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USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
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waltgreenberg Offline
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USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
After starting the season 3-5, averaging 3+ errors per game those first two weeks, and being utterly embarrassed on the national stage during the Minute Maid tournament, the college baseball pundits were all writing us off (even our most loyal supporters such as Stitchhead Sorenson and Kendall Rogers) and many of our more fickle fans were jumping off the bandwagon. In what may go down as one of Wayne Graham's greatest coaching efforts, the Baseball Owls have not only turned their season around-- going 21-6 since then, winning our last seven weekend series, and winners of 15 of our last 17 games-- but we are once again in our customary position of being consensus ranked in the Top 25 (as high as #13 in Baseball America), atop the CUSA conference standings (along with Southern Miss) and boasting a resume worthy of a regional hosting birth (#18 RPI, #18 ISR, #17 SoS, 3-3 vs. Top 25, 6-4 vs. Top 50, 11-8 vs. Top 100). We have overcome injuries to our mid-week starting pitcher (Jackson Parthasarathy) and two starting OFers (with our top hitter, Charlie Warren getting injured just as Tristan Gray returned to the lineup after missing over a month of action), as well as an offense that has struggled mightily to score runs even against sub-par pitching. And we're fielding an everyday lineup featuring two true Freshman (Proctor, DiCaprio) and three other players (Myers, Wunderlich, Dunlap) who are seeing their first significant D-1 action this season. Making matters worse, we've been operating with a bullpen with only two reliable options so far (Otto, Myers). Yet, through it all, we've perservered. Our starting pitching (Duplantier, Fox, Salinas, Amador) has been exceptional, we have one of the very best relievers in all of college baseball (Otto), our defense has not only solidified but become a team strength, and our offense is finally showing some signs of life.

If we can get through the always difficult end-of-the-semester academic pressures with a winning record over the next two weeks, we should be in great shape heading into the home stretch. No more classes or academic deliverables. And, hopefully, the return of Charlie Warren by early May. If we can get one or two more relievers to step up on a consistent basis, the sky will be the limit. But first things first-- this weekend's showdown with the top 25 ranked and co-CUSA leading Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. For the first time since Minute Maid, we'll be on the national stage playing in one of the featured series of the weekend. It's time to come out from under the radar and make a statement. From all reports, The Pete (Pete Taylor Park) should be packed this weekend, not only because of the Rice - USM matchup, but because it is their annual Eagle Fest weekend: http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-foo...6aao.html. Game times are 7:00pm CST Friday, 4:00pm Saturday, and 1:00pm Sunday .

As consistent as USM has played this year, they come into this big series limping somewhat, having lost three of their last four games (albeit all on the road), including a 12-0 thumping at Tulane on Tuesday. Overall, the Golden Eagles have posted a 27 - 11 record (12-3 CUSA, 16-2 home, 6-4 vs. Top 50, 11-8 vs. Top 100, #21 RPI, #19 ISR, #68 SoS). Their record against the Top 50/100 is a bit deceiving as they include five home wins over #35 Northwestern State (18-17 record) and #94 Samford (21-17), both of whom are likely to see their RPI drop precipitously as the season progresses. In reality, the only weekend they have been truly tested by quality opponents was the third week of the season when the swept through a tournament in Florida, beating #49 Michigan State, #71 Troy and #112 Auburn. Their other weekends include home series sweeps of #271 Eastern Illinois (4-31), Northwestern State, Samford, UTSA and MTSU, along with a road series sweep vs. #175 Charlotte (16-22), a series win at Marshall, and last weekend's series loss at UAB. USM loyalists have acknowledged on the CUSABBS message board that they have yet to face elite weekend pitching. Their solid #68 SoS is based primarily on their midweek opponents, but they've gone only 3-7 in such contests against South Alabama x 2, Tulane x 2, Ole Miss x 2, SE Louisiana x 2, Alabama and Mississippi State. And, as is evident from their 16 - 2 record at home, they are VERY difficult to beat at The Pete. Here's USM's schedule and results over their first 38 games...

http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2016/sch...thern-Miss

This is a very experienced, upperclass-laden Southern Miss squad, looking to return to the post-season for the first time since 2011, after feeling they had been deprived of a bid last year. Their everyday lineup includes five Seniors and three Juniors, including three new transfers from JUCOs or community colleges, and their weekend rotation features two Seniors. Interestingly, their top relievers are all Freshmen, including their sidearming closer.

