USM dominates defending national champs Mississippi State, 7-1

Southern Miss Sports Information

PEARL, Miss. (WDAM) - Tanner Hall fanned a career-high 13 and Gabe Montenegro drove in three runs to lead the University of Southern Miss to a 7-1 victory over No. 9 Mississippi State University Wednesday night at Trustmark Park.

The Golden Eagles (6-2) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs (5-4) as they upended the defending national champions in front of 6,387.

Hall (1-0) limited the Bulldogs to five hits and one walk with 13 strikeouts over a career-best seven innings. He used the strikeout to work out of a pair of jams in the contest.

The Bulldogs registered back-to-back hits with one out in the fourth, but a fielder’s choice and strikeout got him out of the inning.

MSU loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs, but he struck out Aaron Downs to get out of the frame.

Hall’s strikeout total was the most by a Golden Eagle since Hunter Stanley fanned 14 versus WKU in the 2021 Conference USA Tournament.

Offensively, the Golden Eagles grabbed the lead for good in the third inning with three runs.

After a leadoff walk to Carson Paetow and a single by Rodrigo Montenegro, Dustin Dickerson moved both runners up a base on a sacrifice bunt.

The elder Montenegro then tripled in two runs to the right-center gap. Reece Ewing, the next batter, extended his hitting streak to eight games by driving in the third run with a single to center.

A run via a wild pitch extended the lead one frame later and then Slade Wilks doubled the other way into left field to drive home two more runs in the fifth to make the score 6-0.

Gabe Montenegro completed the Golden Eagles scoring with an RBI single in the sixth.

MSU registered its lone run in the eighth inning on an RBI double from Logan Tanner.

Bulldog starter Jackson Fristoe (1-1) allowed four runs on four hits with two walks over three-plus innings.

The Golden Eagles travel to Lafayette, La., this weekend to face the University Louisiana-Lafayette in a three-game weekend set.

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