USM sweeps Middle Tennessee, takes over C-USA West Division

From the University of Southern Mississippi Sports Information Department

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – Drew Boyd threw six strong innings and Reed Trimble drove in four runs on a couple of hits as the University of Southern Mississippi completed a four-game sweep of Middle Tennessee with a 9-5 victory Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park.

The 19th ranked Golden Eagles (33-15, 20-7 Conference USA) took a half-game lead in C-USA’s West Division after Louisiana Tech University’s scheduled doubleheader at Florida International University was rained out.

Boyd (4-2) gave up a run on two hits over six innings of work with no walks and five strikeouts in recording the victory.

USM raced out to a 9-1 lead after six innings and was able to withstand a four-run rally in the ninth inning by the Blue Raiders (21-25-1, 10-17-1)

Charlie Fischer gave USM a 1-0 in the first inning, bringing home Trimble with a single.

MTSU tied the game in third inning on a sacrifice fly by Briggs Rutter, but USM went back up for good on a run-scoring single by Trimble.

Will McGillis extended the Golden Eagles’ lead to 4-1 with a two-run home run, his second of the weekend and fifth of the year.

The Golden Eagles put the game out of reach with five more runs in the sixth inning.

After loading the bases on a pair of walks and an MTSU error, Dustin Dickerson knocked in a run with a single.

Trimble unloaded the bases with a double inside the first-base bag for an 8-1 lead, and then eventually came around on a pair of wild pitches for USM’s final run.

The Blue Raiders, who now have lost 21-straight times to the Golden Eagles, scored four times in the ninth, including pinch-hit solo homers from Jacob Williams, his second, and Justin Medlin, his first, to cut into the final margin.

Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Peyton Wigginton (3-3) allowed eight runs (four earned) on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked three, struck out four.

The Golden Eagles return to action at 4 p.m. Friday when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to close the regular season with a four-game C-USA series at Florida Atlantic University.