Statistically speaking, aside from the Aggies, USM is the best offensive team we have faced this season, and they are national ranked in a number of categories (HRs, runs, BBs, OBP). As a team they are hitting an impressive .313/.413./.480, with 44 HRs, 77 doubles/triples, 231 BBs/HBP, and averaging 7.4 runs per game. By comparison, Rice is hitting .253/.327/.327, 10 HRs, 45 doubles/triples, 127 BBs/HBP, 4.2 runs/game. The Golden Eagle's across-the-board edge over the Owls is huge. They are leading the conference in virtually every offensive category; most by a large margin; whereas we are next to last in most offensive categories (and dead last in OBP, runs scored, RBIs, hits, HRs, doubles and total bases). Their lineup includes three of the top five hitters in the conference led by CUSA POY contender, Sr 1B Tim Lynch (.384/.470/.556, 6 HRs, 8 doubles, 42 RBIs), Sr CF Jake Sandlin (.384/.465/.493, 1 HR, 11 doubles/triples, 22 RBIs), Sr SS Nick Dawson (.373/.471/.516, 1 HR, 14 doubles/triples, 27 RBIs) and Jr RF Dylan Burdeaux (.335/.422/.571/.8 HRs, 13 doubles/triples32 RBIs). Unlike facing MTSU (with POY candidate Delgado), UAB (with Hicklen and Gum) or WKU (with Hudzina), there is no pitching around one or two studs in the USM lineup, as 6 everyday players are hitting over .315, 4 players have 6+ HRs and 7 players have 20+ RBIs. And keep in mind this is a team that lost it's leading power hitter (Taylor Braley, with 10 HRs over their first 27 games) 3 weeks ago. The USM offense combines power with outstanding plate discipline. They are adept at working the pitch count, as reflected in their high frequency of both walks (they're averaging over 6 BBs/HBP per game) and strikeouts. They also appear to crowd the plate, as six different players have 5+ HBPs. USM has made a living this year working the pitch count, getting into the opposing teams' bullpen early and capitalizing with late rallies; often helped considerably by a string of walks, HBPs and errors. While always important, it is absolutely imperative against the Golden Eagles for our pitchers to get ahead in the count; otherwise, we are in for a long weekend. Fortunately for us, with no midweek games this week or next, we will have Willy Amador available as a third viable bullpen option (along with Otto and Myers). The only shortcoming of USM's offense is the running game, which is even worse than ours (and that's saying something)-- their stolen base success rate is under .500 (19-40 SBs).

Defensively, Southern Miss is well above average, posting an excellent .976 fielding percentage, with 9 of their 35 errors (over 38 games) committed by their 3B slugger, Taylor Braley, who is hasn't played the past last third of their games and who is now out for the season. His replacement has but one error in 13 games. Their SS (with only 8 errors) is the only player with more than 4 errors. As usual, USM is amongst the national leaders in double plays turned (10 more than us). Their OFers have gunned down 10 baserunners, led by 5 assists by their CFer. And their regular catcher has thrown out 41% of attempted basestealers (15-37 CS).

On the mound the Golden Eagles have been up and down. Their overall stats are pedestrian at best: 4.46 ERA, .266 BAA, 1.60 WHIP, 2.0 K:BB ratio and 7.7 strikeouts/game against the #68 ranked SoS. (By comparison, Rice's staff stats are: 2.85 ERA, .226 BAA, 1.30 WHIP, 2.5 K:BB ratio and 8.6 strikeouts/game against the #17 ranked SoS) However, their current weekend starters are a combined 11-0 (albeit over 24 starts), and they have a stud Freshman closer with a deceptive side-arm delivery whose across-the-board stats are comparable to our own Glenn Otto (though he did blow last Saturday's UAB game). Their Friday starter, Cord Cockrell (with long, wild hair ala the Mets' Jake DeGrom), was rocked last week, but has otherwise been very solid and consistent, and he has exceptional control (allowing only 5 walks in 53.2 IP). Their Saturday starter, another Senior right-hander, has struggled with his control on occassion, and their Sunday southpaw starter threw a complete game shutout vs. UAB last weekend. USM's bullpen has depth, with 7 relievers having appeared in 10+ games, but their Freshman closer is the only one with an ERA under 3.50, and only one other has an ERA under 4.75. Our goal this weekend should be to work the pitch count, get on the board early and get into their suspect bullpen as soon as possible...

Cord Cockrell (Sr, RHP): 9 starts, 6-0, 53.2 IP, 3.02 ERA, .261 BAA, 5 BBs, 31 Ks
Nick Johnson (Sr, RHP): 6 starts, 2-0, 35.0 IP, 4.63 ERA, .271 BAA, 17 BBs, 11 HBP, 31 Ks
Kirk McCarty (So, LHP): 9 starts, 3-0, 48.2 IP, 3.51 ERA, .289 BAA, 17 BBs, 52 Ks

Nick Sandlin (Fr, RHP): 16 app, 2-2, 6 saves, 28.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, .190 BAA, 12 Bs, 32 Ks
Stevie Powers (Fr, LHP): 9 app, 4 starts, 0-1, 20.1 IP, 4.43 ERA, .250 BAA, 15 BBs, 15 Ks
Walker Powell (Fr, RHP): 11 app, 3-1, 17.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, .271 BAA, 3 BBs, 15 Ks
Austin Millet (RS Fr, RHP): 10 app, 1-1, 17.1 IP, 3.63 ERA, .154 BAA, 11 BBs, 9 Ks
Luke Lowry (Sr, LHP): 15 app, 3-0, 13.0 IP, 4.85 ERA, .275 BAA, 3 BBs, 14 Ks
Cody Livingston (Sr, LHP): 17 app, 2-2, 4 saves, 18.0 IP, 6.50 ERA, .300 BAA, 8 BBs, 6 HBP, 21 Ks


Here's Southern Miss' individual and team stats...
http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-bas...mcume.html

...and roster...
http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-bas...l-mtt.html

Here's how USM stacks up statistically in conference, both individually and as a team...
http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-ba...teams.html

This weekend's showdown is not only for first place in the conference, but it features the classic matchup of elite pitching vs. elite offense, with both teams boasting above-average defenses. Let's prove the truth in the long-standing cliche that good pitching beats good hitting. It's time to make a statement-- both within CUSA and nationally-- that Rice is once again staking a claim amongst the elite of college baseball. A road series win over USM would give us our eighth consecutive winning weekend, our 2nd against a Top 25 opponent, and put us in a strong position to capture both our 21st consecutive conference championship and a regional hosting birth. It's not going to be easy given the omnipresent end-of-semester academic pressures and the always long travel to Hattiesburg, but let's find a way to get it done. Just win, baby. Go Owls!


