Morrison's Walk-Off Hit, Barrett's Two Homers Push No. 18 Southern Miss Past Tulane

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Coming off a weekend sweep and riding a new wave of momentum, No. 18 Southern Miss fought through some late-game adversity on Tuesday night to defeat Tulane in walk-off fashion, 5-4.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 29-12 on the year, and the Green Wave dropped to 21-21. It was Southern Miss' second consecutive home midweek walk-off win. The Golden Eagles, after playing inconsistent baseball for half of March and April, are now on their first four-game win streak since March 10, when they defeated Ole Miss at The Pete–which also happened to be a walk-off win.

Here are the biggest storylines from Southern Miss' dramatic win over Tulane at The Pete on Tuesday.

Crazy Ninth Inning Ends with Morrison Walk-Off

In the top of the ninth inning, the Golden Eagles had a 4-3 lead, senior RHP Colby Allen came in to close the game and struck out the first two batters he faced to put Tulane down to its last out. On a 1-1 count, Tulane third baseman James Agabedis got a piece of Allen's slider and sent it into the right-field roost to tie the game at 4-4.

In the bottom of the ninth, after a lead-off flyout, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases for senior second baseman Kyle Morrison with a Ty Long walk, a Seth Smith double, and a Joey Urban intentional walk. Tulane put a squeeze on the infield, bringing its right fielder nearly all the way to second base in hopes of securing a double-play to end the frame. However, Morrison hit a walk-off single to the exact spot in right field where there was no outfielder.

The Golden Eagles had already left the bases loaded a couple of other times earlier in the game, including in the bottom of the eighth when a bases-loaded, no-outs situation resulted in no runs after a force out at home plate, followed by a groundball double play. Morrison made sure that didn't happen again with the game on the line.

“It was awesome being able to stick to my plan and get the ball in the air," Morrison tells Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI. "I knew going into that at-bat I did not want to hit a groundball, and I was going to do everything I could to get the ball elevated!”

Morrison ended up with three hits on the night, going 3-of-5 at the plate. A big weekend for Morrison awaits, as he'll take on his former team, South Alabama, in Mobile, as the Golden Eagles look to keep building momentum and extending their current win streak of four games.

Barrett Trusting His Approach as Bat Gets Hot

Although sophomore third baseman Drey Barrett didn't get off to the best start at the plate this season, he's starting to heat up at the perfect time for the Golden Eagles. Although Barrett's batting average for the year is at .268, he's batting around .450 over the last few weeks and exploded for two home runs in Tuesday's win over Tulane.

In the bottom of the second inning, with Southern Miss down 3-2, Barrett tied the game with a lead-off, no-doubter home run to left field. Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Barrett hit his second lead-off bomb of the game to give the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead. Before tonight, Barrett's last home run came in a 7-6 win over Mississippi State at The Pete back on March 3. He now has four on the year.

"I've been working hard on my swing and approach, so I knew I was feeling more comfortable every day," Barrett told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI when asked if he could feel a breakout performance like this coming.

"I just feel blessed to have the opportunities that I get. My approach has always been the same, but I wasn’t trusting it. At times, I would try to do too much and take bad swings. Lately, I’ve just done my best of sticking with the approach and trusting it."

Like Morrison, Barrett registered three hits on the night, going 3-of-4 at the plate. Barrett's bat getting hot could play a big role in the Golden Eagles' ability to make a deep postseason run, as it brings so much more versatility to the offense.

Sivley Dominates Tulane's Left-Heavy Lineup

Although the early home runs and the walk-off hit at the end will get the most attention, senior LHP Kros Sivley was arguably the player of the game on Tuesday. After the Golden Eagles gave up three runs in the top of the second inning, Sivley came in the game and pitched a shutout on 53 pitches through 5.1 innings. He gave up no hits, no runs, struck out three batters, and only walked one.

"Five and a third of no-hit baseball, that's what we needed for sure," head coach Christian Ostrander said in his postgame media availability. "We knew (Sivley) would be a factor tonight just because of all the left-handers they have in that lineup. He did a great job. He was getting tired. He was honest with us, so we made the move (to Thomas Crabree in the eighth). That's the difference in the game tonight, his performance. ... Giving us a chance to win."

Sivley's 5.1 innings of work on Tuesday ended up being the longest outing the Golden Eagles have had from a midweek pitcher all season.

As mentioned earlier, the Golden Eagles will now head to Mobile this weekend for an important Sun Belt series with South Alabama. Southern Miss is looking to increase its second-place lead in the conference standings while potentially making a run at catching Coastal Carolina for the top spot. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage leading into the weekend.

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