USM just turned in a special weekend. Is a Hattiesburg Regional a real possibility?
The Southern Miss baseball team is in first place in the Conference USA West for the first time this season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Golden Eagles beat Middle Tennessee 9-5 on Sunday to finish off a four-game sweep of the Blue Raiders, allowing them to jump a half game ahead of Louisiana Tech in the standings.
La. Tech was on the receiving end of some tough luck when it had a Sunday doubleheader at Florida International canceled by heavy rain in Miami.
USM improved to 20-7 in conference play while the Bulldogs held steady at 19-7 after splitting the only two games of the series at FIU.
The NCAA is expected to announce 20 potential regional sites this week before narrowing that list to 16 on May 30 — the day before the entire 64-team field is set.
Southern Miss can’t be discounted in that discussion, but it’s unclear how the committee might approach a situation where four teams in the same conference have a strong claim to make for a host site — USM, La. Tech, Charlotte and Old Dominion.
USM has the edge in the West standings, but La. Tech won the season series 5-3 over the Golden Eagles.
Charlotte (34-14, 21-6) and ODU (33-3, 19-9) are both in the top 20 in RPI with the Monarchs checking at No. 12 and the 49ers listed at No. 15.
It’s conceivable that the NCAA could include both USM and La. Tech on the regional host list this week and let the remainder of the season shake out before eliminating one of the two teams on May 30. USM and Tech both have solid resumes with the Golden Eagles checking at No. 26 in RPI and Tech at No. 25.
USM pitcher Drew Boyd, who believes his squad should be in that group of 20, thinks the NCAA should take it a step further.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they included three or four C-USA teams and the winner of the tournament takes (the regional host site),” Boyd said. “We’ll not let it affect us. We’ll control what we can control.”
USM remains in the regional hunt
USM coach Scott Berry, who is on the south regional advisory board for the selection committee, said Sunday that he wasn’t sure where his team stands in the host picture.
“I think it’s one of those things where it’s out of our control,” Berry said. “We can only control what we do on the field, rack up the wins. We’re 33-15 and that will be in the committee’s hands. That goes into it.
“Being this is a COVID-type year, much of the criteria and who is selected may be much different. It would be nice if we’re in that talk. That’s something we don’t have any control over.”
Regardless of what happens this week, the Golden Eagles look like a term perfectly capable of winning a regional — whether it happens in Hattiesburg or somewhere else.
USM started the season as the C-USA favorite thanks to a loaded pitching staff, and those arms showed up in impressive fashion against the Blue Raiders.
USM’s four starting pitchers of Hunter Stanley, Walker Powell, Ben Etheridge and Boyd combined to give up one earned run on seven hits, 39 strikeouts and one walk over 29 innings against Middle Tennessee.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said USM second baseman Will McGillis, who hit a two-run home run well over the left field fence on Sunday. “That’s the best pitching series I’ve ever seen from a college baseball team and I’ve played a lot of college baseball and watched a lot of college baseball. It was fun to be a part of it.”
Drew Boyd keeps the up the momentum for USM
Boyd kept the momentum rolling Sunday with a six-inning outing, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out five and walking none.
“I really liked him today,” Berry said. “He really mirrored last weekend’s start at Rice where he covered six innings and used both sides of the plate. He added and subtracted with his fastball and changeup, kept hitters off balance.”
Boyd admitted he felt the heat to hold up his end of the bargain after watching his teammates dominate over the first two days.
“The pressure was on,” he said. “We were up 3-0 in the series after watching what those guys did the previous three games. That’s some of the best pitching that’s ever been seen at ‘The Pete.’ To follow that was just an honor. It was added pressure, but that creates opportunities to do better. It was fun to be a part of.”
Freshman center fielder Reed Trimble had another nice day at the plate for the Golden Eagles, going 2-for-3 with a three-run double and four RBI total.
Sunday’s victory gave USM a 21-1 record against Middle Tennessee since the Blue Raiders first joined the conference in 2014.
This story was originally published May 9, 2021 at 5:12 PM.