In their preseason preview, D1Baseball picked USM to finish second (behind Rice) in the conference...
http://www.d1baseball.com/analysis/2016-...ews-c-usa/
Quote:• Southern Miss was at one point one of the premier “mid-major” programs in college baseball, but things have changed since making that College World Series appearance. As a matter of fact, the Golden Eagles have not reached the NCAA tournament since 2011. Will that change in 2016? The negative trend has the potential to finally end. USM has a tough one to replace on the mound in righthander James McMahon, but senior righty Nick Johnson looks ready to take on a front-line role, and another senior righty, Jake Winston, has good, but unproven stuff, and will round out the weekend rotation. Lefty Cody Livingston will anchor the bullpen, and he’s a big-bodied guy who can get up to the upper-80s with quality stuff at times. Offensively, The Eagles feel like they will get an instant infusion from redshirt freshman DH Hunter Slater, while C Chuckie Robinson is someone who must take a step forward. Robinson is a toolsy guy who will get drafted because of that fact. However, he has yet to hit and finished last season with a .203 batting average and just bad overall numbers. There’s a lot of potential with this team.


Lat week, after beating Ole Miss in a midweek game, D1Baseball profiled Southern Miss in their "Under the Radar" column, with quotes from Coach Berry...
http://www.d1baseball.com/featured/radar...ign=buffer


Perfect Game also picked the Golden Eagles to finish 2nd in CUSA, and selected 1B Tim Lynch to their preseason all-conference team...
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View...icle=12040
Quote:Southern Mississippi: Southern Miss may have won 36 games but with the amount of talent that returns to the Golden Eagles there’s reason to believe the 2016 squad could surpass that win total from a year ago. It certainly won’t be easy to replace the 11 wins that James McMahon accounted for last year en route to winning the Conference Pitcher of the Year, but senior Cord Cockrell and sophomore lefthander Kirk McCarty have starting experience and put together solid 2015 seasons while seniors Luke Lowery and Jake Winston were key components out of the bullpen. Overall, 12 of the 18 pitches on the roster are either juniors or seniors, though one freshman arm who could contribute rather soon is 6-foot-7 righthander Walker Powell who shows feel for a three-pitch mix. The bats will be the calling cards of the Golden Eagles, led by senior first baseman Tim Lynch who mashed throughout the 2015 season and is coming off a strong summer season in the NECBL. A tough out with an advanced approach, the lefthanded hitting Lynch saw his power rise from his sophomore to junior year, jumping his home run total from one to nine, and continued hitting the long ball last summer connecting for 10 while swinging wood and also won the NECBL’s Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game. Junior catcher Chuckie Robinson also had a breakout type summer in the NECBL where he received regular playing time and was able to show his above average arm strength as well as big righthanded power with nine home runs. Senior Chase Scott and Junior Dylan Burdeaux both return to the infield and both hit in the .280's as did sophomore Taylor Braley, a Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection who drew praise from opposing coaches for his ability to hit the ball hard on a regular basis. Another young athlete to keep an eye on is sophomore Daniel Keating, whose physical 6-foot-3 frame plays well and should make an impact this spring after starting just 19 games last year. He too had an impressive summer campaign where his plus speed helped him swipe 31 bases while hitting .335.

Baseball America picked USM to make the post-season...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2...7Cmgah4.97
Quote:Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles have won at least 30 games in all six of coach Scott Berry’s seasons in charge, but they also haven’t been to regionals since 2011. They had C-USA’s best pitching staff last year (3.13 team ERA), but this year’s group figures to be more predicated on offense as they bring back four of their top six hitters while losing their top two weekend starters, including C-USA pitcher of the year James McMahon. Senior first baseman Tim Lynch is the ringleader, showing potential plus power from the left side (nine home runs in 2015), and USM will also look for a breakout year from junior catcher Chuckie Robinson.
(This post was last modified: 04-20-2016 07:38 PM by waltgreenberg.)
04-20-2016 07:27 PM
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SouthernMissSNu Offline
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Post: #2
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Great assessment! This should be a great weekend of baseball. I always look forward to any time we play y'all on the diamond. Let me know if any of you are coming to the Hattiesburg area or need any recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, or places to grab a good brew. We are hosting our Black and Gold spring game at 12 on Saturday at MM Roberts Stadium and will have the "Fifth Quarter Festival" out on the new tailgating spot just next to our student union complex (The Thad Cochran Center) which will have music, activities and inflatables for the kids, and food tents set up.

Here are a few restaurants if you want to check them out for the weekend:

Keg and Barrel
http://www.kegandbarrel.com/

Great pub style restaurant built in a renovated 100 year old home with a wrap-around porch. Has a large selection of beers, great food, and an awesome atmosphere. I recommend the Chicken and Waffles or the Bacon Cheddar Fries.

