Higdon's Clutch Hit in 9th Pushes No. 8 Southern Miss Past Old Dominion

For anyone wondering how the Southern Miss baseball team got its "Cardiac Eags" nickname, Saturday's Sun Belt series rubber match at Old Dominion was a perfect example. After taking a 6-1 lead into the seventh inning, the Golden Eagles found themselves down 7-6 by the time the inning was over. However, No. 8 Southern Miss, led by several clutch hits in the eighth and ninth innings, rallied to win a thriller 8-7 at the Ellmer Family Baseball complex in Norfolk, Va.

With the win, the Golden Eagles clinched their third consecutive Sun Belt series and improved to 23-9 (7-5) on the year. It certainly wasn't pretty, but head coach Christian Ostrander's crew had to have this one, and they dug deep to get it.

Eags Start Out Hot

Travis Creel Tucker Stockman USM — @SouthernMissBSB

Junior catcher Tucker Stockman got the scoring started for Southern Miss in the top of the third inning with a solo home run that cleared the bleachers in the ODU outfield. It was his third homer of the season. Despite being hit in the chin by a pitch on Friday, Stockman showed toughness and played well on Saturday with a big bandage on his chin.

The Golden Eagles tacked on three more runs in the third and two more in the fifth to take a commanding 6-1 lead. However, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Southern Miss' recent bullpen struggles showed up once again.

ODU Storms Back in the Seventh Inning

After sophomore RHP McCarty English gave up a single and a walk to start the seventh inning, Coach Oz called on senior LHP Kros Sivley to come in and try to get his team out of the jam with no outs. Sivley has had his moments this season, but it just wasn't meant to be on this day, as he gave up four earned runs on two hits in just two-thirds of an inning. English ended up with two earned runs given up on one hit in one inning.

Sophomore closer Camden Clark (5-0) had to come in to close out the seventh, but a bases-clearing double from ODU ended up putting the Golden Eagles in a 7-6 hole. The runs given up from that double were attributed to Sivley, meaning Clark once again preserved his 0.00 ERA.

Eags String Together Clutch Hits in Eighth and Ninth Innings

After falling behind in such deflating fashion, the Golden Eagles didn't waste any time feeling sorry for themselves. In the top of the eighth inning, junior shortstop Seth Smith provided a clutch RBI single with two outs to tie the game at 7-7.

Then, in the top of the ninth, senior outfielder Ben Higdon followed suit by getting a clutch hit of his own. With two men on base, Higdon got a massive RBI double to score the go-ahead run and give Southern Miss an 8-7 lead. The Golden Eagles then ended things in the bottom of the ninth with a ground out and a 4-6-3 double play.

“Just huge to be able to stay with the approach and stay with our plan,” Higdon tells Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI. “It shows massive maturity out of us. Our mindset is simple, one pitch at a time, keep winning pitches. If we do that and take it one pitch at a time, we’ll be in a great place.”

The Week Ahead

Davis Gillespie, Joey Urban, USM outfielders — @SouthernMissBSB

Next up, the Golden Eagles will spend the next week playing teams from Louisiana. Southern Miss will welcome New Orleans to Pete Taylor Park on Tuesday night for some midweek action before heading to Lafayette next weekend for a massive Sun Belt series against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (19-13, 4-8).

Despite still not playing their best baseball yet, the Golden Eagles continue to avoid disaster by winning these conference series. Southern Miss hasn't lost a series since opening Sun Belt play at Arkansas State in mid-March.

Will the Golden Eagles be able to keep their Top-10 ranking after two consecutive 2-2 weeks? We will find out on Monday morning. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI and our Nasty Bunch & Beyond podcast for more coverage heading into the new week.