ROUND ROCK, Texas — Drey Barrett doubled in Davis Gillespie in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Southern Miss to a 5-4 victory over Purdue on Friday at Dell Diamond. The Golden Eagles (4-1) secured their fourth straight win and recorded their second walk-off victory of the season, extending their winning streak since 2017 to 35 games.
With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Gillespie drew a walk on five pitches to start the frame. Ben Higdon sacrificed Gillespie to second base, setting the stage for Barrett’s game-winning hit. Barrett, on the first pitch from Jake Kramer, drove the ball to the left-center gap, scoring Gillespie and ending the game.
Purdue (2-3) scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Eli Anderson led off with an infield single, advanced on a wild pitch and a throwing error by Tucker Stockman, and scored on Westin Boyle’s RBI single. Southern Miss pitcher Colby Allen allowed just that unearned run over five innings, striking out four and issuing two walks.
The Golden Eagles took a 4-1 lead with a four-run fourth inning. Barrett led off with a walk, and Kyle Morrison followed with a single. Both runners moved up on a pickoff error, and Stockman brought in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Seth Smith doubled home a run, Joey Urban added a sacrifice fly, and Matthew Russo doubled in another run to put Southern Miss ahead.
Purdue responded in the eighth inning with three runs, including Trey Swiderski’s first home run of the season. Westin Boyle’s two-run single tied the game at 4-4. Southern Miss’s pitching shut down the Boilermakers, including bases-loaded jams in the sixth and ninth innings. Camden Clark earned the win, improving to 2-0 after 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Jake Kramer took the loss, allowing the game-winning run in the ninth.
Southern Miss continues the tournament Saturday at 5 p.m. against No. 17 Oregon State.