Ed's Burger Joint
https://www.facebook.com/edsburgerjoint/

Owned by Robert St. John (same owner as Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot, and Tabella in Hattiesburg- all great options, I might add). It's the newest burger joint in the area. Though they have notoriously long lines on the weekends, their milkshakes are absolutely amazing and completely worth it.

Leo's Cuban Kitchen
http://leoscubankitchen.com/

Leo's just opened up recently in the area. Their staff is extremely friendly and Leo is passionate about his craft and the business itself. The Filete De Pescado and Croquetas Luyano are awesome. The portion sizes are on the larger side but are worth it.

Cotton Blue's
http://cottonblues.com/

My personal favorite is a little ways from Southern Miss's campus over in Oak Grove/West Hattiesburg but is worth the ten minute drive down Hwy 98. The ingredients are all locally sourced. The food is a modern take on traditional southern dishes. My favorites are the Shrimp and Grits, Crawfish Mashed Potatoes, Dark Roux Gumbo (only available Fri/Sat Nights), and the Cheesecake milkshakes. Additionally, they have a great Sunday brunch menu with bottomless mimosas and a bloody mary bar (the only downside is Lamar County is a partially dry county and will not serve alcohol until noon on Sunday).
04-20-2016 09:16 PM
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dragon2owl Offline
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Post: #3
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Didn't want to start another thread...but FAU beat #1 Miami, 4-3. The win moved FAU ahead of Rice in RPI.
(This post was last modified: 04-20-2016 09:48 PM by dragon2owl.)
04-20-2016 09:34 PM
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Ricefootballnet Offline
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Post: #4
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-20-2016 09:16 PM)SouthernMissSNu Wrote:  Great assessment! This should be a great weekend of baseball. I always look forward to any time we play y'all on the diamond. Let me know if any of you are coming to the Hattiesburg area or need any recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, or places to grab a good brew. We are hosting our Black and Gold spring game at 12 on Saturday at MM Roberts Stadium and will have the "Fifth Quarter Festival" out on the new tailgating spot just next to our student union complex (The Thad Cochran Center) which will have music, activities and inflatables for the kids, and food tents set up.

Here are a few restaurants if you want to check them out for the weekend:

Keg and Barrel
http://www.kegandbarrel.com/

Great pub style restaurant built in a renovated 100 year old home with a wrap-around porch. Has a large selection of beers, great food, and an awesome atmosphere. I recommend the Chicken and Waffles or the Bacon Cheddar Fries.

Ed's Burger Joint
https://www.facebook.com/edsburgerjoint/

Owned by Robert St. John (same owner as Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot, and Tabella in Hattiesburg- all great options, I might add). It's the newest burger joint in the area. Though they have notoriously long lines on the weekends, their milkshakes are absolutely amazing and completely worth it.

Leo's Cuban Kitchen
http://leoscubankitchen.com/

Leo's just opened up recently in the area. Their staff is extremely friendly and Leo is passionate about his craft and the business itself. The Filete De Pescado and Croquetas Luyano are awesome. The portion sizes are on the larger side but are worth it.

Cotton Blue's
http://cottonblues.com/

My personal favorite is a little ways from Southern Miss's campus over in Oak Grove/West Hattiesburg but is worth the ten minute drive down Hwy 98. The ingredients are all locally sourced. The food is a modern take on traditional southern dishes. My favorites are the Shrimp and Grits, Crawfish Mashed Potatoes, Dark Roux Gumbo (only available Fri/Sat Nights), and the Cheesecake milkshakes. Additionally, they have a great Sunday brunch menu with bottomless mimosas and a bloody mary bar (the only downside is Lamar County is a partially dry county and will not serve alcohol until noon on Sunday).

We (I.e. The group Walt often travels with) have made it over to Hattiesburg for the Rice-USM weekend series the past couple of times but couldn't quite get it put together for this coming weekend. Always have been treated extremely well and it's a pleasure to come to USM and Hattiesburg.

There's a Cajun themed restaurant/sports bar close to campus we've gone to a couple times in the past as it stayed open late after night games. I've had USM fans buy my drinks there for me -- after a game the Owls won, even.

Your restaurant tips sound good and will bear them in mind for future trips.

And I hope there are plenty of chances. Would just as soon see us both move over to the AAC together, if their league defections and circumstances allow. Both that's a topic for another time.

Here's to a great weekend of baseball....
04-20-2016 09:41 PM
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BeagleUSM Offline
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Post: #5
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Really great writeup. Thanks, Walt.

Looking forward to this weekend, despite our recent struggles. I'll be at the Friday and Saturday games. Good luck (but not too much luck 03-wink), and safe travels to those making the trip to Hattiesburg.
(This post was last modified: 04-20-2016 09:58 PM by BeagleUSM.)
04-20-2016 09:57 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-20-2016 09:57 PM)Beagleagle23 Wrote:  Really great writeup. Thanks, Walt.

Looking forward to this weekend, despite our recent struggles. I'll be at the Friday and Saturday games. Good luck (but not too much luck 03-wink), and safe travels to those making the trip to Hattiesburg.

