Black & Gold game set for Saturday

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss baseball coach Corky Palmer has announced that the annual Black and Gold game will be held this Saturday (Oct. 27), at 1:30 p.m., at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

The game will conclude the Golden Eagles five weeks of fall practice and give fans a sneak preview of the 2008 squad. Nineteen letterwinners return from last year's squad that finished 39-21 - 14-10 in Conference USA, which was good for 3rd place - and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.

"This game is for our kids, and gives them a chance to play in front of the community as well as the parents and our fans," said Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer. "From what I have seen this fall, we have a good pitching staff and some offensive threats. Our seven through nine (spots in the order) could be a problem. At this point, I have no idea who is going to play third (base) or leftfield going into the year as those positions are up for grabs, but the rest of the positions are pretty solid."

The Golden Eagles also went through the fall without the services of two of its players, including senior Trey Sutton (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and junior James Ewing (Beaumont, Texas). Sutton has not participated in any of the fall drills because of a left knee injury that he sustained in last year's Conference USA tournament, while Ewing has been limited to defensive duties only due to a back injury.

Palmer, though, has lauded the pitching he has seen this fall including senior Barry Bowden (Vidalia, La.), senior David Clark (Columbia, Miss.) and junior transfer from LSU-Eunice, Josh Billeaud (Scott, La.), while the 10th-year coach has also seen some bright spots in his freshman class.

"Anthony Doss (Brandon, Miss.) and Austin Davis (Meridian, Miss.) have played real well and am real happy with the way they have played as true freshmen."

Q&A with USM's Corky Palmer

HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss baseball coach Corky Palmer heads into his 10th season at the helm with expectations as high as ever for the Golden Eagles. Palmer and his staff have been putting the team, including 11 signees, through its paces this fall at revamped Taylor Park.

Q: Five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but folks are waiting to see the program take the next step. Could this be the season?

A: "I would say 50 percent are happy with what we've done in five years and are proud. The other 50 are ready to go that next step, but no moreso than the staff and the players.

"The kids talk about it, and we need to push forward. There's a lot of expectations."

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Southern Miss pitching ahead of hitting

Two weeks into the Southern Miss fall baseball practice, the pitching is ahead of the hitting.

"No question about it," Golden Eagle coach Corky Palmer said.

That's because of a couple of factors. One, most of last season's top pitchers are returning, plus a couple of newcomers have looked good in the past two weeks.

And two, a couple of last season's top hitters who are back are hurt.

"I'm real impressed with Josh Billeaud," Palmer said about the 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander from LSU-Eunice Community College. "We knew he threw hard, but didn't know he had such a good curve and changeup. He will help us."

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Southern Miss opens fall practice

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss baseball team takes its first step towards earning its sixth-straight postseason appearance, Monday, when the team begins its fall practice schedule.

The Golden Eagles, which finished 39-21 overall last season and were 14-10 in Conference USA play, earning them a third-place finish in league play and a s Southern Miss also played in the Oxford Regional, going 1-2 in that event as the program's win mark reached at least 39 for each of the past five seasons.

Southern Miss baseball coach Corky Palmer welcomes 13 new players, along with 10 position players and eight pitchers who saw action from last year's squad as practice opens at 2:30 p.m. at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

"We are very interested to see how our new players will do as we feel like we had a good recruiting class coming in this season," said Palmer, who is starting his 11th season at the helm of the program. "There should be a lot of excitement as we get started because we also have a lot of players coming back from a year ago. Hopefully we will have a good fall practice to get us ready for the spring."

The practice schedule for the Golden Eagles typically runs Monday through Friday with 2:30 p.m., start times. Southern Miss will occasionally scrimmage on Sundays. Those start times are 1:30 p.m.

Southern Miss expanding stadium

The Southern Miss Department of Athletics has announced plans to give fans the opportunity to purchase chairback seating in an expansion plan that calls for the construction of a 580-seat grandstand down the third-base line at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

Sales of the seats will begin on Sept. 17.

"We felt that with our demand increasing each season for seats that this project allows more fans an opportunity to see Golden Eagle baseball," Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer said.

With a purchase, that person will have their name placed on the seat for a minimum of 10 years or as long as that person is a season ticket holder, whichever is longer. The cost of the seat is $400, which is a one-time fee.

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Southern Miss signs JUCO standout

Southern Miss Head Baseball Coach Corky Palmer has announced the signing of Josh Fields, a 5-11, 185-pound third baseman/right-hand pitcher from Arkansas - Ft. Smith Junior College in Ft. Smith, Ark., , to a letter of intent and grant in aid for the 2007-08 academic year.

"I'm glad that Josh has signed with Southern Miss and will be joining our program," Palmer said. "He is an excellent hitter, who can hit for average and for power from the right side. He covers a lot of territory at third base, has a good arm and doesn't make mistakes. He comes from a good program, and has a chance to see playing time right away."

This marks the seventh signee of the spring signing period and 11th signee overall for the program.

Complete story

Making out the schedules

Scheduling big-name opponents has become a yearly struggle for the Southern Miss football program.

Then men's basketball team is beginning to have the same issues.

While both programs jump through hoops trying to secure home-and-home opportunities, the baseball program has done exactly that.

The Golden Eagles will travel to play a Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series beginning March 7, 2008, and the Titans will come to Pete Taylor Park in 2009.

Cal State Fullerton has 15 College World Series appearances and four national championships, including the 2004 title.

"In the last five years, we've enhanced our schedule and hopefully we can keep doing that," USM coach Corky Palmer said. "I'm just not big on the guarantee of going out somewhere, someone paying us a bunch of money and no return.

"We're fortunate in baseball, that you can do it. I know in other sports, people don't do it."

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Ole Miss, Southern Miss give coaches extensions

Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco and Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer both received contract extensions through 2011, according to announcements Thursday from the schools.

Four-year deals are the maximum allowed by state law. Both extensions are pending approval of the state College Board, usually a formality.

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Stretch run has USM feeling fine about future

After a dropping a second consecutive baseball game at Mississippi State in the last week of April, Southern Miss stood on shaky ground, just eight games over .500.

Four weeks later, the Golden Eagles had earned a fifth consecutive postseason invitation.

"A month ago, I don't think anybody gave us a chance to be in a regional, much less a two seed," USM coach Corky Palmer said.

While USM's season ended with two losses in three games at both the Conference USA Tournament and the Oxford Regional, that stretch run of the regular-season left Palmer feeling good about the future of the Golden Eagles' program.

"We've got a lot of good players coming back," Palmer said. "We lost some good seniors, but we're a young team, position-wise especially.

"It's been a learning experience, and we'll be better from it."

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Oxford Regional Day 3 recap

SAM HOUSTON STATE 12, SOUTHERN MISS 11 (11)
OXFORD — Just when it seemed Southern Miss' Sunday afternoon was about to be extended into an evening of even more baseball, the Golden Eagles saw their season come to a stunning, bitter end.

USM lost the lead four times in the final four innings as Sam Houston State rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 11th to pull off a 12-11 victory that eliminated the Golden Eagles from the Oxford Regional.

"I've been through a lot of baseball, and that's the craziest game that I've ever been a part of," USM shortstop Brian Dozier said. "There was just so much, with their two-out hitting and our two-out hitting. They played great, but we played great also. It's just the crazy game of baseball."

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OLE MISS 21, SAM HOUSTON STATE 13
OXFORD — After scoring five runs in the top of the fourth inning to regain the lead, left fielder Bobby Verbick thought Sam Houston State was on its way to another big upset Sunday.

There was one problem: the Bearkats had to go back into the field in the bottom of the inning.

Ole Miss wasn't sharp on the mound and unusually shaky in the field, but won the Oxford Regional by bullying Sam Houston State's depleted pitching staff during a 21-13 victory in front of an announced crowd of 6,329 in Oxford-University Stadium.

The offensive barrage pushed the Rebels (40-23) into their third straight Super Regional. They will play Arizona State or Nebraska in a best-of-three series this week. The location and dates will be announced tonight.

Complete story

Oxford Regional Day Two recap

SAM HOUSTON STATE 5, TROY 4
Troy took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first and held a lead into the third before Sam Houston State tied the game at three in the third inning. A pair of Trojan errors allowed Sam Houston to gain a two-run advantage in the fifth.

The Bearkats' Luke Prihoda and Troy's Josh Dew, two of the nation's top closers and the pitcher of the year in the Southland and Sun Belt conferences respectively, came in late in the game. Troy pushed one run across but could get no more as Sam Houston claimed a 5-4 victory and the Trojans saw their season come to an end.

Sam Houston State will advance to the first game of Sunday's action.

OLE MISS 4, SOUTHERN MISS 0
Ole Miss hurler Lance Lynn got off to a wild start - he threw seven straight balls to open the game and walked the bases full in the second inning - but escaped any harm and settled down to dominate the winners bracket game.

Lynn allowed a pair of hits in the sixth inning, but allowed no more, and brothers Justin and Jordan Henry stood out at the plate to hand Southern Miss its first shutout of the season. Barry Bowden had a solid effort on the mound for the Golden Eagles, but it was not enough, thanks to Lynn's mastery in his complete-game victory. The game could have been more decisive for the Rebels, except for some standout defensive plays for Southern Miss.

The Golden Eagles will face Sam Houston State in Sunday's first game, with the winner facing Ole Miss in the nightcap.

Oxford Regional Day 1 recap

SOUTHERN MISS 14, TROY 1
Southern Miss won an opening game in an NCAA baseball regional for the first time in three years, routing Troy 14-1 today in the Oxford Regional.

The Golden Eagles (39-21) will next play at 5 p.m. Saturday against Ole Miss at Oxford-University Stadium.

USM rolled to a 9-0 lead after two innings, as Troy (34-26) committed four errors and the Golden Eagles banged out six hits in that stretch.

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OLE MISS 9, SAM HOUSTON STATE 5
Cody Overbeck drove in four runs and Ole Miss used four big innings to beat Sam Houston State 14-5 tonight in a first-round game of the Oxford Regional.

The victory set up in-state showdown on Saturday night against Southern Miss. The top-seeded Rebels will play the second-seeded Golden Eagles at 5 p.m.

Zach Miller, Zack Cozart and Logan Power each added a pair of RBIs for the Rebels, who broke the game open with three runs in the sixth and then put the Bearkats away with a five-run eighth.

Ole Miss had 12 hits overall, including homers by Power and Overbeck.

The Rebels, who scored four runs in the first, were locked in a 4-4 tie until Miller tripled to lead off the fifth inning. He scored one batter later when Justin Henry grounded out to second base.

Complete story

Oxford Regional Preview

The Oxford Regional will be held at the University of Mississippi's Swayze Field, It is the fourth straight year Ole Miss has hosted an NCAA Regional. The field includes the host Rebels, out of the Southeastern Conference; the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, out of Conference USA; the Troy Trojans, out of the Sun Belt Conference; and the Sam Houston State Bearkats, out of the Southland Conference.

OLE MISS
No. 1 seed Ole Miss enters the 2007 NCAA Tournament after advancing to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, losing two games to Vanderbilt. The Rebels
finished third in the SEC Western Division during the regular season, finishing behind Arkansas and Mississippi State.

The Rebels are hitting .304 with 98 doubles, 17 triples and 48 home runs. The pitching staff has a 3.51 ERA in 543 innings pitched with 522 strikeouts, 216 walks and opponents are hitting .237 against them.

Ole Miss is led by All-SEC pitchers Will Kline and Lance Lynn, two of the best in conference as well as in the nation. Kline is 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched, while Lynn is 7-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched.

The Rebels are led offensively by junior infielder Justin Henry, who is hitting .378 with 14 doubles, eight triples, 21 stolen bases and 35 RBIs. Redshirt freshman infielder Zach Miller is hitting .370 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs. Freshman outfielder Jordan Henry is hitting .365. with four doubles, two triples, one home run, 12 stolen bases and 14 RBIs. Redshirt freshman Cody Overbeck hit 15 doubles, a team-leading 13 home runs and 52 RBIs.

SOUTHERN MISS
No. 2 seed Southern Miss enters the tournament after defeating UAB, 9-5, in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, before dropping a 2-1 game in 10 innings to East Carolina and then a 6-2 loss to Tulane to end its tournament run. The Golden Eagles finished 14-10 in Conference USA, won 10-straight to end the regular season and has won 11-of-13, 13-of-15 and 21 of their last 30 games.

Junior first baseman Trey Sutton leads the Golden Eagles, hitting .368 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 35 walks, 35 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He hurt his left knee against UAB in the first game of the tournament and is doubtful for the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting .335 with 14 doubles, three home runs, 19 walks and 25 RBIs. Senior outfielder Jody Blount is hitting .326 with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, 26 walks and 33 RBIs. Redshirt junior designated hitter Trey Cuevas leads the team in home runs with 10, and sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing leads the team in walks (42) and RBIs (46).

Senior right-hander Ryan Belanger has a 7-4 record with a 2.63 ERA in 99.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 82, walked 18 and opponents are hitting .232 against him. Junior right-hander Barry Bowden is 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 92.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 83, walked 26 and opponents are hitting .242 against him. Junior David Clark is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 69, walked 33 and opponents are hitting .239 against him.

TROY
No. 3 seed Troy enters the NCAA Tournament after posting a 1-2 record in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Trojans defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 7-0, in game one, before dropping two straight to Louisiana-Lafayette, 9-7, and South Alabama, 4-1. Troy has won five of its last 10 games, seven of 15 and 11 of its last 20 games. The Trojans posted a 16-14 record in Sun Belt Conference games and finished in a tie for second place with Middle Tennessee State and New Orleans.

Sophomore infielder Trevor Trye is hitting .381 with six doubles, four home runs, 17 walks and 22 RBIs to lead the Trojans. Senior outfielder Kevin Weidlich is hitting .362 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 19 walks and 55 RBIs. Senior infielder Clint Robinson is hitting .359 with 18 doubles, 17 home runs, 30 walks and 69 RBIs. Senior infielder Edgar Ramirez is hitting .338 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.

Senior right-hander Clegg Snipes is 6-5 with a 5.18 ERA in 97.1 innings pitched, striking out 84, walking 22 and opponents are hitting .277 against him. Senior left-hander Joe Hallahan is 5-6 with a 5.66 ERA in 89.0 innings pitched, striking out 60, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .297 against him. Senior relief pitcher Josh Dew is 7-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 63.1 innings, striking out 96, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .214 against him.

SAM HOUSTON STATE
No. 4 seed Sam Houston State won the Southland Conference Tournament last weekend and have won four in a row, five of six and 11 of 14 games. The Bearkats registered an 18-12 mark in the Southland Conference, finishing in third place in the west division.

Junior outfielder Keith Stein leads the team with a .386 batting average, with six doubles, four triples and 36 RBIs. Junior outfielder Bobby Verbick is hitting .373 with a team-leading 22 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 75 RBIs. Senior infielder Karl Krailo is hitting .357 with 15 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 46 RBIs.

Sophomore right-hander Jacob Howard has posted an 11-5 record this season in 105 innings pitched. He has struck out 74 batters, walked 28 and opponents are hitting .279 against him. Senior left-hander Jesse Marshall is 8-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 98 innings pitched. He has struck out 51, walked 34 and opponents are hitting .273 against him.

Oxford Regional capsules

Watch/Listen to Oxford Regional games

C-USA lands four in NCAA Tournament

Conference USA has received four bids to the 2007 NCAA Baseball Championship, as announced by the Division I baseball committee on Monday. Rice will host the Houston Regional as the No. 2 national seed, while East Carolina will be the No. 2 seed in Chapel Hill, N.C., Southern Miss will be the No. 2 seed in Oxford, Miss. and Memphis will travel up the road to Nashville, Tenn. where it will compete as the No. 3 seed. Only the ACC (7), Big 12 (6) and SEC (5) had more selections than C-USA.

