Scott Kirk

Southern Miss pitching coach Gunner Leger helps raise standard in first season Published May 22, 2026 at 2:58 AM EDT |

Skip to content MONTGOMERY MAGIC: Barrett's Grand Slam sends USM to Sun Belt Semi-Finals Montgomery Magic: Barrett's Grand Slam sends USM to Sun Belt Semi-Finals Published May 23, 2026 at 10:38 AM GMT+2 | Updated moments ago MONTGOMERY, AL. (WDAM) - Southern Miss Sports Information Drey Barrett smashed a ninth-inning, two-out, 0-2 grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift top-seed and No. 8-ranked Southern Miss to a 7-6 walk-off victory over Troy Friday night at DABOS Park. “You know, the way it happened is probably what stings the most.” Said Troy head coach Skylar Meade. “It obviously tests you. I'm not gonna sit here and sugarcoat that. You do everything, you look really smart, you feel really good for 26 outs, and then, you know, all those things go away. We told our guys, it's a player's game, and they just had guys that did it at the winning moment.” The Golden Eagles (42-14) increased their current winning streak to 11 games, while capturing their eighth walk-off win of the season and 41st since the start of the 2017 campaign. The Golden Eagles also improved to 13-2 all-time in this event and have won their first two games in each of the four tournaments that they have played here in Montgomery. Barrett led the Golden Eagle offensive attack with three of their 11 hits, including two home runs, and a career-best six RBI. “That's my first ever walk-off home run, so, you know, I just kind of, just kind of blacked out.” Barrett said. “As soon as I hit the ball, I knew it was a homer, and, you know, I blacked out. That was an incredible experience, especially being from 20 minutes down the road, I like to just play loose, and I was like, this is why we do it, huh? Like, this is the moment that you dream of when you're in the backyard, and, you know, playing wiffle ball with your little brother and stuff, so I'm just grateful for the opportunity.” Down 6-2 in the ninth, the Golden Eagle comeback rally started with one out with both Seth Smith and Joey Urban collecting singles. After back-to-back walks, the second one to Davis Gillespie, scored the first run of the inning. Matthew Russo then fanned before Barrett launched Cooper Ellingworth's 0-2 pitch 422 feet over the bypassing train in left field to provide his second game-winning hit of the year. His other came against Purdue on Feb. 20 during the Round Rock Classic. Despite throwing to two batters, Ellingworth suffered the loss and fell to 1-4. Southern Miss relief pitching, like it has done all season, kept the Golden Eagles in the game, as Kros Sivley – who made his 100th career appearance – JW Armistead, Teague Broadhead and Josh Och limited the Trojans to just two runs over the final five innings. Och, who threw a scoreless ninth with a hit and two strikeouts, earned the victory and improved to 6-2. The Trojans (30-28) opened the scoring in the second off Golden Eagle starter Camden Clark. After retiring the first two hitters, Houston Markham belted an opposite field homer over the left field wall for the first tally of the contest. Troy then added three more runs in the fifth, chasing Clark in the process. After a hit and a walk to open the inning, Clark allowed an RBI single to Jimmy Janicki ending his night. Kros Sivley entered, and after giving up a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up a base, Drew Nelson singled them in to make the score 4-0. Clark allowed four runs on four hits with a season-high four walks and four strikeouts over four-plus frames. The score was then increased to 5-0 in the sixth. After a couple of flyouts to start the frame, Aaron Piasecki recorded an infield single before scoring on a Josh Pyne RBI double. The Golden Eagles cut into the lead in the bottom of that frame. After a leadoff double by Russo, Barrett hit his initial homer to left center off the scoreboard to make the score 5-2. Russo finished the game with a pair of doubles. Troy added its final run on a double steal with Markham swiping home on the play in the eighth. Trojan starter Benjamin Stubbs, who beat the Golden Eagles earlier this season in Hattiesburg, gave up two runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts over five innings. The game, which was originally slated for 11 a.m., started over eight hours later due to weather in the area. Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. Copyright 2026 WDAM. All rights reserved.

For the second-straight night, top-seeded and eighth-ranked Southern Miss rallied in the ninth but fell a little short on this evening, dropping a 9-6 decision to fourth-seeded Troy Saturday at DABOS Park.

A week into the season, Smith took off. “I don't even know how to put that into words.

Published May 29, 2026 at 6:19 AM GMT+2 | Updated moments ago

Published May 29, 2026 at 12:34 AM EDT | Updated moments ago HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - on

The Golden Eagles are battling the Virginia Cavaliers today for the chance to go back into the winners’ bracket.

Published May 30, 2026 at 8:11 PM GMT+2 | Updated 1 hour ago

With the loss, the Golden Eagles saw their season end as it was the first tournament of any kind that they were eliminated in two games since the 2022 Hattiesburg Super Regional.

When Little Rock arrived in Hattiesburg for the 2026 Hattiesburg Regional, it felt like a homecoming for head coach Chris Curry.