Won't make the trip this weekend, as i roadtripped to Murfreesboro just 3 weeks ago and just got back from 10 days in Houston, but I'm considering attending the conference tourney at The Pete in late May.
04-20-2016 10:02 PM
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jellowl Offline
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Post: #7
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-20-2016 09:16 PM)SouthernMissSNu Wrote:  Great assessment! This should be a great weekend of baseball. I always look forward to any time we play y'all on the diamond. Let me know if any of you are coming to the Hattiesburg area or need any recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, or places to grab a good brew. We are hosting our Black and Gold spring game at 12 on Saturday at MM Roberts Stadium and will have the "Fifth Quarter Festival" out on the new tailgating spot just next to our student union complex (The Thad Cochran Center) which will have music, activities and inflatables for the kids, and food tents set up.

Here are a few restaurants if you want to check them out for the weekend:

Keg and Barrel
http://www.kegandbarrel.com/

Great pub style restaurant built in a renovated 100 year old home with a wrap-around porch. Has a large selection of beers, great food, and an awesome atmosphere. I recommend the Chicken and Waffles or the Bacon Cheddar Fries.

Ed's Burger Joint
https://www.facebook.com/edsburgerjoint/

Owned by Robert St. John (same owner as Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot, and Tabella in Hattiesburg- all great options, I might add). It's the newest burger joint in the area. Though they have notoriously long lines on the weekends, their milkshakes are absolutely amazing and completely worth it.

Leo's Cuban Kitchen
http://leoscubankitchen.com/

Leo's just opened up recently in the area. Their staff is extremely friendly and Leo is passionate about his craft and the business itself. The Filete De Pescado and Croquetas Luyano are awesome. The portion sizes are on the larger side but are worth it.

Cotton Blue's
http://cottonblues.com/

My personal favorite is a little ways from Southern Miss's campus over in Oak Grove/West Hattiesburg but is worth the ten minute drive down Hwy 98. The ingredients are all locally sourced. The food is a modern take on traditional southern dishes. My favorites are the Shrimp and Grits, Crawfish Mashed Potatoes, Dark Roux Gumbo (only available Fri/Sat Nights), and the Cheesecake milkshakes. Additionally, they have a great Sunday brunch menu with bottomless mimosas and a bloody mary bar (the only downside is Lamar County is a partially dry county and will not serve alcohol until noon on Sunday).

Too hungry for this post right now.
[Image: giphy.gif]

But really, thanks for the tips. I'm wishing even more that I could be in Hattiesburg this weekend.
04-20-2016 10:03 PM
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ExcitedOwl18 Offline
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Post: #8
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
I had a great meal in Hattiesburg at Leatha's BBQ Inn when we played football there in 2014.

Not going to be there for the baseball games this year, but I will try to make it to "The Rock" this fall!
04-20-2016 10:10 PM
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SouthernMissSNu Offline
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Post: #9
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-20-2016 09:41 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  
(04-20-2016 09:16 PM)SouthernMissSNu Wrote:  Great assessment! This should be a great weekend of baseball. I always look forward to any time we play y'all on the diamond. Let me know if any of you are coming to the Hattiesburg area or need any recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, or places to grab a good brew. We are hosting our Black and Gold spring game at 12 on Saturday at MM Roberts Stadium and will have the "Fifth Quarter Festival" out on the new tailgating spot just next to our student union complex (The Thad Cochran Center) which will have music, activities and inflatables for the kids, and food tents set up.

Here are a few restaurants if you want to check them out for the weekend:

Keg and Barrel
http://www.kegandbarrel.com/

Great pub style restaurant built in a renovated 100 year old home with a wrap-around porch. Has a large selection of beers, great food, and an awesome atmosphere. I recommend the Chicken and Waffles or the Bacon Cheddar Fries.

Ed's Burger Joint
https://www.facebook.com/edsburgerjoint/

Owned by Robert St. John (same owner as Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot, and Tabella in Hattiesburg- all great options, I might add). It's the newest burger joint in the area. Though they have notoriously long lines on the weekends, their milkshakes are absolutely amazing and completely worth it.

Leo's Cuban Kitchen
http://leoscubankitchen.com/

Leo's just opened up recently in the area. Their staff is extremely friendly and Leo is passionate about his craft and the business itself. The Filete De Pescado and Croquetas Luyano are awesome. The portion sizes are on the larger side but are worth it.

Cotton Blue's
http://cottonblues.com/

My personal favorite is a little ways from Southern Miss's campus over in Oak Grove/West Hattiesburg but is worth the ten minute drive down Hwy 98. The ingredients are all locally sourced. The food is a modern take on traditional southern dishes. My favorites are the Shrimp and Grits, Crawfish Mashed Potatoes, Dark Roux Gumbo (only available Fri/Sat Nights), and the Cheesecake milkshakes. Additionally, they have a great Sunday brunch menu with bottomless mimosas and a bloody mary bar (the only downside is Lamar County is a partially dry county and will not serve alcohol until noon on Sunday).

We (I.e. The group Walt often travels with) have made it over to Hattiesburg for the Rice-USM weekend series the past couple of times but couldn't quite get it put together for this coming weekend. Always have been treated extremely well and it's a pleasure to come to USM and Hattiesburg.

There's a Cajun themed restaurant/sports bar close to campus we've gone to a couple times in the past as it stayed open late after night games. I've had USM fans buy my drinks there for me -- after a game the Owls won, even.

Your restaurant tips sound good and will bear them in mind for future trips.

