Golden Eagle veterans react to Scott Berry’s retirement at Southern Miss
The gravity of Scott Berry’s words didn’t set in for Tanner Hall at the time.
It was June 6, 2021, and a freshman Hall was stepping off the mound after throwing a then-career-high five innings against Ole Miss in an elimination game at the Oxford regional. He struck out five and allowed just one hit.
Berry pulled Hall aside and told him: “What you did today was something special and it’s going to go a long way in your career.”
Now, 234 strikeouts and 19 pitcher wins later, the All-American Hall acknowledges the moment as one that instilled the confidence he needed for his career to lift off the launch pad.
When Berry pulled him and a select few veterans into his office this week, the gravity of Berry’s decision to retire following the end of the season didn’t escape Hall and his teammates.
“There was a bunch of guys (in the clubhouse) with tears on their faces,” Hall said. “(Berry) means a lot to this program and means a lot to the players. He built this place, kind of carried on coach Corky (Palmer’s) legacy.”
The reaction that swept the locker room after Berry informed the full team on Monday night was indicative of the job Berry had done in molding the individual relationships that served as the foundation for his program.
Berry’s career as head coach will span 14 seasons and it witnessed the development of 14 All-Americans and 28 draft picks.
“You didn’t expect it to come, ever,” pitcher Justin Storm said. “I think it kind of turned over pretty quick from sad to gratitude.”
Storm recalled the moment Berry altered his path. While playing in a summer tournament in Oklahoma, the physically imposing left-hander caught the eye of Berry.
Lightly recruited at the time, Berry extended Storm the opportunity that others were withholding. Storm is now a valuable member of the bullpen who hasn’t allowed a run since April 18 and just one earned run in his last 11 innings pitched.
“I’ve had some awesome, awesome years here,” Storm said. “I can’t be thankful enough for him for bringing me here.”
Berry has won a school-record 517 games and will be building on that number with a regular season finale against Louisiana coming up and both the Sun Belt and NCAA Tournaments on the horizon.
The last time a USM baseball coach made his farewell tour, Palmer took the Golden Eagles to their first and only College World Series in 2009. Berry was on that staff and was named head ball coach shortly after.
Though USM is already riding a 13-game win streak heading into the SBC’s final weekend, the news has provided the team with an extra jolt.
“It was emotional, but I think it brought us together a little more and gave us something to push toward,” infielder Dustin Dickerson said. “He’s a legend. I know he didn’t want to tell us until after the season, but I think it was a great time to tell us... When we’re going through tough times, we can always put him in the back of our heads and push a little more.”
The epicenter of Berry’s impact at Pete Taylor Park can easily be unearthed in his players. It wasn’t felt so much on the diamond with the buttons a manager pushes, but rather in the way he approached each individual each day.
With the intention of leaving a lesson and providing the words needed for a batter to build comfort in the box and a pitcher to gain confidence on the mound.
“It’s every day, the way he approaches it, the things he teaches you every day,” infielder Danny Lynch said. “Every day, every week he’s got a new thing he’s trying to instill in us that we’ll hopefully take with us the rest of our lives.”
“He’s so friendly and nice, it’s impossible to hate him,” Hall said. “He treats this game like it’s his life.”
Southern Miss will host a “Scott Berry Night” on Friday against Louisiana to honor the coach and his family.
Berry is only the fourth coach in a tight lineage at USM going back to 1965. The search for his successor is already under way, according to the school, and it expects to name a new head coach “in the near future.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Golden Eagle veterans react to Scott Berry’s retirement at Southern Miss."
