HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Southern Miss baseball secured a 6-5 walk-off victory over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park. The Golden Eagles (2-1) won their series opener behind a ninth-inning rally, drawing a bases-loaded walk from Matthew Russo to clinch the win, according to officials.
Attendance for the three-day series set a facility record with 16,518 fans, and Sunday’s crowd of 5,459 watched Southern Miss celebrate its 34th walk-off win since 2017, the school said.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tucker Stockman led off with a single that hit off the pitcher, and Ty Long worked a six-pitch walk. After a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Morrison and an intentional walk to Joey Urban, Russo was walked by UCSB reliever Nic Peterson, driving in the game-winning run, officials said. Russo’s walk-off RBI was his fourth since 2017, the most of any Golden Eagle during that span.
Southern Miss fell behind 2-1 early but took its first lead in the sixth inning. Russo hit a solo home run to right-center to tie the game. The Eagles then scored three more runs in the inning with a double by Davis Gillespie and a sacrifice fly by Tucker Stockman, giving them a 4-2 lead.
The Gauchos tied the game in the eighth with Cade Goldstein’s two-run home run and took the lead briefly with Barrett’s solo shot. However, Barrett’s homer was answered by a home run from Goldstein, and the game remained tied until the ninth.
Camden Clark, who earned the win, pitched the ninth inning, allowing an unearned run but striking out two batters to preserve the victory. Clark’s record improved to 1-0. Southern Miss pitcher Josh Jannicelli suffered the loss, falling to 0-1.
Southern Miss is scheduled to play at Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., before continuing their road trip, officials said.
