SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Will McGillis hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the 10th inning in the opener, and Ben Ethridge pitched six strong innings in the nightcap, as Southern Miss swept UTSA in a 13-9 and 11-5 in a pair of scheduled seven-inning Conference USA games Friday at Roadrunner Field.
The Golden Eagles improved to 17-9 overall and 4-3 in Conference USA play, while the Roadrunners fell to 11-11 and 3-4.
Southern Miss hit five home runs in the opener as they lost two leads in the seventh and eighth innings, but still held on for the extra-inning victory.
Reed Trimble hit his team-leading sixth homer in the first, Christopher Sargent added his fourth of the year with a two-run shot in the fourth, while Danny Lynch laced his fourth of 2021 – a two-run shot in the sixth – and Billy Garrity crushed his first career shot in the eighth to give the Golden Eagles an 9-8 advantage.
Southern Miss, though, could not hold an 8-4 advantage in the seventh and then could not hold its 9-8 lead in the eighth before McGillis hit a deep homer to left in the 10th to provide the margin of victory.
Gabe Montenegro, who hit safely in both games of the twinbill to increase his current team-leading hitting streak to nine games, knocked in the final run with a single. Montenegro had four hits in the opening game and drove in three runs as did Lynch and McGillis.
Reliever Ryan Och retired eight of the nine batters he faced down the stretch to earn the victory and improve to 3-0. UTSA reliever Hunter Mason allowed four runs on six hits over two innings with three strikeouts to suffer the loss and fall to 3-4.
In the nightcap, Ethridge gave up two runs on two hits in the opening frame, including a solo homer to Chase Keng, but did not allow a hit and only three walks over the next five innings with nine strikeouts to earn the victory and improve to 2-1 on the year.
The Golden Eagles overcame the early two-run deficit to score five runs in the second. Dustin Dickerson had the big blow with a bases-clearing triple, while Montenegro and Charlie Fischer each added an RBI singles. Fischer finished the night with three RBI.
Danny Lynch lifted his second home run of the night and fifth of the year, a two-run shot, in the third and Blake Johnson added the first home run of his Golden Eagle career to cap a three-run frame.
Fischer drove in his other two runs with a groundout in the fourth and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Trimble completed the scoring with a run-scoring single to plate pinch hitter Slade Wilks, who tripled.
UTSA starter Simon Miller suffered the loss by allowing nine runs (four earned) on six hits and five walks with five strikeouts over four innings to fall to 2-1.
The Golden Eagles go after a four-game series sweep when the two teams conclude the series Saturday at 10 a.m.
– Southern Miss Sports Information
Image courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics
