Kros Sivley Embraces Final Chapter at Southern Miss as Major Career Milestone Nears

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss baseball team spent the weekend celebrating all of its seniors, highlighted by a storybook ending in the series finale, as senior first baseman Matthew Russo hit a three-run, walk-off homer to secure an 11-0 run-rule win over Georgia Southern. Finishing off that sweep not only led the Golden Eagles to their 10th consecutive 40-win season, but it also won them their first-ever outright regular-season Sun Belt Conference championship.

Out of all the great senior storylines the Golden Eagles have on this roster, though, one that might be flying under the radar a little bit is fifth-year senior LHP Kros Sivley nearing a massive career milestone.

Sivley on the Cusp of 100 Career Appearances

As the Golden Eagles prepare to get Sun Belt tournament play underway on Wednesday against Georgia State, Sivley is currently third on the program's all-time list for pitching appearances with 98. With two more appearances, he'd become just the third Golden Eagle to ever cross that 100-mark, joining Tyler Kee (105 appearances from 1995-99) and Collin Cargill (103 appearances from 2008-2011) in rarified air.

"I’ve been blessed with being able to stay here my whole career," Sivley tells Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI. "There’s truly no other place like Southern Miss. It’s special here, and my career being what it has been is just the icing on the cake. Thankful for every day."

Enjoying Every Final Moment

During Sivley's final regular-season appearance at Pete Taylor Park on Friday, which was Senior Day, he pitched a shutout through the final three innings of work with four strikeouts and just one hit given up as the Golden Eagles defeated Georgia Southern, 10-1. With his Southern Miss career coming to a close, Sivley was feeling the emotions that come naturally with such a special weekend, but he handled it as well as anyone could have.

"The emotions are pretty interesting," Sivley said. "I have a piece of paper taped to my steering wheel in my truck that reminds me every day that today could be my last day to play this game. So I definitely think about it a lot. Not that it’s a bad thing that it’s coming to an end, but for the Lord to prepare my heart for it to be over and have peace in knowing that."

Biggest Improvement Over the Years

This year, Sivley has a 4-2 record through 23 appearances, a 4.41 ERA, and 48 strikeouts. For his career, Sivley has registered 223 strikeouts through 242.1 innings pitched. He has worked hard at his craft and has become a mainstay in head coach Christian Ostrander's bullpen, which isn't an easy feat to accomplish given the high bar this program sets for its pitching staff. For a guy who can certainly fill up the zone, Sivley believes his biggest improvement over the last few years has been on the mental side.

"It’s kinda simple, but my biggest improvement is having a better mindset," Sivley said when asked about what his biggest step forward has been while playing for Coach Oz.

"In my opinion and experience at this level of baseball, you can have average stuff in this game, but a super confident mindset, and you can succeed. You can’t give the hitters too much credit, and also know that you can throw any pitch, at any time, to anybody. That’s why I’d say I have had success."

Whether it's in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, regionals, or perhaps even further down the college baseball postseason line, Sivley will get a few more opportunities to put his experience to the ultimate test. As the Sumrall native's career at Southern Miss wraps up, there are still a couple of chapters yet to be written.

Add us as a preferred source on Google