Following a poor performance against Indiana in the first round of the Knoxville Regional, Southern Miss needed solid pitching to help advance in the losers’ bracket. They got just that from starter Niko Mazza with a complete game, two-hit shutout for a 6-0 USM victory over the Northern Kentucky Norse.
The Golden Eagles (42-19) will now play the loser of the Saturday night game between Indiana and Tennessee on Sunday. Mazza (9-3) tossed 120 pitches, allowed two hits and two walks while striking out eight. Only in the first and fifth innings did runners advance past first base.
How it happened
Despite the aggressive bats from Southern Miss, trouble was brewing until the top of the fourth inning. Finally with two outs, outfielder Davis Gillespie hit a two-run home run to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, USM extended its lead with Nick Monistere hitting an RBI-double that brought in Slade Wilks followed by Braden Luke’s two-run single. After this, Southern Miss had a 5-0 lead.
With one final nail in the coffin, Wilks brought home Dalton McIntyre on an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning for a 6-0 score, which was enough for Mazza to sit comfortably.
What the coach said
As the Golden Eagles were in the same exact position last year before advancing to a super regional, Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander did not express any concern.
“We have to keep going, and we certainly know what it takes to come back,” Ostrander said. “It’s certainly not easy and we just have to take it one game at a time.”
On Mazza’s performance: “I thought they hit the ball very hard against him, but because he was consistently throwing strikes, I liked his chances and we stuck with him.”
The numbers don’t lie
- Southern Miss senior Slade Wilks extended his hitting streak to 34 games with a single in the top of the sixth inning and leads the team in RBI with his 66th coming on his sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning.
- Niko Mazza pitched the first complete-game shutout of the year for the Golden Eagles. The Madison native’s last victory was against Arkansas State in regular season play May 11, striking out seven.
- Freshman Davis Gillespie led the Golden Eagles offensively with three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Next up
Southern Miss will play the loser of Indiana and Tennessee in an elimination game Sunday. If the Golden Eagles win, they will play the victor of the winners’ bracket and will be forced to beat them twice to win the regional.
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