Southern Miss baseball has to win games a new way. Here’s why it’s up for the challenge.
With arms like these, who needs the long ball?
After slugging its way to four consecutive NCAA Regionals, Southern Miss baseball, the preseason favorite to win Conference USA, is set for a reboot with a focus on small ball and pitching.
Gone are Matt Wallner, who went 39th overall to the Minnesota Twins in the 2019 MLB draft, and other big bats like Hunter Slater and Bryant Bowen, who transferred to South Carolina. Of the 67 home runs USM hit last season, only 19 were hit by players who are back this season. Senior second baseman Matt Guidry leads the returners with with eight of those.
“We’re going to have to manufacture runs,” USM head coach Scott Berry said Friday during the team’s media day at Pete Taylor Park. “We’ve got to have a good on-base percentage and cut down on strikeouts. We’ve got to be ultra competitive. You’ll see a little more hitting and running. We’ve got to embrace the single and double, and not so much the home runs.”
The good news for Berry is that he has a deep pitching staff that’s been bolstered by a gifted group of freshmen.
One of those first-year hurlers is freshman left-hander Chandler Best, a Mobile native who was widely considered the best high school lefty in Alabama as a high school senior. Best, who has a fastball that reaches 93, has a good shot to be a weekend starter with sophomore right-hander Gabe Shepard and redshirt senior Walker Powell already entrenched in the other weekend slots.
“He’s a young man that’s ahead of his age,” Berry said. “He doesn’t conduct himself like a freshman. He’s got good mound presence. The game changes a little when you’ve got 3,000 or 4,000 people in attendance. Adrenaline kicks in and the game speeds up. You’ve got to work hard on slowing the game down. Chandler is capable of doing that as a freshman.”
Berry, who prefers to have at least one lefty in the weekend rotation, also pointed to redshirt sophomore Ryan Och (1-3, 3.38) and senior Josh Lewis (1-1, 6.21) as left-handed options to join the weekend rotation.
Berry has yet to decide on a Friday night starter, but that spot should be in good hands with either Shepard or Powell. Shepard closed the 2019 season in dominant fashion, throwing the first 7 1/3 innings of a no-hitter against Rice in the Conference USA tournament and beating Arizona State in the Baton Rouge Regional. Shepard, whose fastball touches 97-98, finished 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 appearances, showing that he’s fully healthy after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018.
Powell, who has had Tommy John surgery twice, was a steady force on the mound throughout the 2018 season, finishing 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 16 starts to earn an All-Conference USA selection.
USM’s pitching
Junior catcher Brian Davis looks forward to working with Shepard and Powell.
“It’s everything you dream of as a catcher, handling guys that know where they’re putting the ball and have a lot of confidence doing it,” Davis said. “On paper, you see they’ve had a lot of success doing it.”
Senior right-hander Hunter Stanley should resume his closing role in the bullpen after going 5-2 with a 3.07 ERA and four saves in a team-leading 29 appearances last year.
Senior lefty Sean Tweedy, who had a 3.31 ERA in 27 games, is another veteran arm that will be part of a bullpen loaded with talented youngsters.
“Isaiah Rhodes is an undershooter. He’s a lot like (former USM star) Nick Sandlin,” Berry said. “He has tremendous stuff on the mound. Once again, I caution. They’re freshmen. It’s easy to look at them now and see them doing well. You’re going to have to put them out there. If for some reason there’s a little hiccup, you’ve got to understand they’re just freshmen. They’re guys that are very competitive.
“Ben Etheridge is another guy from West Lauderdale who has tremendous pitch ability. Matt Adams, another one from Houston, Texas, has looked very good as well. Blake Wehunt is really starting to come on. In the fall, he looked like a true freshman. But he’s really turned the corner. (Pitching coach Christian Ostrander) has done an outstanding job with him. I’m very pleased with how the freshmen have come on and developed.”
One veteran arm that would have played a major role this season, Cody Carroll, will not be available after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The USM lineup
Berry broke down his top options for the starting lineup when the Golden Eagles start the season with a three-game home series against Murray State at 4 p.m. on Feb. 14 in Hattiesburg.
First base — Redshirt sophomore Will McGillis, who played shortstop last season, is in good shape to make the move to first. He may shift back to shortstop on occasion when freshman Dustin Dickerson, who will contribute as a pitcher, moves to the mound. Austen Izzio, a sophomore transfer from Pearl River Community College, should also see time at first base and in left field. McGillis hit in the cleanup spot all fall and he may be in that role when the season begins.
Second base — Berry credited Guidry for showing improvement in the field and it seems likely he will bat third in the lineup as the Eagles’ most proven bat.
Shortstop — Dickerson, who is regarded as a defensive specialist out of West Jones High School, appears to have locked down this position. The Eagles have been steady at short in recent seasons, but Dickerson may provide a significant upgrade with a good glove and a strong arm.
Third base — Sophomore Danny Lynch hit .296 with a pair of homers and 40 RBIs this season. After putting together some of his best at-bats to finish the 2019 season, he has a chance to take a significant leap this year and find a home in the middle of the lineup.
Catcher — Davis appears to have a slight edge on Arkansas transfer Andrew Stanley, a redshirt freshman, entering the season. Berry compared Davis to last year’s starting catcher, Cole Donaldson, as a catcher who can shut down the opponent’s running game.
Right field — Left-handed hitting redshirt freshman Fisher Norris is drawing comparisons to former USM baseball star Trey Sutton, who always hit for a high average.
Center field — This is the most wide-open position left with sophomore Hunter LeBlanc, freshman Reed Trimble and senior Brant Blaylock all vying for time. There’s a chance left fielder Gabe Montenegro shifts over to center.
Left field — After an outstanding sophomore season, Montenegro should step into more of a starring role out of the leadoff spot. He led the team with a .342 batting average, six homers and 68 runs scored.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
