In his last outing of the regular season, Tanner Hall may have made it his best one.
The Southern Miss right-hander shut out Louisiana 4-0 over eight innings of near-perfect ball, including 12 strikeouts. The victory extends the No. 24 Golden Eagles’ nation-leading win streak to 14 games.
“That was a special moment for Tanner Hall tonight, and I hope it wasn’t the last moment this year,” Southern Miss head coach Scott Berry said. “He’s a special pitcher and special competitor and has been penciled in every Friday night for the year.”
From the plate, Matthew Etzel did most of the heavy lifting with his fifth-inning grand slam, his sixth home run of the season. Reliever Justin Storm capped off the win with three batters retired on just 11 pitches.
Hall, a preseason All-American and finalist for this year’s Ferriss Trophy, moves to 11-3 on the year, which is tied for the second-most wins in a single season by a Golden Eagle pitcher. He also moves into sixth place in career strikeouts with 278, leaping over Walker Powel (275), Nick Sandlin (268), Frankie McLendon (267), and Ray Guy (266).
Southern Miss (36-15 overall, 18-7 Sun Belt) will be back in action against the Ragin’ Cajuns (35-19, 17-11) on Friday night in what’s being dubbed as “Scott Berry Night,” honoring the outgoing skipper. Festivities will begin at 5:40 p.m. with first pitch at 6 p.m.
