LAKEFRONT, La. — The University of Southern Mississippi baseball team opened its Sun Belt Conference series with an 8-1 victory over Louisiana on Friday night at Russo Park. The game was delayed an hour and a half due to rain but was played in front of a crowd eager to see the Golden Eagles improve to 25-9 overall and 8-5 in conference play, according to school officials.
Grayden Harris pitched 6 2/3 innings, limiting the Cajuns to one run on four hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season. Colby Allen finished the game, allowing just one hit over 2 2/3 innings and striking out five.
Southern Miss jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Davis Gillespie led off with a single, and Matthew Russo followed with a home run over the right-center wall, his fifth of the year. The Golden Eagles added two more runs in the sixth, highlighted by Tucker Stockman’s two-run homer, his fourth of the season, which scored Ben Higdon who was hit by a pitch.
Louisiana’s only run came in the seventh on a RBI single by Drew Markle. Southern Miss responded in the eighth with two runs, including a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Seth Smith, to close out the scoring. The Cajuns fell to 19-15 overall and 4-9 in the conference, with starter Sawyer Pruitt taking the loss.
The series continues Saturday with a game scheduled for 2 p.m. local time. The teams will look to build on their respective performances in the upcoming contest, according to officials.
