App State baseball traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for a weekend series against the No. 11-ranked Southern Mississippi University Golden Eagles.
Going into the series as the underdogs, the Mountaineers were looking to get on top of the Golden Eagles’ pitching, and they did, scoring 2 runs in the top of the third inning to take the lead in the opening game.
Southern Miss tied it up at 2, but the Black and Gold got right back at it offensively in the sixth inning, taking the lead on a single from sophomore infielder Ethan Puig.
App State held the lead going into the eighth inning, but Southern Miss had an answer, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-5 lead.
The Mountaineers were shut down in the ninth, recording 3 strikeouts and dropping the first game of the series.
Southern Miss scored a run in the first inning of game two to get the scoring started but was shut down over 4.2 innings by junior right-handed pitcher Gage Peterson, who struck out 7 of the Eagles.
Both starting pitchers were effective, and the Golden Eagles held onto a 1-0 lead through five innings, but the Mountaineers broke through in the sixth with RBI doubles from redshirt junior first baseman Jalen Seward and senior infielder Jake Mummau.
Junior designated hitter Kameron Miller returned to the lineup for the first time in over a month in the first game, and in the second game, he delivered a 2-run single to give the Black and Gold a 6-1 lead.
Southern Miss scored 1 run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Mountaineers held on to win 6-2.
The Golden Eagles got on the board early and often in the final game of the series, plating 6 runs in the second. App State cut the advantage in half at the top of the third, highlighted by an RBI double from Puig.
Southern Miss broke away shortly after, scoring 7 of the final 8 runs of the game and winning it 13-4.
App State heads back to Beaver Field on Tuesday for the final game of the month against the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs. First pitch will be at 6 p.m., and it will be streamed live on ESPN+.
