USM won the Sun Belt Conference Championship

Story from USM Athletics:
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Southern Miss rallied for five runs in the ninth to rebound for a 14-11 victory over Georgia Southern in the title game of the 2024 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference championship Sunday at Riverwalk Stadium.

The Golden Eagles, who have been in the Sun Belt for two seasons, won their second consecutive tournament crown. Southern Miss (41-18) won for the 14th time in the last 15 games as they captured the league title under first-year head coach Christian Ostrander. Ostrander is the second first-year Golden Eagle coach to win a league tournament crown as Scott Berry defeated Rice 7-4 in the 2010 Conference USA championship game that was played at the University of Houston.

Down 11-9 in the final inning, both Tucker Stockman and Gabe Broadus opened the ninth with singles. Dalton McIntyre then singled to right to drive in Stockman and went to second when the GSU right fielder bobbled the ball. With runners at second and third, Ozzie Pratt hit a ball that got past the second baseman into center, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs. Matthew Russo followed later in the frame with a double to right to plate the final two runs.

Colby Allen, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, entered the game in the eighth with the Golden Eagles trailing and retired the side. He then gave up just a single in the ninth and helped the Golden Eagles wrap up their seventh conference tournament title since 1996. Allen got the win and improved to 9-2 on the season.

In a game that saw four lead changes and one tie, the Golden Eagles jumped out in the first with a three-run Davis Gillespie home run, which was his seventh of the year.

GSU then hit three of their own off Golden Eagle starter Cole Boswell in the bottom of the frame: a solo shot by Sean Smith, a two-run homer by Jarrett Brown and a solo homer by Sean White.

The home-standing Eagles then hit another two-run homer in the third, this time by Sam Blancato, to increase the advantage to 6-3.

An RBI groundout by Slade Wilks in the fourth cut the deficit to two runs and the Golden Eagles tied the game in the fifth on back-to-back run-scoring singles from McIntyre and Pratt to tie the game at 6-6.

It was the Eagles, though, who took the lead again in the bottom of the frame, scoring on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt.

Southern Miss took their first lead since the first with a three-run top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Braden Luke doubled to open the frame. Pinch runner Carson Paetowscored on the next play via a single by Lawson Odom.
Slade Wilks later gave the Golden Eagles the lead with a two-run single later in the inning, increasing his hitting streak to 32 games.

GSU then took their final lead at 11-9 in their half of the seventh as they hit two homers off Billy Oldham, who worked an inning of relief. Brown hit his second bomb of the day, followed by a two-run shot from T.J. McKenzie.

GSU reliever Joey White suffered the loss as he gave up four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout to fall to 3-3.

The Golden Eagles, which captured the league’s automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament, will find out their destination at 11 a.m. with a selection show set for ESPN2.