HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Indiana State jumped out to an early seven-run lead highlighted by Parker Stinson's first-inning grand slam, while the Sycamore pitching staff shut down several Southern Miss rallies to take the series finale at Pete Taylor Park, 12-5.
 
Stinson's grand slam, his team-leading fourth home run of the season, powered an Indiana State (8-3) offense that recorded a weekend-high 10 hits, while ISU drew four walks and was hit by five pitches to keep runners consistently on the base paths. Mike Sears added a solo home run, while Adam Pottinger (twice) and Randal Diaz both doubled in the game as the Sycamores took the final game of the weekend series against the Golden Eagles (8-4).
 
Diaz set the tone early for Indiana State with a leadoff double down the left field line before coming around to score on Dominic Listi's RBI single to give the Sycamores the 1-0 lead two batters into the contest. Three batters later, Stinson worked a 2-2 count before driving the ball over the left field billboard beyond the wall off USM starter Will Armistead (0-1) driving in LIsti, Connor Hicks, and Luis Hernandez to give ISU the 5-0 lead.
 
Brennyn Cutts went the first 3.0 innings and kept the Southern Miss offense off-balance allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out three in the contest. Cutts turned the ball over to Jared Spencer (2-0) in the fourth with the junior left-hander going 2.1 innings and striking out six to keep the USM offense in check during the middle part of the game.
 
The Sycamores continued to pressure the Golden Eagles with Grant Magill's RBI single in the fourth, while Dom Krupinski's heads-up base-running on a popup in foul territory added to the Sycamore lead in the inning. Sears added a pinch-hit solo home run in the top of the sixth as ISU continued to provide a cushion for the pitching staff.
 
Cole Gilley went 1.2 innings in relief working his way through a two-on, one-out situation in the sixth, while working a perfect seventh to stake ISU to a three-run, 8-5 lead, heading into the eighth.
 
ISU added four runs in the ninth to provide cushion with Adam Pottinger connecting on a bases-loaded two-run double through a drawn-in USM infield. Simon Gregersen went 2.0 scoreless innings to close out the Sycamore win.
 
Stinson and Pottinger both posted multi-hit games in Sunday's win, while Stinson drove in a career-high five RBIs to power the ISU offense. Magill and Pottinger added two RBIs apiece in the win.
 
Dalton McIntyre, Seth Smith, and Nick Monistere all had multi-hit games for Southern Miss, while Monistere and Billy Butler both homered in the loss.
 
Armistead went 3.0 innings in taking the loss for USM. The right-hander allowed six hits and seven runs while striking out four. Chase Adams, McCarty English, Landen Payne, and Peyton Lacy went the rest of the way for the Golden Eagles.
 
How They Scored

• Dominic Listi singled home Randal Diaz and Parker Stinson connected on a first-inning grand slam as Indiana State jumped ahead of Southern Miss 5-0 after ISU's first at-bats of the game.
• The lead hit 7-0 in the top of the fourth as Grant Magill's RBI single scored Adam Pottinger, while Dom Krupinski hustled to score on Diaz's sacrifice fly in foul territory just past first base to add two more to the ISU totals.
• Southern Miss rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth with Billy Butler connecting on a solo home run, while Nick Monistere (RBI single) and Tucker Stockman (RBI sac fly) also drove in runs to make it a 7-3 game.
• Mike Sears connected on a leadoff pinch-hit home run in the top of the sixth inning driving the ball over the wall in left center to make it an 8-3 Sycamore lead.
• Monistere answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot to left center to keep it an 8-4 game.
• Dalton McIntyre drove in Seth Smith with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Indiana State lead down to 8-5.
• The Sycamores put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the ninth highlighted by Adam Pottinger's two-run double, while Stinson and Magill added RBIs in the inning to provide the final 12-5 margin.

News & Notes

• Indiana State picked up its first win over Southern Miss in program history after falling in their first four contests overall (2004, 2005, 2024 (twice).
• Parker Stinson became the second Indiana State player to hit a grand slam in 2024 joining Randal Diaz (Feb. 25 vs. Marshall).
• Stinson is the early offensive leader for ISU on the year pacing the team in batting average (.333), hits (12), home runs (4), and RBIs (12).
• Jared Spencer became the first Sycamore pitcher to pick up his second win of the season after going 2.1 innings in relief on Sunday. The left-hander has posted a 1.69 ERA over three appearances with an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• The Sycamore pitching staff recorded double-digit strikeouts in all three games against Southern Miss and have accomplished the feat in seven of their last eight games dating back to Florida Gulf Coast (Feb. 19).

Up Next
Indiana State heads to Tallahassee, Fla. and Florida A&M for a four-game weekend series at Moore-Kittles Field starting on Friday, March 8. The series will consist of single games on Friday and Sunday, while Saturday will feature a doubleheader between ISU and the Rattlers. First pitch in the Friday opener is set for 4 p.m. ET
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.