Unbeaten Southern Miss pounds Northwestern State
HATTIESBURG-- Third baseman Taylor Braley and first baseman Tim Lynch homered for the third time in the same game as the Golden Eagles posted their second-highest run total of the year in a 15-5 romp over Northwestern State before a season-high 3,219.
Catcher Claudio Rubiera came off the bench to smack his second homer of the season, designated hitter Daniel Keating tied a career-high with three hits and shortstop Nick Dawson had both his hits in the same inning as the Golden Eagles pounded out a season-high 15 hits.
Southern Miss' 6-0 start is the program's best since the 2009 World Series club started 7-0.
The Golden Eagles batted around in back-to-back innings, sending 11 men to the plate in a season-high, seven-run, third inning and 10 more batters in a six-run, fourth inning.
The 15 runs were the most since the 18 in a win the previous Saturday against Eastern Illinois.
With the 15 hits Saturday against the Demons, the Golden Eagles have collected at least 10 hits in five of their first six games.
Right-handed starter Jake Winston (1-0) reaped the benefits of Southern Miss' offensive harvest, allowing two runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one.
Mississippi State 5, Nicholls State 0: Mississippi State escaped with a victory at Dudy Noble Field. After a five-inning scoreless pitching duel, Mississippi State (4-2) broke the stalemate with a two-run sixth. The Bulldogs opened the frame with back-to-back singles, before a double scored one. The subsequent batter laid down a successful sacrifice bunt, giving Mississippi State a 2-0 advantage.
Jacob Robson paced the Bulldogs with a 3-for-4 outing and an RBI, while Ryan Gridley had two RBIs and a run scored. Austin Sexton (1-1) was unstoppable on Saturday, recording 11 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout.
No. 2 Louisville 4, No. 21 Ole Miss 0: No. 21 Ole Miss (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season at Swayze Field. Saturday's crowd marked the fourth largest in Swayze Field history with a total of 10,561. Louisville starting pitcher Brendan McKay (2-0) limited the Ole Miss bats by tossing a three-hit shutout. Tate Blackman extended his hitting streak to six straight games. Junior Chad Smith (0-1) had a quality start on the mound and tossed a total of seven innings, going through the first five without a run scored.
Sacramento State 5, No. 5 LSU 4: Trailing 4-3 heading into the top of the ninth inning, Sacramento State used an RBI single and sacrifice fly to defeat fifth-ranked LSU (4-2) at Alex Box Stadium. Freshman Antoine Duplantis shined at the plate for the Tigers. The rightfielder finished the day 4-for-5 with one RBI and two doubles. Right-hander Tyler Beardsley (1-0) earned the relief win for Sacramento State. Freshman right-hander Caleb Gilbert (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two runs - only one earned - in the top of the ninth after the Hornets' leadoff hitter reached on an LSU error.
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Unbeaten Southern Miss pounds Northwestern State ."