Score Predictions for No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 1 Southern Miss— Hattiesburg Regional Elimination Game

Virginia Baseball got off to a very bumpy start in the Hattiesburg Regional, but their season is not over.

Yet.

The Cavaliers come into today's game facing elimination as they took a loss 15-7 to Jacksonville State last night and now the season is going to be on the line today when they face host Southern Miss, who was stunned yesterday by Little Rock in one of the biggest upsets of the day in College Baseball.

It was a dismal all-around game for UVA, but their pitching was once again a disaster. After giving up 16 runs to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Virginia gave up 15 in yesterday's loss to the Gamecocks. Giving up more than 15 runs is going to be a recipe for disaster, even if you are not playing a team of the caliber of those two.

But Virginia is going to be playing a really good team today. Despite the loss to Little Rock yesterday, Southern Miss is still a very impressive team that earned the No. 9 overall seed for a reason. They have a top pitching staff and their offense is better than it showed yesterday.

UVA has not been able to beat a quality opponent since they beat Liberty 5-4 back on April 22nd. Since then, they were swept by Pitt, lost a series to Cal, lost a series to Louisville, and gave up 16 runs to Georgia Tech.

Can the break through today and stay alive?

So what is it going to take for UVA to take down the Golden Eagles.

It is probably going to take a combination of Kyle Johnson throwing his best game of the season and the offense getting off to a quicker start.

In his last start against Louisville, it was not a great outing. Johnson was able to go 5.1 IP and gave up six runs on six hits while also walking five batters. Southern Miss has a more potent offense than the Cardinals do and Johnson is going to have to make sure he is not letting anything leave the ball park. Maybe his best recent start came against Radford in early May, when he went five innings, givning up only one run and striking out five.

Radford is a lot different than what he is about to see today though.

Southern Miss might not be a Georgia Tech level offense, but if UVA's pitching continues to trend downward, they will look like Georgia Tech.

Virginia's offense is going to need to do its part today too, regardless of what the pitching situation looks like.

They are going to be going against LHP Grayden Harris, who boasts an 8-1 record this season with a 3.20 ERA, 100 strikeouts and just 19 walks. UVA's offense led the ACC in strikeouts this season and that is going to be a worry today going up against Harris.

Based on last night and really the past month or so, there is no reason to pick Virginia to win this game and keep things going this season. I think Chris Pollard's first year is going to end today in Hattiesburg.

Final Score: Southern Miss 10, UVA 5

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