Just after Tanner Hall struck out his 12th batter of the night in Southern Miss' 4-0 series-opening win against Louisiana, the Friday night starter showcased his emotion and energy.
The crowd of 5,315 first responded by giving him a standing ovation, and then the chants of 'TANNER HALL' echoed through Pete Taylor Park, prompting Hall to go back out and do a curtain call.
"That was something special," Hall said. "I can't really put into words just having all these people cheering and stuff. I didn't really expect it. I was just in the dugout, and everybody was telling me good job and stuff, and then they told me to go out there. It was crazy to see all the energy and passion for the game that everyone else had. It was an honor to go out there and pull my hat off my head.
"I've never had that before. It will be a memory for sure; hopefully we can pull something out and come back and play here one more time."
The excitement from the crowd was justified as Hall handed Louisiana's (35-18, 17-11 Sun Belt) first shutout of the season as he gave up three hits in eight innings of work, walked one batter and struck out 12 that moved him to sixth all-time in career strikeouts for USM's career.
"That was a special moment for him," Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. "He is a special competitor and special pitcher. He ranks up there as one of the best to come here and pitch for us."
Aiding Hall's night was a grand slam by Matthew Etzel in the fifth inning that proved to be all the offense Southern Miss (36-15, 21-7) needed.
"The at-bat before that one, I got five straight heaters, and I was a little bit late on all of them," Eztel said. "The next at-bat, I was thinking I would get the same stuff because it worked in the last at-bat. The first heater I saw, I took it to the moon…Off the bat, it felt like a marshmallow.
"It's awesome (to watch Tanner Hall). Every day I go out there on Friday night, today, Thursday night, it makes me comfortable at the plate because I know we have a pitcher that's going to deal out there."
But what led to the excitement from the crowd was after Hall had retired 18 of the next 19 Louisiana batters he faced between the top of the second and end of the seventh inning. Hall's biggest jam came after giving back-to-back one-out singles in the eighth inning. It promoted pitching coach Christian Ostrander to visit Hall on the mound.
"He asked me if I wanted to get that guy, and I said, 'Yes, I do. Let me stay out here. I want to finish this," said Hall recollecting the conversation. "He said, 'Alright, let's go right at him. This is your last batter.' I had to lock in after that.
"I kept it as the same mentality that I started with like it was a 0-0 ball game."
Despite eventually throwing 114 pitches, Hall responded with a groundout and strikeout to finish his outing and set up the game's ending.
"I hope it's not the last time (the crowd) gets to see him pitch," Berry said. "That's what I told our team. I hope this is not the last time Tanner pitches on this field, nor is it the last time for the crowd to chant that again."
First pitch for Friday's game is set for 6 p.m.
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