BRACKET | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Southern Miss earned its first tournament title in its first opportunity at 2023 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
The Golden Eagles used a trio of home runs to outrun the Ragin’ Cajuns and send legendary head coach Scott Berry out a conference champion one last time.
Both starting pitchers came out firing, with Southern Miss sophomore right-hander Niko Mazza and Louisiana junior right-hander Carson Fluno each facing the minimum in the first.
Mazza sat down the Ragin’ Cajuns 1-2-3 in the second as well, striking out four of the first six batters he faced. Golden Eagles senior first baseman Christopher Sargent delivered the first hit of the ballgame with a single up the middle and stole second to get into scoring position with no outs. Senior third baseman Danny Lynch doubled down the left field line on a pop up that fell in between the Ragin’ Cajuns third baseman and left fielder to make it two-on, one-out in the bottom of the second. Fluno got out of the jam, striking out freshman second baseman Nick Monistere and inducing a fly out to left to end the Southern Miss threat.
Mazza worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the third and junior shortstop Dustin Dickerson delivered in the bottom half of the frame—rocketing a 385-foot shot just inside the left field foul pole to put the Golden Eagles on top, 1-0.
With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, senior outfielder Heath Hood delivered a single up the middle to plate two for the Ragin' Cajuns. Southern Miss senior left fielder Reece Ewing showed off his arm—and limited the damage—by gunning down junior catcher Julian Brock at the plate on a single to left by junior second baseman John Taylor.
Southern Miss equalized in the bottom half of the frame, when senior third baseman Danny Lynch put a charge into a 2-0 pitch for a two-out, 358-foot dinger to right field.
Dickerson singled home junior outfielder Matthew Etzel in the bottom of the fifth to put the Golden Eagles back on top, 3-2. Ragin’ Cajuns junior reliever David Christie worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth, inducing a fly out to center for the third out of the inning to keep the margin at one.
Southern Miss junior left-handed pitcher Justin Storm quieted the Ragin’ Cajuns bats—striking out five of the six batters he faced across the sixth and seventh innings.
Junior designated hitter Slade Wilks went yard for the second-straight game in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-2 in favor of the Golden Eagles. He connected with a 2-0 pitch for a 357-foot shot that just got over the wall—and the outstretched glove of Hood—in right field.
A leadoff double by senior third baseman Max Marusak put the pressure on Storm, but he induced a pair of groundouts and collected his seventh strikeout of the afternoon to strand Marusak at third.
Southern Miss tacked on an insurance run via an RBI double to left center off the bat of senior catcher Blake Johnson in the bottom half of the eighth to make it 6-2.
Louisiana did not go quietly in the top of the ninth, drawing a pair of walks to bring senior designated hitter Will Veillon to the plate with two on and two out. Storm added an eighth and final strikeout over 5.2 innings of work to secure the victory and cue the dogpile on the mound.
Storm picked up the win—his fifth of the season—scattering three hits.
Most Outstanding Player
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Zachary, La.)
All-Tournament Team
CJ Boyd, App State (So., OF – Lewisville, N.C.)
Luke Drumheller, App State (Sr., 2B – Charlotte, N.C.)
Liam Doyle, Coastal Carolina (Fr., LHP – Derry, N.H.)
Teddy Sharkey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., RHP – Wall, N.J.)
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (So., SS – Kinder, La.)
Blake Marshall, Louisiana (Jr., LHP – Mandeville, La.)
Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana (Jr., OF – Port Neches, Texas)
CJ Willis, Louisiana (Sr., 1B – Ruston, La.)
Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Laurel, Miss.)
Danny Lynch, Southern Miss (Sr., 3B – Jupiter, Fla.)
Christopher Sargent, Southern Miss (Sr., 1B – Wilmer, Ala.)
Triston Dixon, Texas State (Sr., RHP – Conroe, Texas)
Tremayne Cobb Jr., Troy (Jr., SS – Upper Marlboro, Md.)