HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The Columbia Lions delivered a striking performance, defeating the top-seeded Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 11-4 in the Hattiesburg Regional on Friday evening. Hunter Snyder was instrumental with four hits and three runs, while Anton Lazits added to the tally by smashing a three-run homer. The victory propels fourth-seeded Columbia to face the No. 3 seed Miami Hurricanes on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Southern Mississippi, holding an impressive 44-15 record, will fight to stay in the tournament as they take on Alabama in an elimination game earlier on the same day. Columbia, now 30-17, established their dominance early, with Snyder contributing with an RBI single and Sam Miller delivering a powerful double that brought home two runs. Miller, too, completed his run on a double by Griffen Palfrey during a vibrant four-run fourth inning, putting the Lions ahead with a 6-1 lead.
The Lions continued their momentum in the later innings with Owen Estabrook launching a two-run homer in the eighth and adding an RBI single in the ninth. Lazits’ early ninth-inning homer further solidified Columbia’s commanding victory.
On the pitching side, Alex Sotiropoulos, who boasts a 5-3 record, provided exceptional relief, pitching for 3 2/3 shutout innings after starter Jagger Edwards took to the mound. Edwards surrendered three runs, one of which was earned, off two hits over 3 1/3 innings. Closing out the game, Tomas Lopez covered the final two frames, conceding just one unearned run on two hits.
Southern Mississippi’s lineup saw contribution from Jake Cook, who registered two hits and an RBI. However, starting pitcher Matthew Adams, with a season record of 6-3, allowed four runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings, which contributed to the Golden Eagles’ challenging evening.
This is Southern Mississippi’s ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 21st overall, having made their single College World Series appearance back in 2009. On the other hand, Columbia has made remarkable strides, securing six out of its eight national tournament appearances since 2013, although they have yet to proceed to the College World Series.