Rice (49-12) owns the fourth-best record in college baseball and is the No.2 ranked team in the latest polls. The Owls won the regular season Conference USA title with a 22-2 league record for the second straight year and followed that up by winning the C-USA Tournament in Greenville, N.C. with a 16-8 victory over host East Carolina on Sunday. Rice will be hosting a regional for the sixth time in seven years as it makes its 13th consecutive NCAA appearance. For the second straight year, the Owls will open regional play against SWAC champion Prairie View A&M (34-23) in its first game on Friday. Rice won the only regular season meeting between the teams, 5-4 on April 3. The Owls will then play one of two former Southwest Conference rivals in No. 2 seed TCU (46-12), Mountain West Conference Champions, or No. 3 seed Baylor (34-25), an at-large choice from the Big 12, in the next round.

East Carolina (39-21) returns to the NCAA Championship for the eighth time in nine seasons as the C-USA tournament runner-up heads down the road to Chapel Hill, N.C. The Pirates will play Western Carolina (40-18), an at-large choice from the Southern Conference, in the Chapel Hill regional. ECU defeated WCU, 3-2 on March 4 in Greenville. Host North Carolina (48-12), the number three national seed, will play Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champion Jacksonville (34-26), in the other Friday game in that regional.

Southern Miss (38-21) will be playing in the NCAA Championship for the fifth consecutive season. The second-seeded Golden Eagles are matched up with third-seeded Troy (34-25) for the second year in a row. Southern Miss dropped their only regular season meeting with the Trojans, falling 3-2 on February 25 in the Wiregrass Classic in Dothan, Ala. The two teams played a three-game series in Hattiesburg last year, which Southern Miss swept, but Troy defeated the Golden Eagles twice in the Tuscaloosa Regional to eliminate USM. Mississippi (37-23) will play Sam Houston State (38-22), Southland Conference tournament champions, in the other first-day game.

Memphis (36-24) will be making its first NCAA appearance since 1994 and the fifth in school history. Two years after finishing 13-42, the senior-led Tigers will be the No. 3 seed at the Nashville Regional and will face Big Ten Conference regular season champion Michigan (39-16), the No. 2 seed, in its first game. Number one overall national seed Vanderbilt (51-11), regular season and tournament champions of the Southeastern Conference, will square off against Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Austin Peay (39-20) in its first day game.

Rice Tournament Central
East Carolina Tournament Central
Southern Miss Tournament Central
Memphis Tournament Central

C-USA Game 10: Tulane 6, Southern Miss 2

Tulane broke open a one-run game in the sixth inning by adding three to its tally and tacked on another in the seventh to pull away from Southern Miss and grab a 6-2 victory in game ten of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship at Clark-LeClair Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University. The victory was Tulane head coach Rick Jones' 600th at the helm of the Green Wave and propelled his team into a Saturday semifinal game against No. 2 East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Tulane (34-25) grabbed the early lead on an Anthony Scelfo solo home run to right field in the bottom of the first. The Wave then went up 2-0 when Aja Barto hit his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth.

Southern Miss (38-21) cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning after Michael Ewing crushed his seventh home run over the right field fence. The ball not only cleared the outfield wall, but the fence separating the baseball stadium from the football practice fields.

In the sixth, Tulane used two hits to score three runs and pull away from the Golden Eagles.

Game story

C-USA Game 8: ECU 2, Southern Miss 1 (10)

Harrison Eldridge stole home (video link) in the bottom of the 10th inning to give East Carolina another dramatic victory in game eight of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship at Clark-LeClair Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University. After the Pirates loaded the bases in the 10th, Eldridge broke for home on 1-0 pitch from Tyler Conn. Stephen Batts squared to bunt, but the pitch got away from the catcher and Eldridge crossed home plate for the deciding score.