And I hope there are plenty of chances. Would just as soon see us both move over to the AAC together, if their league defections and circumstances allow. Both that's a topic for another time.

Here's to a great weekend of baseball....


I think you may be talking about the Mahogany Bar attached to Crescent City Grill. That's a great watering hole as well owned by Robert St. John. Great place. Let me know if y'all come in for the Conference Tournament- I'll treat y'all to a beer somewhere and we'll talk about our hate-love relationship with CUSA. Good luck!
04-21-2016 03:00 AM
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SouthernMissSNu Offline
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Post: #10
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-20-2016 10:10 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I had a great meal in Hattiesburg at Leatha's BBQ Inn when we played football there in 2014.

Not going to be there for the baseball games this year, but I will try to make it to "The Rock" this fall!

Letha's is some very good barbecue. Let me know if you end up making it for the conference tournament or the game this fall. I'll treat you to a round at the Keg or Mahogany Bar or The Endzone.
04-21-2016 03:03 AM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #11
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
College Baseball Central's weekend preview podcast features the Rice - USM series (beginning at 7:41). He talks at length about the Owls' rotation...

http://collegebaseballcentral.com/colleg...w-2/13687/

Quote:Rice at Southern Mississippi- Even with USM dropping their series last weekend to UAB, this is still the series of the season in Conference USA. With the league’s standing as a high-RPI league this season, there’s a good chance the conference champion will host a regional, and this series will go a long way toward figuring out who that is.
04-21-2016 09:48 AM
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eagle04 Offline
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Post: #12
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Very impressive write up! I hope that our team shows up this weekend. We have stuttered here lately but we have shown that we can be a good team when everything comes together. It will be very interesting to see how our pitchers respond from last weekend's losses and the shellacking we took Tuesday.
04-21-2016 01:35 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #13
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Great writeup in Baseball America's weekend preview, and you gotta love the headline, "Golden Eagles Brace for Buzzsaw". Just like old times...

http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/w...5ekMPAJ.97

Quote:Golden Eagles Brace For Buzzsaw

Rice travels to Southern Mississippi for a vital series between the two teams tied atop the Conference USA standings. Much as the Golden Eagles have to embrace getting their crack at C-USA’s preeminent program, it’s not exactly ideal timing.

The Owls are red hot, winning 15 of their last 17 games. Southern Miss, on the other hand, rolled through the first two months, winning its first eight weekends, before surprisingly dropping two of three at Alabama-Birmingham last week. USM followed that up by getting drilled 12-0 by Tulane on Tuesday. Now, they have to deal with the program that’s won 20 straight conference titles.

“Right now, it’s just going back out with the confidence that we’ve had for the majority of the season, and competing,” USM head coach Scott Berry said. “I just feel like, for whatever reason, in different areas of the game we haven’t competed well enough in these last four games to do well enough, honestly. We’ve got to get back to competing and getting that confidence back that we had for the majority of the season.”

Rice can relate. The Owls came out back in February and dropped two of three at home against Arizona on opening weekend. A week later, they went winless at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park, scoring a total of just four runs in three games against Arkansas, Texas Christian and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Yet they’ve been a buzzsaw since, winning seven straight series and climbing to No. 13 in this week’s Top 25 rankings.

“Honestly, we just started playing better baseball,” Owls assistant coach Patrick Hallmark said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t play very well in any phase of the game early on. We didn’t catch the ball, we didn’t pitch real well, we didn’t hit much. That doesn’t leave you too much room to win games. But the kids really buckled down and have been playing some good baseball since then.”

Both teams will be without key bats this weekend. The Owls are missing leading hitter Charlie Warren (.319/.400/.351), who’s recovering from a broken hamate bone. Warren could see some action as a pinch-runner this weekend but isn’t ready to swing a bat in games yet. The news isn’t as good for USM, which is without top power hitter Taylor Braley (.323/.450/.688, 10 HR). Braley went down with a knee injury in early April and isn’t expected back before the end of the regular season.

But even without Braley, the Golden Eagles have an imposing offense that comes at teams in waves. They have five other regulars hitting over .300, with senior Tim Lynch (.384/.470/.556, 6 HR) and junior Dylan Burdeaux (.335/.422/.571, 8 HR) keying the middle of the order in Braley’s stead. USM enters the weekend averaging 7.4 runs per game, which ranks 28th nationally, and hits .313 as a team.

“We’ve had to ask some guys to step up, and they’ve done the best they can,” Berry said. “It is what it is. I think the biggest strength is that we’ve complimented each other from top to bottom. One end’s picking up the other.”

USM’s firepower should make for a fun showdown with Rice’s ever-stout pitching. The Owls have as steady a rotation as there is in Jon Duplantier, Blake Fox and Ricardo Salinas, with a true stopper at the back of the bullpen in Glenn Otto. Duplantier’s been overpowering at his best, his 92-96 mph fastball and low 80s spike curveball leading to 77 strikeouts in 63 innings, the eighth-highest strikeout total in the country. The Owls rank 13th in the country in team ERA (2.85) and allow just a .226 opponents’ average.

“It starts with strikes, always,” Hallmark said. “Our guys are really pounding the strike zone, which is a big key when you’ve got good stuff. Duplantier’s and Otto’s stuff is really good. Then Ricky (Salinas) and Blake (Fox) can pitch a little bit—they can change speeds and hit corners and do all that stuff. We throw good breaking balls like always, so that helps too.”

