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Nick Suss
Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Southern Miss baseball didn't get the host bid it was looking for. But to coach Scott Berry, the Golden Eagles got the next best thing.
A chance.
"Once you're one of those 64, anything can happen," Berry said. "We saw that in 2009 with a great run that we had to Omaha, the only run that we've had. We probably weren't expected to do that. When you're one of those 64, you have that chance."
Berry's Golden Eagles were picked as one of 20 teams that would have the opportunity to host a regional in this year's NCAA Tournament. After a couple of disappointing losses to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament, Southern Miss didn't get that opportunity.
Instead, the Golden Eagles will travel about four hours north to Oxford to face in-state rival Ole Miss, No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 4 seed Southeast Missouri as the No. 2 seed in the Oxford Regional.
ANALYSIS:How Southern Miss baseball's C-USA Tournament run came to a crashing halt
OUTLOOK:Should Southern Miss have hosted? A look at USM's NCAA Tournament outlook
FROM THE OTHER SIDE:Ole Miss baseball draws brutally tough, pitcher-loaded field for Oxford Regional
This is the third time in 20 years that Southern Miss has been sent to Oxford for a regional. The last two trips to Oxford didn't go as Southern Miss would've hoped, with the Golden Eagles failing to reach the regional final in both 2005 and 2007.
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Berry said he thinks this year's Oxford Regional is "probably one of the tougher ones the NCAA put together." The Golden Eagles' first draw proves that.
Florida State comes into the tournament as one of the most talented No. 3 seeds in the country. Not only do the Seminoles have the tradition of having been to the third-most College World Series in history, but they also have some of the best ballplayers in the Oxford Regional.
Catcher Mat Nelson leads the Seminoles with a .332 batting average, a 1.215 OPS and 22 home runs. Baseball America ranks Nelson as the No. 43 prospect for the 2021 MLB Draft. Outfielders Robby Martin (No. 112) and Elijah Cabell (No. 308) also are heralded draft prospects. And that's not mentioning pitcher Parker Messick, who carries a 3.32 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 84 innings into the regional.
Berry said he hasn't started scouting Florida State or any of Southern Miss' potential opponents yet. But what he does know is Southern Miss has the pitching to match up with Florida State's big bats and power arms.
"First of all, I think we've got really good starting pitching that we've been able to ride their backs all year. Even early in the year when we weren't hitting much and our offense was struggling to score runs, our pitching is what kept us in games to allow us to just get enough over the course of nine innings to win a few games."
2021 NCAA baseball regional pairings:Here's the full schedule
In all likelihood, Friday's game between Florida State and Southern Miss will be low-scoring. Florida State has the nation's 13th-best ERA. Southern Miss is No. 15. Florida State strikes out the fourth-most batters per nine innings in college baseball. Southern Miss has the nation's sixth-best WHIP. Both teams rank in the top 40 in the country in hits allowed per nine innings.
Berry said he hasn't made a final decision about who will start Friday night yet, but he expects to stick with senior right-hander Hunter Stanley for Game 1 as he has all season. Beyond that, it's hard to make guarantees, but it does leave Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Walker Powell to pitch Saturday in what could be an elimination game or what could be a chance to cruise through to the regional final.
Making predictions about regionals is tough. To Berry, that's because it's hard for fans to comprehend the quality of teams that get tournament bids.
"One thing I want to point out that the general public does not understand is how hard it is to be one of those 64," Berry said. "In this certain regional there were 30 automatic bids and 34 at-large bids. ... Note that of the at-large bids left after the Power Five got all theirs, which was 25, that left nine for the rest of the programs around the country. It's not easy to get in this regional."
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
The Clarion-Ledger
www.clarionledger.com
Nick Suss
Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Southern Miss baseball didn't get the host bid it was looking for. But to coach Scott Berry, the Golden Eagles got the next best thing.
A chance.
"Once you're one of those 64, anything can happen," Berry said. "We saw that in 2009 with a great run that we had to Omaha, the only run that we've had. We probably weren't expected to do that. When you're one of those 64, you have that chance."
Berry's Golden Eagles were picked as one of 20 teams that would have the opportunity to host a regional in this year's NCAA Tournament. After a couple of disappointing losses to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament, Southern Miss didn't get that opportunity.
Instead, the Golden Eagles will travel about four hours north to Oxford to face in-state rival Ole Miss, No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 4 seed Southeast Missouri as the No. 2 seed in the Oxford Regional.
ANALYSIS:How Southern Miss baseball's C-USA Tournament run came to a crashing halt
OUTLOOK:Should Southern Miss have hosted? A look at USM's NCAA Tournament outlook
FROM THE OTHER SIDE:Ole Miss baseball draws brutally tough, pitcher-loaded field for Oxford Regional
This is the third time in 20 years that Southern Miss has been sent to Oxford for a regional. The last two trips to Oxford didn't go as Southern Miss would've hoped, with the Golden Eagles failing to reach the regional final in both 2005 and 2007.
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Berry said he thinks this year's Oxford Regional is "probably one of the tougher ones the NCAA put together." The Golden Eagles' first draw proves that.
Florida State comes into the tournament as one of the most talented No. 3 seeds in the country. Not only do the Seminoles have the tradition of having been to the third-most College World Series in history, but they also have some of the best ballplayers in the Oxford Regional.
Catcher Mat Nelson leads the Seminoles with a .332 batting average, a 1.215 OPS and 22 home runs. Baseball America ranks Nelson as the No. 43 prospect for the 2021 MLB Draft. Outfielders Robby Martin (No. 112) and Elijah Cabell (No. 308) also are heralded draft prospects. And that's not mentioning pitcher Parker Messick, who carries a 3.32 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 84 innings into the regional.
Berry said he hasn't started scouting Florida State or any of Southern Miss' potential opponents yet. But what he does know is Southern Miss has the pitching to match up with Florida State's big bats and power arms.
"First of all, I think we've got really good starting pitching that we've been able to ride their backs all year. Even early in the year when we weren't hitting much and our offense was struggling to score runs, our pitching is what kept us in games to allow us to just get enough over the course of nine innings to win a few games."
2021 NCAA baseball regional pairings:Here's the full schedule
In all likelihood, Friday's game between Florida State and Southern Miss will be low-scoring. Florida State has the nation's 13th-best ERA. Southern Miss is No. 15. Florida State strikes out the fourth-most batters per nine innings in college baseball. Southern Miss has the nation's sixth-best WHIP. Both teams rank in the top 40 in the country in hits allowed per nine innings.
Berry said he hasn't made a final decision about who will start Friday night yet, but he expects to stick with senior right-hander Hunter Stanley for Game 1 as he has all season. Beyond that, it's hard to make guarantees, but it does leave Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Walker Powell to pitch Saturday in what could be an elimination game or what could be a chance to cruise through to the regional final.
Making predictions about regionals is tough. To Berry, that's because it's hard for fans to comprehend the quality of teams that get tournament bids.
"One thing I want to point out that the general public does not understand is how hard it is to be one of those 64," Berry said. "In this certain regional there were 30 automatic bids and 34 at-large bids. ... Note that of the at-large bids left after the Power Five got all theirs, which was 25, that left nine for the rest of the programs around the country. It's not easy to get in this regional."
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
