University of Houston
Southern Miss
Baseball Swept at Southern Miss on Sunday
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2008
Houston-Southern Miss Game Book (APril 27, 2008) in PDF Format 
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Michael Ewing raced in from third base on a infield error to break a tie and help lift Southern Miss to a 7-6 win over the 28th-ranked University of Houston baseball team Sunday during the finale of a Conference USA series at Hill Denson Field at Pete Taylor Park.
The Golden Eagles struck for three runs off two hits and an error to sweep the regular-season series against the Cougars for the second straight season. After loading the bases on a walk to Kyle Maxie, single by Chris Matesich and walk to Michael Ewing, Brian Dozier knotted the game at 6-6 with a one-out, two-run single into right field.
With USM runners still on the corners, UH catcher Austin Goolsby's throw to first base on a pickoff attempt sailed into right field, allowing Michael Ewing to score and break the tie.
Sophomore catcher Chris Wallace batted 2-for-2, while Senior DH Bryan Tully batted 2-for-2 with a home run and two runs. Sophomore centerfielder Zak Presley went 1-for-4 with an RBI and extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 straight games. Junior first baseman Jimmy Cesario went 2-for-5 with a run, while senior outfielder Jake Stewart batted 2-for-5 with a home run and double
UH reliever Bryan Tully collected the loss and fell to 3-3 after giving up four runs (three earned) off three hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in two innings.
James Ewing batted 4-for-5 with a home run, while Chris Matesich went 3-for-4 with a run. Michael Ewing batted 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, and Brian Dozier went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Golden Eagles, who outhit the Cougars 15-12.
USM reliever J.R. Ballinger earned the win and improved to 4-0 after limiting the Cougars to two hits with a strikeout in 2.2 innings.
With the loss, the Cougars fell to 26-17 overall and 8-7 in C-USA games. Southern Miss improved to 31-16 overall and 9-6 in league games.
The Cougars return to action at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday when they meet Lamar at Vincent-Beck Stadium in Beaumont, Texas. From there, the team returns to the friendly confines of Cougar Field to play host to UTSA at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday.
Fans can hear all Cougar Baseball games live at UHCougars.com by clicking the appropriate links. Jeremy Branham will call the play-by-play action while former letterwinner Pat Cauley provides color analysis.
Fans always can follow live stats by clicking on the Gametracker link.
For the third straight game, the Cougars scored the game's first run with three straight, two-out hits in the first inning. Bryan Pounds and Cesario rapped out consecutive hits to put runners on the corner before Ryan Lormand's single through the right side handed the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, the Golden Eagles tied the game at 1-1 on Michael Ewing's RBI-single to left center.
The score remained that way until the fourth inning when Tully smashed an 0-1 offering off the scoreboard in left center for a 2-1 Cougar lead.
The Cougars pushed their lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning when Stewart led off with a home run to left center.
In the sixth inning, the Cougars rapped out three hits to push another run across. Tully led off with a single up the middle and moved into scoring position following Matt Murphy's sacrifice bunt. After Wallace a single into right field to put runners on the corner, Presley's bunt-single scored Tully for a 4-1 UH lead and extended his streak.
USM trimmed the deficit back to a run in the bottom of the frame when Michael Ewing smashed a two-run homer to right field.
In the seventh inning, the Cougars loaded the bases with only one out. Cesario reached on a one-out single to left and moved to second when Lormand reached on the Golden Eagles' second infield miscue of the day. After a walk to Tully loaded the bases and a USM pitching change, freshman utility player Matt Murphy smashed a two-run single into right field to push the Cougar lead to 6-3.
James Ewing led off the USM seventh with a home run to left center to cut the lead to 6-4.