Southern Miss self-admittedly isn’t especially deep on the mound—as its 4-7 record in midweek games attests—but Berry does believe they’ve found a reasonable comfort level with their weekend rotation of Cord Cockrell (6-0, 3.02), Nick Johnson (2-0, 4.63) and Kirk McCarty (3-0, 3.51). The sophomore McCarty has shown the most swing-and-miss stuff, with 52 strikeouts in 49 innings, while Cockrell and Johnson are pitchability seniors.

Low scoring games would almost certainly favor the Owls. While the job of Southern Miss’ pitching is more about just keeping games close to give the offense a chance, Rice needs its arms. Rice’s offense hits just .251 collectively and averages 4.3 runs per game, which ranks 265th nationally. That said, the Owls scored 17 runs in their three-game sweep of Western Kentucky last weekend, matching their season-high for a series, and did it without Warren. The Owls don’t have much power—they’ve hit just 10 home runs all season—but Hallmark believes they’ve done a better job lately of staying on top of balls and making pitchers work from one through nine.

Keep doing that this weekend, and they can take a big step towards extending that conference championship streak to 21.

“We’d like to think that there’s more to come,” Hallmark said. “We certainly think we can continue to improve. Coach Graham talks a lot about growing throughout the season and playing your best baseball in June, so that’s what we hope to do. That’s what our goal is. Certainly, we’re playing pretty good, but I’d like to think we’ll hit our stride in four weeks.”
04-21-2016 03:20 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #14
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Here's Perfect Game's weekend preview...

http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View...icle=12362

Quote:Arguably the most intriguing series this weekend has one of the newest members of the Top 25, Rice, traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on Southern Miss, who was bounced from the rankings this past week after losing their series a weekend ago to UAB, although they still boast an impressive 27-11 record and the 22nd best RPI in the nation. The Owls have turned their season around (24-11) after losing their opening series to Arizona and going 0-3 at the Houston College Classic. Rice has since gone 21-6 since that difficult performance in Houston and are two spots ahead of Southern Miss in regards to RPI.

Quote:Marquee Matchup #2

No. 23 Rice at Southern Miss

Jumping into the national rankings for the first time this year, the Rice Owls are on the upswing and head into another conference weekend against a surging Southern Mississippi squad that is 27-11 on the year and 12-3 in Conference USA. Tied for the lead atop the conference standings, the Owls are 24-11 themselves and are winners in nine of their last 10 games.

Heading into the spring the outlook on the Owl’s pitching staff was positive with senior lefthander Blake Fox leading the way. What wasn’t as clear was the role that flame-throwing junior Jon Duplantier would play coming off of an injury that cost him the entire 2015 season. He has more than picked up where he left off as over nine starts he is tied for eighth in the country with 77 strikeouts. His draft stock continues to rise with every start and he can help set the tone early with another strong performance Friday night.

Dylan Burdeaux (Southern Miss Athletics)
As a staff it’s difficult to find a hole in the weekend rotation as both Blake Fox and Ricardo Salinas have thrown the ball exceptionally well. And as good as the trio has been, closer Glenn Otto has been near unhittable, closing out seven games in 18 appearances, logging almost 40 innings on the year in 18 relief appearances.

The Rice offense isn’t one that can consistently burn a pitching staff with the long ball, as they have just 10 as a team, but it’s a highly athletic group who can do the little things well and work the gaps. The Owls have been without leading hitter, Charlie Warren, each of the last two weekends, but freshman Ford Proctor and sophomore Ryan Chandler have stepped up in a big way hitting in prominent spots in the lineup.

Opposite of the Owls offense, the Golden Eagles have already slugged 44 home runs as a team, 10 of which have come off the bat of sophomore Taylor Braley, who has missed the last few weeks with a knee injury. Tim Lynch and Dylan Burdeaux have connected for six and eight home runs respectively and are both hitting well above the .300 mark at .384 and .335. Jake Sandlin (.384) and Nick Dawson (.373) have also been consistent performers in everyday roles.

Long story short, this is an offense that’s capable of putting up a crooked number in any inning and can easily dictate the outcome of the game.

Similar to the offense, the pitching staff offers an experienced group with plenty of depth led by senior righthander Cord Cockrell who is 6-0 on the year and has only issued five free passes in nearly 54 innings. The bullpen is capable of shortening games in the backend, especially once closer Nick Sandlin enters the ball game (6 saves, 1.59 ERA in 16 appearances).

This series not only has huge implications for Conference USA play but also relative to the national rankings as the two teams essentially traded places in Perfect Game’s most recent update of the Top 25. A win for Rice obviously pushes them further up the ranks, while a series win for Southern Miss would likely help the Eagles trade places once again with their C-USA foe, with one team looking from the inside out, and the other from the outside in.
04-21-2016 03:33 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #15
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
And the Stitchhead weighs in with less positive vibes...

http://www.d1baseball.com/analysis/soren...-april-21/

Quote:– No. 15 Rice at Southern Miss
Another great contrast, as the Owls pitching staff has given up just 98 earned runs all year and the Eagles wield some mighty Easton’s, hitting .313 as a team. But as coach Wayne Graham complained to me a couple weeks ago, his team can’t win every game 1-0. His offense is going to have to start getting hot and shake that woeful .251 team average, which ranks 234th in the country. Pete Taylor Stadium will be a tough place to ignite the flames.
04-21-2016 03:36 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #16
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Here's the USM game notes for the series...

http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-bas...16aae.html

...note all the promotions going on this weekend. The Pete has traditionally been a pretty raucus place to play-- with the crowds large, sharply partisan and loud-- and with all that's going on on campus this weekend, it promises to be even more magnified.

