ASU baseball returns to the postseason after a two-season hiatus, and will face Southern Miss in the first game of the LSU regional, in Baton Rouge, La. BigGoldNation.com’s Publisher, Heath Hinton familiarizes us with the Sun Devils’ Friday opponent and key aspects of this postseason contest.

DevilsDigest: Looking at your preseason expectations, did a 38-19 record and trip to the NCAA tournament align with those expectations?

Heath Hinton: “I think all Southern Miss fans expect Southern Miss to go to the regionals every year, and they expect Southern Miss to contend for Conference USA championships. That’s what most Southern Miss fans expect now because there’s a lot of good baseball in this area. A lot of good junior college baseball and this team got a lot of kids out of the JUCO system, but there are also a lot of really outstanding high school baseball in the Pine Belt, in South Mississippi, or just Mississippi. As a whole, baseball is second only to football in Mississippi, believe it or not.”

DevilsDigest: What are some of the traits you feel truly really define this Golden Eagles 2019 team?

Heath Hinton: “Grit. One thing I will say about this team is they don’t ever give up, they play hard, they find ways to win games when they have to come back. When things are on the line, this team just has that will to win sometimes. One thing I would say that is has hurt Southern Miss has been all the errors they had this season, inconsistency of fielding. But you look at the conference tournament and they only committed three errors. This team is a persistent team. They’re also very streaky, they’ve had winning streaks of eight and nine in a row this season, and right now they’re on a four-game winning streak. It’s a team that when they’re off, they’re off, but when they’re on, they can beat anybody they play.”

DevilsDigest: Let’s look at their offense. How would you characterize it and who are some of the players to look out for?

Heath Hinton: “Southern Miss has always been an offense that likes to hit home runs. It’s not a team that’s going to steal a lot of bases, but they will play small ball. They don’t steal a lot of bases but, which is kind of odd, but they will play small ball. Head coach Scott Berry does like to advance runners with the bunt, putting them in scoring position.

“But Southern Miss can hit the baseball, there’s no question about it. Really did well in the second half of the season especially with (6-5 220-pound outfielder) Matt Wallner who is going to be taken in the draft this year. He broke the Southern Miss home run record (at 56 home runs) and did it in three years. The baseball just looks like a beach ball to him right now, hitting everything (hitting .324 with 21 homers and 55 RBIs.)

“Bryant Bowen is a guy that has stepped up this year, batting .340. He was the backup catcher but now he’s the designated hitter batting fourth, and protecting Wallner. You look at Matt Guidry at second base, a guy that has power but just a gutsy player, bats a little over .300. Gabe Montenegro leading off in left field is one of those guys who is going to get his jersey dirty because he does the small things. He’s a really good fielder, gets on base, can hit home runs.

“Danny Lynch is a third base freshman who has played outstanding this year. Storme Cooper came in during the tournament and has been starting shortstop, and he’s always been a clutch guy. He’s not going to hit for average or for power, but you put him in a situation where there are two outs and a runner on, and you need runs, and he does a great job there. This is just a team right now that’s clicking on all cylinders and playing their best baseball of the season.”

DevilsDigest: When you look at the defense, and you mention this team playing their best baseball of the season, obviously pitching is a big part of that. It seems as if this area really picked up in the month of May for the Golden Eagles…

Heath Hinton: “Pitching has been great, especially in the tournament. Walker Powell has been the number one this year, threw a couple of complete games, and is the all-conference pitcher. The number two pitcher is Stevie Powers, a senior lefty who’s just a warrior, a guy that even if he’s hurt, he’s still going to go out there and give you five, six innings, and he has been hurt the second half of the season. Then really, what has really helped Southern Miss the second half of the season is Gabe Shepard the freshman right-hander. This is a kid they had to bring along because of Tommy John surgery his senior year of high school and threw 7 1/3 innings against Rice of no-hit baseball and that was a game that was a no-hitter by the Southern Miss pitching staff. Keep your eyes on him because in a couple of years, you’re going to see him in the Major League Baseball draft. He’s a guy that can throw the ball 94-96 MPH with a tight, tight nasty slider, curveball and off-speed pitch comes up there at about 83-84. He’s just filthy on the mound as a freshman.

“Relief-wise, Cody Carroll’s been solid all year, as is Sean Tweedy. Hunter Stanley’s really the closer now. So, Southern Miss pitching-wise is really coming together at the end of the season, especially in the conference tournament. The pitching staff combined for 19 innings of shutout baseball in the last two-plus games, and then has been incredible in the final two games against a really good Rice team and against a really good hitting FAU squad.”

DevilsDigest: What are your thoughts about this upcoming Arizona State matchup?

Heath Hinton: “I think Southern Miss is a team that’s senior-laden that I don’t think it really mattered where they played. I know they were happy not to go to Fayetteville again because, you know, it’s Fayetteville. They wanted to go somewhere different. This is their fourth straight regional, and they’re happy to go down to Baton Rouge. I think they’re looking forward to the challenge of playing a very good Arizona State team.

“I think Southern Miss is the type of team and school that has a chip on its shoulder. I believe because they’re from Conference USA that they’re not considered one of the best programs in college baseball, but Southern Miss and their fans believe they are.

“So, I think they’re looking to go down there and play their best and they want to make a statement. Another thing that’s kind of interesting that it’s actually 10 years ago since Southern Miss made their magical run to the College World Series. So, this team knows about that, earlier this season they had that team from 10 years ago honored, so they know in the back of their minds what people expect of them and what they expect of themselves.”

DevilsDigest: What do you think are some of the keys for this Friday matchup against Arizona State?

Heath Hinton: “If Southern Miss commits one or no errors, they win around 94 percent of their games. It’s all about not making mental mistakes and fielding well. I think that’s the key to it. I think Southern Miss’ pitching will be fine. So, you can’t make multiple errors and you have to rely on your pitching. If Walker pitches, you’re going to have to pitch to contact, if Gabe pitches, once again you just hope that he’s on fire like he has been. But if you’re Southern Miss, you just can’t commit many errors and just keep on swinging the hot bats.”