Golden Eagles Advance in Sun Belt Conference Tournament with 10-0, Run-Rule Win over Old Dominion

MONTGOMERY, Ala.(VDN) – Southern Miss homered three times and Matt Adams tossed a seven-inning complete game to lead the No. 12 Golden Eagles to a Sun Belt Conference Tournament 10-0 run-rule victory over Old Dominion Thursday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium.

The Golden Eagles (43-13) extended their school-record winning streak to 17 games as they advanced to Saturday’s bracket final the winner of Friday’s Troy/ODU matchup. The Saturday game is slated for 9 a.m.

Southern Miss registered 14 hits for the second-straight time in the tournament behind three hits each from Jake Cook, Joey Urban and Ozzie Pratt. The trio also each homered to give the Golden Eagles 94 for the season, just one shy of the school record set in 1997.

Adams limited the Monarchs (22-30) to four hits and four walks over his complete-game stint – the second tossed by the team this season – with seven strikeouts to improve to 6-2 on the year.

The senior from Pearland, Texas, allowed one runner an inning over the first six, before giving up a single and a walk in the seventh. He then got out of his only jam of the day with an inning-ending strikeout.

Skip AdMatthew Russo, who drove in three runs, knocked in the game’s first run in the opening frame with an RBI groundout.

Cook extended the Golden Eagles lead to 4-0 with a three-run blast to right that went 405 feet, for his third homer of the year and second in as many days. Cook reached base five time during the game, adding two walks to his three hits and scored three times.

Urban added a solo shot, his sixth, off the scoreboard in left center, before Pratt added his eighth long ball of the year to right, a two-run blast to extend the lead to 7-0.

The Golden Eagles then finished off the game in the seventh. They loaded the bases with a Tucker Stockman leadoff hit by pitch. After a Pratt single and a Cook walk, Russo drove in two more runs two batters later and Paetow finished the game with a single through the right side.

ODU starter Blake Morgan, who had been a thorn in the Golden Eagles side over his career, was touched for seven runs (five earned) over five innings, giving up 10 hits and four walks with five strikeouts.