Starting pitchers Barry Bowden and Dustin Sasser were both impressive though the first five scoreless innings. Sasser gave up the game's first run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a lead-off solo home run by Jody Blount.

Sasser was then pulled from the game and finished with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.

Bailey Daniels entered the game for Sasser and kept the game close with 1.2 scoreless innings on one hit to keep the Pirates within striking distance.

Complete story here.

C-USA Game 3: Southern Miss 9, UAB 5

Sometimes, it only takes one good inning. Southern Miss had that in the seventh, plating six runs to take a 9-5 victory over UAB in the third game of the Conference USA Baseball Tournament.

UAB appeared ready to cruise to a first-day victory. The Blazers chased Ryan Belanger - who had been named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week earlier in the day - with a four-run fifth inning to take a 5-1 lead over the third-seeded Golden Eagles. A passed ball and a double by Ryan Keedy highlighted the inning for UAB.

With two on in the seventh, a throwing error by UAB advanced the runners and scored Trey Sutton. A bases-loaded walk was followed by a double by James Ewing that scored three for Southern Miss, who later scored on another throwing error. The win extended Southern Miss' win streak to 11 games. Reliever Tyler Conn earned his first win of the season.

The Golden Eagles advance to a 7:30 p.m. EDT game Thursday against the winner of the East Carolina-Tulane game. UAB will face the loser of that contest in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Game story

Conference USA recap for May 15

No. 2 RICE 13, BAYLOR 0
HOUSTON -- Having sewn up the top seed for the upcoming Conference USA tournament, Rice coach Wayne Graham has begun mapping out his postseason roster.

The task of shrinking the bench and bullpen would be more challenging if the Owls weren't tearing the cover off the ball, a trend that continued Tuesday at Reckling Park. No. 2 Rice blasted Baylor 13-0 to stretch its winning streak to 15 games.

Rice improved to 42-11 while Baylor fell to 28-24.

The Owls have just three more games to close out the regular season and all are at home starting Thursday through Saturday. Rice hosts Memphis in a three-game C-USA series at Reckling Park. Thursday's first pitch is slated for 7 pm. Baylor concludes its regular season schedule with a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Kansas State at Baylor Ballpark.

Houston Chronicle story
Baylor recap
Rice recap

SOUTHERN MISS 9, NEW ORLEANS 4
NEW ORLEANS - UNO's struggles continued Tuesday as Southern Mississippi capitalized on shaky pitching by the Privateers to win 9-4 at Maestri Field. With Tuesday night's win, the Golden Eagles have won seven in a row, nine of 10 and finished with double-figure hits in six of the last seven games.

Southern Miss (34-19) scored five runs in the fourth inning, including a leadoff home run by catcher Trey Cuevas, to go ahead 6-2. The Privateers (32-21) couldn't get it going offensively, stranding 10 batters.

Southern Miss wraps up its regular season schedule with a three-game C-USA series at Houston. The first game of the series, on Thursday, will be broadcast nationally on CSTV at 7 p.m. CDT. The Privateers will conclude their regular season schedule this weekend, when they host Louisiana in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series starting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Thursday contest will be televised by Cox Sports Television.

Times-Picayune story
Hattiesburg American story
Southern Miss recap
UNO recap

HOUSTON 6, SAM HOUSTON STATE 4
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Senior first baseman Josh Stirneman went 2-for-5 with a double and solo home run to help lead the University of Houston baseball team to a 6-4 win over area-rival Sam Houston State on Tuesday at Don Sanders Stadium.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Cougars scored six unanswered runs and appeared to have the game well in hand heading into the final frame. But the Bearkats pushed three runs across in the ninth inning and continued to threaten with the bases loaded, but reliever Aaron Brown hurled a strikeout to end the threat and the game.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 28-23 overall while Sam Houston State fell to 33-20. The Cougars swept the regular-season series against the Bearkats after taking a 16-9 win on Feb. 13 at Cougar Field. UH, which won its 11th straight game against the Bearkats, also evened the all-time series against SHSU at 71-71. The Cougars had not been even with the Bearkats in the all-time series since standing at 10-10 in 1956.

