FAYETTEVILLE grad struggles at home.

FAYETTEVILLE — Southern Mississippi pitcher Walker Powell did not enjoy a happy homecoming against Dallas Baptist on Sunday.

Powell, a redshirt sophomore right-hander from Fayetteville, allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in 4 innings as the Patriots beat the Golden Eagles 9-4 at Baum Stadium to eliminate Southern Miss from the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

“Obviously, not the result we wanted,” Powell said. “But it was cool to come home and pitch. I had my family and friends all here supporting me and our team.”

Powell finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 3.80 ERA in 16 starts over 83 innings.

“Today probably wasn’t his best outing,” Southern Miss Coach Scott Berry said. “Seemed like he couldn’t get the ball down in the zone, and Dallas Baptist made him pay for it with some good swings.

“But given Walker’s situation, I know it was special for him to come back to Fayetteville. I’m grateful that the young man had two Tommy John’s and he was back out there.”

Powell first underwent Tommy John surgery — a procedure on the elbow ligament — when he was a junior at Fayetteville High School, then had it again when he was injured at the end of his freshman year at Southern Miss in 2016.

“Trying to come back from a second Tommy John, there’s a lot of rehab that goes into one,” Berry said. “And then you’re pitching really good as a true freshman, and all of a sudden you’re pitching your last game in a conference tournament that year and something goes.

“It’s pretty devastating and it’s an emotional thing that, ‘Man, I have to go through this whole thing again?’ For him to be able to do that and rehab and keep that mental approach you’ve got to have every day to go in there — along with our trainer Josh Walker, who we can’t leave out, because that was really his angel that guarded him and made him do it and come back.”

Powell said this season went well overall.

“Hopefully, next season can be even better,” he said. “As a player, you’re never satisfied with your stats. Even if you have a great year, you always want to be better. I’m just looking forward to next year.”