Southern Miss ends series against Northeastern in dramatic fashion

Southern Miss sophomore second baseman Storme Cooper batted only .235 last season, and he had only one hit in the Golden Eagles’ first two baseball games this season.

But when the No. 8 batter in the lineup came up in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday with a runner on third and two out in a tie game, his teammates had no doubt that Cooper would come through. And he did, with a hard single to left field on a full count to give USM a thrilling 8-7 victory over the Northeastern Huskies.

“We expected it,” said first baseman Dylan Burdeaux, who earlier in the game drove in three runs with a single and a home run. “Once it got to two outs with him up and a guy on second, it seems like he does it every time. That situation comes to him and he gets it done every single time.”

The 3-0 Eagles even have nicknames for Cooper, who amazed fans last year by driving in 25 runs, several on walks, ground outs and sacrifice flies.

“It’s either ‘Clutch Storme’ or ‘RBI Storme,’” Burdeaux said. “That’s his game.”

Cooper said he had to stay focused.

“I don’t know if it’s paying attention more to get the runner in, but — not that I’m in the game more, I just need to get the runner in,” Cooper said.

It took Cooper, Burdeaux, outstanding middle relief pitching by Colt Smith and a little confidence from all the Golden Eagles to bounce back from a 7-0 deficit in the third inning.

“We didn’t worry at all,” Cooper said. “We knew we were going to come back.”

Northeastern (0-3), which will play the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition at Ft. Myers, Fla., in their next game, went down in order in the first inning but rocked USM freshman starting pitcher Cody Carroll for four runs in the second inning and three in the third.

Southern Miss coach Scott Berry brought in junior college transfer Smith with two out in the third and Smith was sensational, giving up only three hits in four innings and at one point retiring 10 straight Huskies.

“He had good downward tilt to his fastball and he was throwing his secondary pitch (a cutter) for a strike,” Berry said. “And it was down, too. A lot of times he stays up in the (strike) zone but I didn’t see that today. He had a presence on the mound. He took the mound with the intent to keep us in check where we could have a chance to come back. That was his attitude. So I think it was his mindset and his ability to pitch down in the zone.”

Although down 7-0, Southern Miss struck back with five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Cole Donaldson, Burdeaux and Mason Irby each singled and Hunter Slater hit a two-run homer. Along with a Northeastern error, the Eagles were back in the game.

In the seventh, they tied it. Burdeaux hit a solo homer and Irby walked, moved to third on two walks and scored on a wild pitch. The game was tied, 7-7.

By then, USM pitcher Stevie Powers had got a big out and closer Nick Sandlin came to the mound and shut the Huskies down.

And in the bottom of the ninth, Taylor Braley walked, moved up on a Tracy Hadley sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly by Donaldson, and scored when Cooper singled.

“He’s pretty clutch, isn’t he?,” Berry said about Cooper. “He’s just a young man who is a great college baseball player. The reason he is is because he understands the game and he understands himself. He doesn’t try to do more than he’s capable of doing. He doesn’t try to hit home runs. He gets on base. He just tried to take a good swing, get the barrel on the ball. And that’s what he did.”

USM finished with eight hits, while Northeastern had 10. Burdeaux, Irby and Cooper each had two hits for the Golden Eagles.

“That was a great test for our team, to see what we were about,” Berry said. “People look at that seven runs. The key was it was early in the game. That gave us time. If that happens late in the game, you run a risk (of not coming back). Even down seven, I think (the players) felt they could win the game.”

Next game for USM is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Alabama. Braley, normally the third baseman, is expected to be the starting pitcher.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Southern Miss ends series against Northeastern in dramatic fashion."