Rogers: Oldham gem, complete Southern Miss headline Wednesday Sun Belt action • D1Baseball
Southern Miss once struggled to establish consistency. Now, Billy Oldham and the Golden Eagles are rolling while Coastal looks to stay alive in the tourney race.
Billy Oldham, Southern Miss (Eddie Kelly, Pro Look)
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Rogers: Oldham gem, complete Southern Miss headline Wednesday Sun Belt action
COLUMNS Kendall Rogers - May 23, 2024MONTGOMERY, Ala. — There have been times this season when Southern Miss struggled to find consistency. But senior righthanded pitcher Billy Oldham has been a constant for the Golden Eagles through all the ebbs and flows of a college baseball season.
Looking to begin the Sun Belt tournament on a high note, the Golden Eagles sent Oldham to the mound against Coastal Carolina, a solid offensive team that he had success against the last time he faced them. That last meeting back in early May resulted in Oldham going seven innings and recording 11 strikeouts.
He stepped up yet again on Wednesday in a 5-0 win over Coastal Carolina in a game that was a classic pitcher’s duel between him and Coastal’s Henry Weycker.
“I’m just really proud of that win, that obviously was a great pitcher’s duel, and I thought Billy did a great job — runs were pretty hard to come by,” Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander said. “I thought for Billy, this start was about throwing a true four-pitch mix against those guys. He had a changeup, fastball and threw a couple of different breaking balls — he commanded that fastball efficiently to all quadrants of the zone. He was able to elevate, go in and out.
“This is what we’ve grown accustomed to [with Oldham on the mound],” he added. “He’s done a great job, and he was very much on display today.”
Oldham, who only has allowed more than two runs in one of his last five starts, was in the zone from the start against the Chanticleers. He retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, and he recorded several strikeouts the first few frames, keeping the Chants off balance with a steady diet of 88-90 mph fastballs to every quadrant of the zone.
Oldham had an impressive feel for his secondary stuff, including a slider at 78-79 mph with spin rates up to 2550, while the softer breaking ball in the mid-70s had an even higher spin rate. Oldham finished the afternoon with nine strikeouts and just two walks, allowing just one hit in seven innings of work.
“I kinda like when I’m in a groove like that,” Oldham said after the win. “With the innings going by quick, I’m back out there super quick. And I kind of like that to be honest. It allows me relax just a little bit.”
Oldham wasn’t the only pitcher to shine in Wednesday’s game. Though he received a no decision after exiting the following six innings of work, Coastal Carolina lefthanded pitcher Henry Weycker was also terrific. Weycker, who spent time at the end of April and early May as a reliever, returned to the starting role against the Golden Eagles, and shined. Weycker struck out five, walked one and allowed just two hits in six innings of work. From a stuff standpoint, he was 88-90 and up to 91 mph with his fastball, while also showing solid spin rates up to 2760 with an effective 78-80 mph breaking ball that was especially tough on righthanded hitters.
The story of this game was Oldham and USM reliever Colby Allen, who closed out the game in impressive fashion.
The other development for this USM team is that all the pieces are coming together at the right time. Earlier this season, it seemed like the Golden Eagles were inconsistent across the board. But the offense started clicking after the Georgia Southern series, and the pitching staff has always had unbridled potential with Oldham, Niko Mazza and others leading the charge. Now, the team has the Ostrander touch to it.
This development could spell danger for whoever hosts the red-hot Golden Eagles in the NCAA tournament next weekend.
“This group — they’ve come together,” Ostrander said. “They’ve been together as a group all along, but there was a point this season where they just took some real ownership. We, as coaches, were able to get out of the way, and they took charge.
“That’s what good teams tend to do, and that’s where you hope to get to as a coach,” he added. “We have a tremendous group of players who compete hard and love each other. It’s that special ingredient that isn’t always there. You have to work for that.”
What it means for Coastal Carolina: The Chants were one of our last five teams in the field in Monday’s postseason projections, and they’re now 1-1 in the Sun Belt tournament after a win over Georgia State and the loss to USM. Coastal’s RPI is up a few spots to 33, while its Sun Belt aggregate record is 17-15. Coastal likely needs another win this week to feel confident entering Selection Monday. The RPI is there, however.
What it means for Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles are already comfortably in the NCAA tournament field, and their RPI went up two more spots with the win to 31. There’s no change in USM’s status, as it looks destined to be a two-seed somewhere. Some USM fans have asked about the potential of hosting with a strong run here in Montgomery. That seems unlikely with an RPI of 20 or higher typically needed to be a Top 16, or to host.
Assessing The Sun Belt Postseason Situation
• Top-seeded Louisiana dropped a 7-3 decision to Old Dominion, which is certainly not stranger to the postseason picture. The Monarchs got a strong start from tall lefthanded pitcher Blake Morgan, who was up to 90-91 mph with his fastball, but showed solid command of breaking stuff, striking out three and allowing just four hits in three shutout innings. Ben Moore added four shutout frames in relief, while John Holobetz, was squared up in relief but still managed to close things out with a fastball that touched 96 mph. The Cajuns are safe to make the field no matter what, while the Monarchs can either knock out James Madison or Coastal Carolina, or steal an at-large bid from someone else. For grins, the Monarchs went up nine spots in the RPI to 62 with the win over the Cajuns.• After losing back-to-back series to Texas State and James Madison to end the regular season, Troy entered the Sun Belt tournament desperately needing a couple of wins to feel secure heading into Selection Monday. Well, things looked bleak for much of the afternoon, but the Trojans found a way to down Appalachian State, 6-5. Bryan Brooks and Kole Myers led the Troy offense in the win. With the win, the Trojans are up one spot to 52 in the RPI, so Thursday’s game against Southern Miss (RPI: 30) is massive. Win that game against USM and I’d feel much better about Troy getting into the field.
• James Madison made a loud statement last weekend by winning two of three from Troy on the road to help its positioning in the postseason picture. However, the Dukes took a step back on Wednesday night with a blowout 12-4 loss to Georgia Southern. JMU should still be ahead of Troy in the pecking order for now, but really needs to avoid going 0-2 — that will take beating top-seeded Louisiana in an elimination game on Thursday. Just to file away, keep an eye on Georgia Southern for the rest of the week. The Eagles are up seven spots to 61 in the RPI. They would have to go on a ridiculous run the rest of the week to make the field, but there’s at least a chance.