The Cougars wrap up their 2007 regular season later this week as they play host to Conference USA rival Southern Miss in a three-game series from the friendly confines of Cougar Field. That series begins with 7 p.m., games on both Thursday and Friday before wrapping up at 1 p.m., Saturday. The Thursday game will be televised nationally on CSTV. Sam Houston wraps up the regular season schedule with a Southland Conference series at Stephen F. Austin.

Houston recap
Sam Houston recap

MEMPHIS 5, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 3
UNION CITY, Tenn. - Senior Kyle Norrid went 3-for-4 four and drove in four runs to lead Memphis to a 5-3 win over UT-Martin Tuesday night at Elam Stadium. The win was the 33rd of the year for the Tigers--the most regular season wins for a Memphis team since 1994. The win also eclipses the Tigers 2006 win total.

After waiting through a two hour, 23-minute rain delay, Memphis (33-20) got off to a fast start with a pair of scores in the opening frame. Michael Murray extended his hit streak to 12 games with a single to centerfield and moved to third when Skyhawks leftfielder Kevin Holt was unable to handle a single by Adam Amar. Amar advanced to second. Norrid then lined the first pitch he saw up the middle for a 2-0 Memphis lead.

Memphis will now prepare for its final Conference USA regular season series. The Tigers will travel to Houston to take on the second-ranked Rice Owls on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. UT-Martin (19-33) completes the regular season with by hosting Samford in an OVC series. The teams will play a double-header on Friday and a single game on Saturday.

Memphis recap
UT-Martin recap

ELON 4, No. 29 EAST CAROLINA 2
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Kyle Roller's two home runs were not enough for No. 29 East Carolina as it fell to in-state foe Elon 4-2 Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium in the final regular season home game for the Pirates.

Jesse Lewter improved to 4-3 on the year after tossing his first career complete game with a career-high six strikeouts for Elon (28-24). On the night he allowed just six hits and walked one, making two pitching mistakes, both home runs to Roller.

The Pirates (35-18) will hit the road for the final three games of the regular season this weekend when they travel to UAB for a C-USA series. Junior T.J. Hose will take the mound for ECU on Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. (EDT). Elon returns to action on Wednesday, May 16 in a 7 p.m. game with High Point at Latham Park.

Elon recap
East Carolina recap

Conference USA baseball notebook

As Conference USA enters the final two weeks of the regular season, there is still a lot to be decided. While Rice has a stranglehold on first place, the race for second contains many contenders, as does the quest for NCAA Tournament at-large selections. And, elsewhere in the standings, the jockeying for tournament seeding continues.

HITTER OF THE WEEK

MICHAEL EWING, SOUTHERN MISS Sophomore, OF, Beaumont, Texas Ewing batted .600 (6-for-10) to help lead the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 series sweep over Marshall this past weekend. He had three doubles, one home run and seven RBI in the series, while also drawing three walks and scoring three runs. In Friday night's opener, Ewing had a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer to account for four RBI. He finished with a .643 on-base percentage and collected 12 bases for a 1.200 slugging percentage for the week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
T.J. HOSE, EAST CAROLINA Junior, RHP, Hagerstown, Md. Hose improved to 6-4 on the season after picking up the win in Friday night's 3-1 victory at Houston on CSTV. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five. After giving up a hit in the first inning, Hose retired 16 of the next 18 batters, including 14 in a row at one point, and did not allow a runner past second base. The 7.2 innings worked tied a season-high and his four hits allowed was the second-fewest he has given up this season.

Click here for entire notebook.

Twins back together at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG — It's not like Michael and James Ewing never had spent any time away from one another.

After all, James beat his brother into the world by five minutes.

But in the fall of 2006, James headed north from their home in Beaumont, Texas, to Arkansas, while Michael traveled east to Mississippi.

But after being separated by nearly 575 miles for the better part of a year, the brothers were reunited on the Southern Miss baseball diamond this fall, when James left the University of Arkansas to join his twin as a Golden Eagle.

Read entire story here.