner had some time to kill in the dugout this weekend. A forearm strain held the 6-foot-5 Minnesota native from playing in the outfield and pitching in Southern Miss’ three-game sweep of Purdue.
So what does he do? He eats a lot of sunflower seeds and drinks a lot of water, of course. He has a proprietary blend, too.
“Dill pickle, every time,” Wallner said. “Also, I’m big on the Old Bay seasoning seeds. Mix that in for all you fans out there.”
But as a designated hitter, Wallner was 5-for-12 on the weekend. That included a 2-for-4, 5 RBI performance in Sunday’s 16-7 win over the Boilermakers.
“I was trying to be an RBI guy, and up until today, I didn’t have an RBI,” Wallner said. “I was just trying to hit with guys in position and not get too big.”
Wallner is excited to return to the field, because he gets a little anxious in the dugout when his teammates are on the field. His return could be this weekend against Mississippi, though.
“I need to check my heart rate after this weekend,” Wallner said. “I get anxiety in the dugout just sitting there. I’m ready to be back on the field, for sure.”
Southern Miss put crooked numbers on the board in three innings to score 16 runs, and the first big inning came in the first. After Hunter Slater picked up an RBI single, Wallner lifted a fastball high to center field for a three-run home run to take an early 4-0 lead.
He’ll admit the wind may have helped him a little.
“Definitely a little bit,” he said with a laugh. “I got it a little bit off the handle, but yeah, I got it up there in the wind.”
Trailing 7-6 in the sixth inning, Wallner delivered again with a two-RBI single. Southern Miss would go on to score seven more runs in the eighth inning to put the game away.
While Wallner is contributing in a big way when he’s at the plate, his biggest impact could be coming from the on-deck circle. Because opposing pitchers don’t want to pitch to Wallner, three-hole hitter Slater is reaping the benefits by seeing some good pitches.
Through the first three games, Slater is 8-for-13 with four RBI and four runs.
“I’m just seeing it well,” Slater said. “I’ve got a lot of fastballs early in counts and took advantage. I’ve got Matt Wallner hitting behind me, so that’s probably the best protection in the country. I’ll get a lot to hit and take advantage of that.”
Not only did Slater pick up an RBI in the first inning, but he also doubled in the eighth to plate another run. The senior will head into Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. game with Troy at Trustmark Park in Pearl with a .615 batting average.
“If he can keep that up, he’ll easily win the Golden Spikes,” Wallner said. “I think that’ll be awesome.”
Southern Miss had nine different batters record a hit in Sunday’s 13-hit day, and Fred Franklin was the third play with at least two hits.
