Dorian Gonzalez and Derek Williams hit home runs and Miami got just enough pitching to beat Southern Mississippi 5-4 and win the Hattiesburg Regional. Miami advances to its first Super Regional since 2016 and will play at Louisville this weekend.
Williams hit a HR in the top of the second inning to give Miami a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the fourth, when Southern Mississippi folk hero Matthew Russo had an RBI single to tie the game. Miami answered immediately to regain the lead in the top of the fifth.
Michael Torres started the fifth-inning rally with a two-out single. Jake Ogden doubled Torres home to put Miami back in front 2-1. After a Southern Miss pitching change, Max Galvin singled Ogden home to extend the Miami lead to 3-1. Miami scored two more runs in the sixth inning.
Dorian Gonzalez homered to left center field and Torres had an infield single as Miami led 5-1 after five and a half innings. Tucker Stockton singled home Joey Urban in the bottom of the seventh to get Southern Miss within 5-2. Southern Miss would threaten in the eighth inning.
Brian Walters relieved Rob Evans after two leadoff walks. Walters forced a pair of groundouts with a strikeout in between to keep the Miami lead at 5-2 after eight innings. Walters got two outs in the ninth inning with a walk in between. Carson Paetow hit a two-run HR for Southern Miss to cut the Miami lead to 5-4.
On a two-ball, one-strike pitch, Walters got ninth-place Southern Miss hitter Seth Smith to fly out to left field and Miami celebrated with a dog pile on Walters. Reese Lumpkin, Will Smith, Evans and Walters all pitched well enough to put Miami in a position to win a day after losing 17-6 to Southern Miss.