HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Joey Urban hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to give Southern Miss the lead and spark an 8-6 comeback victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at Pete Taylor Park.
Southern Miss, which trailed by four runs earlier in the game, evened the series at one game each. The decisive game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, though its start time was moved back two hours due to forecasted rain.
Urban led the Golden Eagles’ 12-hit attack, which included three home runs. He finished with two singles and his first long ball of the season. The rally started after Ty Long drew a walk with one out in the eighth. Following a fielder’s choice, Urban launched his homer off a wind-blown pitch, which cleared the left-field fence and hit a billboard beyond the fence.
The Gauchos jumped out early with four runs in the third inning, capitalizing on three hits, a walk, and a hit batter. Xavier Esquer delivered a two-run double in that inning, and Noah Karliner added a run-scoring single to make it 4-0.
Southern Miss responded with two runs in the bottom of the third. Long and Urban each singled, with Russo driving in Long on an RBI single. Ben Higdon later doubled to bring in Urban, narrowing the deficit. The Gauchos extended their lead with a two-run homer by Nick Husovsky in the fifth.
Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Golden Eagles scored four runs to tie the game. Russo’s RBI single and Higdon’s double capped the scoring. Josh Och pitched the seventh and eighth innings for Southern Miss, retiring all six batters he faced, earning the win to improve to 1-0. Camden Clark finished the game with a two-strikeout ninth to earn his first save.
UC Santa Barbara starter Nathan Aceves allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. Reliever A.J. Krodel took the loss, surrendering three runs on four hits in the final two frames.
Southern Miss and UC Santa Barbara will conclude their series Sunday at 3 p.m., with the game moved back two hours due to expected weather conditions, according to the university.
