No. 17 Southern Miss (39-24) erupted for three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth en route to a 9-7 victory over No. 9 Florida (42-21) in the first game of the best-of-three NCAA Gainesville Super Regional on Saturday at McKethan Stadium. The Golden Eagles will have an opportunity to clinch their first-ever berth in next weekend’s NCAA College World Series with a win Sunday night at 7 p.m., live on ESPN2. Senior reliever Jonathan Johnston (1-0) hurled 3.2 scoreless innings for USM, giving up one hit, before turning the game over sophomore Collin Cargill in the ninth with a three-run lead. Florida senior Avery Barnes (2-for-5) led off with a single into center field but was erased at second base on a close call on a fielder’s choice by junior Jonathan Pigott (2-for-4, three runs). Freshman Preston Tucker (2-for-5, RBI) singled for two runners aboard and fly-out by sophomore Josh Adams (2-for-5) left runners on the corners. Junior Matt den Dekker narrowed the gap to 9-7 with a base-knock up the middle before Cargill closed the game by having senior Brandon McArthur ground out to nail down his 12th save. Although a trio of Florida relievers, freshman Greg Larson (1.1 IP, 1 H), junior Tony Davis (0.2 IP) and freshman Justin Poovey (1.0 IP, 1 H) held the Golden Eagles scoreless over three frames, the Gators weren’t able to complete the comeback. Each team had 12 hits, including three doubles and a homer apiece. Photos by Tim Casey, Tim Darby, Casey Brooke Lawson and Jenny Pine