HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Cole Basinger, a local Demopolis native, picked up a win for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball team as they defeated Alabama on Tuesday night 7-4.

Basinger (3-0) pitched one inning of relief for the victory, giving up just one run on one hit and striking out one.

“I’m 3-0, but I am still struggling a little bit,” Basinger said.

“Right now I am just trying to learn the game at this level and get comfortable and trying to make adjustments.

And most likely, I will keep doing that until I quit baseball.”

Basinger’s biggest accomplishment since joining the USM baseball team was “pitching eight innings of shutout against Indiana State, a game that was played in Beaumont, Texas.”

So what are Basinger’s main goals?

“To contribute the best I can and I would love to go Omaha,” Basinger said.

As far as a favorite team to play or favorite team faced thus far, Basinger pointed to the Alabama game among others.

“The Alabama win was a big game for me,” Basinger said.

“And we have Old Miss coming up on Tuesday and we play Mississippi State in a couple of weeks and Tulane is our conference rival.”

When speaking with Basinger’s father, Glenn, he said he was proud of his son and happy with the skills he learned while playing baseball at DHS.

For the latest news and information on Basinger and other local athletes in the college ranks, check later editions of The Times.