The Cavaliers and the Golden Eagles turned the regional final into a fireworks display, trading blows in a 15‑11 affair that stretched into the tenth inning.
A Night of Fireworks in Hattiesburg
Virginia drew first blood in the opening frame when AJ Gracia slipped a single to the outfield, driving in RJ Holmes, while Southern Miss answered with a three‑run blast from Tucker Stockman in the second.
The third inning saw Joe Tiroly launch a three‑run homer for the Cavaliers and Davis Gillespie reply with a matching three‑run shot for the Eagles, keeping the lead fluid.
A four‑run fourth inning, highlighted by Gracia’s bases‑clearing triple, gave Virginia a modest edge, but the Eagles knotted the game at 11‑11 in the eighth on Stockman’s two‑run double.
The decisive moment arrived in the tenth when Zach Jackson’s two‑run single put Virginia ahead 13‑11, and Kyle Johnson’s two‑run homer cemented a four‑run cushion that proved enough.
Virginia’s offense was paced by Gracia and Holmes, while Tiroly drove in four runs, and the team improved to keep its season alive, while Southern Miss finished its year at 44‑17.