USM swept Arkansas State over the weekend

Story from USM Athletics:
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Southern Miss registered a season-high five home runs to go along with a season-best run total in defeating Arkansas State 17-7 Sunday afternoon in an eight-inning, run-rule victory at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field to complete the three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep.

The Golden Eagles (28-15 overall, 14-7 SBC) won for the sixth-straight time as they find themselves a game back in the standings behind Coastal Carolina with three weekends left in the regular season.

Blake Johnson homered twice, the fourth time it has been accomplished this season for a Golden Eagle, while Reece Ewing, Carson Paetow and Matthew Etzel also went deep as Southern Miss also tied a season-high for hits.

After falling behind 2-0 in the opening frame, the Golden Eagles jumped out with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. After Christopher Sargent opened the scoring on a sacrifice fly, Ewing went deep to right with a three-run blast and his fifth of the season.

The Red Wolves (15-25, 5-14) tied the score in the second with two more tallies, before the Golden Eagles went ahead for good with four more runs in the bottom of the stanza. Paetow, who finished with a team-high five RBI, knocked in his first with a double. He then scored one batter later, when Johnson homered to to left-center before Dustin Dickerson ended the inning with an RBI infield single.

Paetow then helped build the lead to 12-4 in the fourth with a grand slam. It was Paetow’s fourth home run of the year and second grand slam by a Golden Eagle this season.

After ASU’s Brandon Hager homered for the 10th time in the seventh to cut the gap to seven, Johnson added his second homer of the day, giving him his fifth of the year.

The Red Wolves added two more runs in the eighth, one coming on a home run from pinch hitter Jared Toler, but Matthew Etzelblast a three-run homer, his third, in the bottom of the eighth deep over the right field wall and the game was called due to the 10-run rule.

Isaiah Rhodes, the third of five Golden Eagle pitchers, earned the victory by throwing two shutout innings with two walks and four strikeouts. He improved to 3-2 on the year. Matthew Adams, who had not pitched since an April 8 start at Old Dominion, returned to the mound for 1 2/3 innings to start the game.

ASU reliever Arlon Butts allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with a walk over 1 2/3 innings to suffer the loss and fall to 2-4.

The Golden Eagles return to action Tuesday when they play host to Tulane. Game time is set for 6 p.m.