May 24, 2006

Box Score

HOUSTON -

No. 5 Southern Miss (38-19)         202 000 101 - 6 14 0
No. 4 Memphis (30-27)               000 000 002 - 2 11 2

Southern Miss starter Barry Bowden held Memphis scoreless and struck out six in 6.2 innings and centerfielder Toddric Johnson went 3-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Golden Eagles to a 6-2 win over the Tigers in the opening round of the 2006 Conference USA Tournament. Memphis falls to 30-27 and will face UAB at 12:30 p.m. in the loser's bracket.

The Golden Eagles jumped on Tiger starter Philip Utley early, getting a first-pitch double from leadoff hitter Trey Sutton, followed by an RBI-single by Marc Maddox. USM went up 2-0 two batters later on a sac fly to left by Michael Ewing.

Southern Miss extended its cushion to 4-0 in the third frame on an RBI-single by Ewing and another sacrifice fly, this one by Luke Adkins.

A run-scoring single by Toddric Johnson chased Utley from the contest and made it 5-0. Johnson struck again in the ninth with an RBI-single to give the Golden Eagles a 6-0 advantage.

Memphis avoided being shutout for the first time this year, with a pair of tallies in the ninth inning. Pinch hitter Robbie Goss led the inning off with a walk and K.K. Chalmers followed with a double to the right centerfield gap. A single by Will Petersen scored Goss to put the Tigers on the board and a fielder's choice by Adam Amar made the 6-2 final.

Utley allowed five runs on 12 hits and struck out two in a losing effort. He pitched 6.1 innings before giving way to Marcus Davis, who fanned a pair in 2.2 innings. USM closer Daniel Best picked up his career-high 12th save in 1.1 innings.

Chalmers, Petersen and Kyle Norrid all posted multiple hits for the Tigers.

Memphis dropped the season-series to UAB, 2-1. The Tigers won the Friday night series-opener, but were swept by the Blazers in a doubleheader the next day.