HATTIESBURG – Southern Miss had gone 20 consecutive innings without scoring a run on their home diamond at the 2015 Conference USA Baseball Championship.

But the Golden Eagles broke through in the 12th inning with two outs to collar a 2-0 victory over Old Dominion in an elimination game Thursday afternoon at Taylor Park.

“Hats off to both sides, both clubs,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. “The players, the kids, the coaches, they all competed very hard, and fortunately, we came out on top.”

Connor Barron grounded a single through the right side to score Michael Sterling from second base in the top of the 12th, and when right fielder Nick Walker charged for a potential play at the plate, the ball slipped under his glove, allowing Nick Dawson to come around all the way from first base.

The play ended the second-longest game, by innings, in C-USA baseball postseason history.

“The young man in right was probably trying to throw Sterling out at the plate,” Berry said. “It was do or die. There was no holding (up Sterling at third base) by me, I can tell you, and (Walker) knew that, too.”

Third-seeded Southern Miss (36-17-1) will face another elimination contest at 6:30 p.m. Friday, facing the loser of Florida Atlantic-UAB.

Seventh-seeded Old Dominion (27-29) became the second squad knocked out of the eight-team field, following the departure of top-seeded Rice Thursday morning.

“It’s kind of the way it’s been all season for us, we can’t get big hit,” ODU coach Chris Finwood said. “Their pitchers made the pitches when they had to. We had the right guys up. We just couldn’t get it done.”

USM, which improved to 5-0 in extra-inning games this season, had four pitchers scatter eight hits while walking only two.

James McMahon, C-USA Pitcher of the Year, went 8.2 innings, allowing five hits, while walking one and striking out five. Ryan Milton, Luke Lowery and Nick Johnson (4-0) combined to record the Golden Eagles’ 10th shutout of the season.

“Pitching and defense, it’s hard to beat it,” Berry said, “and it’s exactly what you saw (Thursday).”

ODU left-hander Adam Bainbridge nearly matched MacMahon’s effort, allowing nine hits over 8.1 innings, while walking just one.

Southern Miss had been stifled through its first two games, first by UAB junior right-hander James Naile, who limited the Golden Eagles to just two hits in an opening-round game.

“We had gone (20) innings before we scored a run,” Berry said. “Naile’s last night and then the lefty handcuffed us pretty good. We had some hits (Thursday), but we didn’t have run to show for it until those two-out hits in that last inning.”

Sterling started the rally with a single to left off Old Dominion reliever Nick Hartman (0-6). After Sterling stole second, Hartman walked Nick Dawson.

Barron followed with a 2-out ground ball that zipped through the right side.

“We walked the nine-hole guy there with two outs, and that hurt,” Finwood said. “We also don’t throw the guy out a second when we had a chance to do that on the steal.

“But they deserved to win, and I wish them the best.”

Berry was asked what the win might mean for the Golden Eagles’ NCAA postseason possibilities.

“Huge. Huge. I think it was absolutely huge,” Berry said. “There’s a lot of people who keep telling me, `Well, you’re in, you’re in,’ and I don’t think they know what they’re talking about.

“I think that there’s no doubt that we have to continue to win to prove our case because we can’t control what’s going on in the other conferences and what upsets are taking place. All we can control is ourselves.”

The Golden Eagles started their day by finishing the final two innings of Wednesday’s opening-round game with UAB that had been suspended early Thursday morning after two, weather-related delays.

The sixth-seeded Blazers, which led 3-0 after the seven innings completed before the suspension, tacked on a run Thursday morning to snap USM’s 13-game winning streak with a 4-0 win.

Naile (10-3) walked two and struck out seven over 6.2 innings. Thomas Lowery added four more strikeouts over the final 2.1 innings to pick up his fourth save.

The loss claimed another USM steak, as outfielder Chase Scott went hitless in three at-bats, snapping a 21-game hitting streak. Scott started a new one by leading off the fourth inning with a single against Old Dominion.

Dawson broke up Naile’s no-hit bid with a clean single to left in the fifth inning, while Matt Durst led off the seventh inning with a double.

But USM had only seven baserunners, with men on first and second in just three innings. Second base was as far as a Golden Eagle managed to get.

Southern Miss Media Relations