BTW, one thing in our favor this weekend-- the USM lineup is right-handed laden, with only two left-handed batters in the everyday lineup (though one of them, Tim Lynch, is their best hitter). Even our one southpaw, Blake Fox, usually fares better against right-handed hitters given his signature changeup.
04-21-2016 07:49 PM
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BeagleUSM Offline
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Post: #17
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
We should have 4000+ for each of the 3 games. Our attendance has gone down a little in recent years with our tourney drought but it seems like some of the fans are coming back.
(This post was last modified: 04-21-2016 08:16 PM by BeagleUSM.)
04-21-2016 08:15 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #18
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
Both Kendall Rogers (who will be at tonight's game) and Aaron Fitt are picking the Owls, but Stitchhead is going to proven wrong once again by picking USM...

http://www.d1baseball.com/analysis/d1bas...em-week-9/
04-22-2016 09:00 AM
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TJS_NYC Offline
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Post: #19
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
(04-21-2016 07:49 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Here's the USM game notes for the series...

http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-bas...16aae.html

...note all the promotions going on this weekend. The Pete has traditionally been a pretty raucus place to play-- with the crowds large, sharply partisan and loud-- and with all that's going on on campus this weekend, it promises to be even more magnified.

BTW, one thing in our favor this weekend-- the USM lineup is right-handed laden, with only two left-handed batters in the everyday lineup (though one of them, Tim Lynch, is their best hitter). Even our one southpaw, Blake Fox, usually fares better against right-handed hitters given his signature changeup.

Let's (a) not spot them runs in the first couple of innings like last weekend, and (b) do whatever worked for UAB and Tulane, and find a way to keep them off-balance. If they dig the long ball, then be selective with the fastball placement.
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2016 12:20 PM by TJS_NYC.)
04-22-2016 12:17 PM
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eaglenjxn Offline
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Post: #20
RE: USM Baseball Preview-- Statement Weekend
I don't think USM fans are particularly optimistic about the series. For the most part, it seems like our fanbase has remained cautious about the team. I think this is a good team but I don't think it is as good as people want it to be. This is a 2 or 3 seed in a regional...and that's fine given where we've been the last several years.

Obviously, hitting is the key for us. We haven't seen elite pitching. Ruggles from UAB is probably the best we've seen and to our credit, we hit him hard. But Duplantier and Fox are on another level.

Though we score a lot of runs, that is to be expected when more than 2/5 your hitters get on base. This is a team that is not remarkably efficient. The lineup is prone to strikeouts and hits into a lot of double plays. Furthermore, as with a typical Scott Berry team, it makes a lot of baserunning mistakes. Most of the steal attempts you see were botched hit and runs. We find some very....odd times to attempt those.

That said, this is still a team that hits the ball well and with a lot of power. The 9-2-1-3 stretch is what makes the lineup go with Dawson (.460 BA, ..563 OBP in conf play) basically acting as a second leadoff hitter to turn it over to the top of the lineup with Burdeaux, who has high homer and RBI totals for a leadoff. Burdeaux is definitely our best player in terms of talent. Sandlin played D-2 ball last year and transferred over after his brother (Nick, our closer) committed. He's your typically spray-it-to-all-fields singles hitter. Lynch still is hitting for average and RBis but his power numbers have dropped off over the last several weeks. He is still THE guy in our lineup, though and there's no one we want up at a big time more.

Pitching: There's nothing overwhelming in there and not really guys with great "stuff." Cockrell is a guy that is just looking to get ground balls. Johnson can have really good stuff but has struggled his last couple of outings after a great one against Charlotte. McCarty is interesting in that he gets hit hard but also gets a lot of strikeouts. Good velocity from the left side and can really work the outside black to righties with the fastball and backdoor breaker. Even if these guys are on, they struggle to go deep into games. We've gotten just ten quality starts all season. Which leads to the bullpen issues....

The first guys out of the pen will probably be Winston or Powell. Winston began the season as our Saturday starter but struggled. He's got some good velo but only a two-pitch guy. I haven't really gotten to see Powell pitch. Lowery is also used frequently as a situational guy but we run into trouble when we use him as more. He's a lefty sidearmer, so he's just in there to give lefties a confusing look. When someone is not fooled by that, it is just a low 80s fastball just hanging up there. Livingston is another lefty that you'll see. He's got good stuff but he just hasn't put it together. Millet is a freshman who throws pretty hard but struggles with control.

Sandlin is our closer. He's listed at 145 and looks like a bat boy. Kid can pitch. He's one of those sidearmers that is mid-80's but everything has movement on it.

On paper, I just can't see us winning this series. But....it's baseball. I'd predict you guys taking Friday and Saturday and then us getting the win Sunday.
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2016 02:53 PM by eaglenjxn.)
04-22-2016 02:51 PM
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