Posted on Thu, Apr. 24, 2008

HATTIESBURG -- Drew Carson drove in four runs, including a two-run homer, as Southern Miss completed a midweek sweep of Mississippi State with a 12-7 win Wednesday before a Pete Taylor Park crowd of 4,464.

The Golden Eagles, winners of eight of their last 10 games, improved to 28-13. The Bulldogs, who have lost 10 of 12, dropped to 16-25.

The game, which lasted 3½ hours, featured 18 walks, three passed balls, three wild pitches and one hit batter to go with a combined 23 hits in 71 at-bats and 10 pitchers throwing 368 pitches, Mississippi State, which leads the all-time series 72-33, saw its 2008 record in games lasting more than three hours fall to 7-18.

"A crazy Wednesday-night college baseball game," Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer said. "It's too many games and not enough pitching. It's a matter of who survives."

The Golden Eagles, who scored three runs in the first inning in an 11-7 win Tuesday, sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first inning in Game 2.

This time around the Golden Eagles scored five runs off one hit and five walks, four of which belonged to Bulldogs starter Drew Hollingshead.

Hollingshead, who came in with a 1-0 record and a 3.60 ERA, didn't record an out in 24 pitches thrown. It took Hollingshead 10 pitches before Forrest Moore hit the bullpen. Bo Davis greeted Hollingshead's first pitch with a foul ball that would have been a home run anywhere in the park. The next pitch, a fastball inside, went over the right centerfield fence.

Hollingshead then walked Brian Dozier, James Ewing and Trey Cuevas to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Dozier and Michael Ewing walked to reload the bases, which signaled the end of Hollingshead's outing.

Southern Miss stretched its lead to 5-0 on an error by Bulldogs shortstop Ryan Powers and a groundout by Adam Doleac.

In all, Hollingshead saw his ERA swell to 6.30.

In comparison, Southern Miss starter Brian Leach only lasted 31/3 innings and threw 82 pitches with seven walks.

The Bulldogs scored a run in the third on a single to center by Tyler Moore and added two in the fourth when Russ Sneed singled to center to score Grant Hogue with one out.

J.R. Ballinger, a freshman from East Central, replaced Leach and picked up a strikeout of Cody Freeman before Tyler Moore scored Ryan Collins with his second single of the game to trim the lead to 7-3.

Southern Miss responded with a two-run home run by Carson, his eighth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth off Forrest Moore.

Ewing added the Golden Eagles' third home run in the sixth to give Southern Miss a 12-4 lead before the Bulldogs plated three runs in the seventh.

The Golden Eagles, leading 12-7 with two outs in the eighth and runners in scoring position, saw Tyler Conn get Mark Goforth to ground out to end the rally.

"Every win is important," Palmer said. "I coach for the postseason and that's why I went to Conn."