Southern Miss routs James Madison 11-1 in eight innings

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Camden Clark pitched six scoreless innings, and Joey Urban and Ben Higdon homered to lead No. 12 Southern Miss to an 11-1 win over James Madison in eight innings Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Golden Eagles improved to 36-14 overall and 18-8 in Sun Belt Conference play, winning their fifth consecutive game and their fourth straight league series. The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.

Clark retired the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a two-out single in the fifth inning. He issued a walk but finished with nine strikeouts, one walk, and improved to 7-0. He limited the Dukes to three hits and kept them scoreless through six innings.

Offensively, Urban led with three hits, including a three-run homer in the eighth. Higdon added two hits and a three-run blast of his own in the eighth. Seth Smith extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and Kyle Morrison contributed two hits and an RBI. Tucker Stockman and Lawson Odom also drove in runs during the game.

Southern Miss scored early, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a groundout by Tucker Stockman. The Golden Eagles broke the game open with a five-run fourth, highlighted by Urban’s homer, which traveled 405 feet to center field. They added another run in the sixth before finishing with four runs in the eighth, capped by Higdon’s three-run shot. James Madison scored its only run in the eighth, drawing three walks and a hit batter off relief pitchers.

JMU starter Holden McKinney suffered the loss, giving up six runs (one earned) on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings. Southern Miss’s pitching staff prevented any further runs, securing the series victory. The teams are set to meet again Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.

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