April 2, 2011

Final Stats

Box Score (PDF)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - No. 20 Southern Miss exploded for a season-high 22 hits and registered a seven-run second inning to defeat No. 23 UCF 13-2 in Conference USA baseball action here Saturday afternoon at Jay Bergman Field.

The Golden Eagles (21-5, 4-1 C-USA) won for the fourth straight game as they now have won their first two league series of the campaign.

USM starter Geoffrey Thomas improved to 6-1 on the season as he limited the Knights to just six hits and a walk over eight innings with five strikeouts to garner the victory. The only blemishes were solo homers to D.J. Hicks in the fourth and Kevin Vasquez in the eighth.

Marc Bourgeois led the Golden Eagle attack by tying career-highs with five hits and three RBI, while Jared Bales added four and Kameron Brunty, Tyler Koelling and Adam Doleac added three hits.

After being retired in order in the first inning, the Golden Eagles registered nine hits in the second frame as Mark Ellis, Bales and Brunty all delivered RBI singles before Koelling laced a bases-clearing double in the right-centerfield gap to make the score 6-0. Bourgeois then brought home Koelling with a single to complete the rally.

UCF starter Danny Winkler lasted just 1 1/3 as he allowed seven runs on seven hits with a strikeout to suffer the loss and fall to 3-2.

Brunty made the score 8-0 with a RBI single in the third, before Bourgeois blasted his second homer of the series and fourth of the season with a solo shot in the fourth.

Bales increased the advantage to 11-1 in the sixth on a two-run single, before Bourgeois tripled home B.A. Vollmuth in the seventh. Bales ended the scoring for the Eagles with a solo homer to leftfield in the eighth for his second of the campaign.

The 13 runs was the most given up by the Knights (19-8, 2-3) this season. The Golden Eagles go after the series sweep when they complete the set Sunday with an 11 a.m., CT contest.