Arkansas State Wins Rubber Match, Upsets No. 7 Southern Miss in Sun Belt Opener

The Golden Eagles couldn't recover from a disastrous first inning in Jonesboro, ultimately losing their first Sun Belt series to the Red Wolves.

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No. 7 Southern Miss couldn't overcome a shaky start in Sunday's rubber match against Arkansas State, as the Golden Eagles ultimately lost the game and the Sun Belt Conference opening series to the Red Wolves in Jonesboro.

Eags Fight Back After Early Errors

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In the bottom of the first inning, with winds gusting in the 40 mph range, the Golden Eagles gave up three runs on two fielding errors by Kyle Morrison and Seth Smith, and a wild pitch from starting pitcher McCarty English. Although weather conditions could've played a role in those mishaps, it was still very uncharacteristic to see the Southern Miss infield stack that many errors early.

Thanks to an A-State throwing error in the top of the fourth that scored Davis Gillespie, as well as a Joey Urban solo home run in the top of the sixth, Southern Miss cut the deficit to 3-2.

Eags Couldn't Take Advantage of Late Opportunities

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The Golden Eagles had a couple of big opportunities to tie the game or take the lead, as they had runners on second and third with just one out in the top of the second, as well as the bases loaded with just one out in the top of the eighth.

Unfortunately for Southern Miss, all of those runners were left stranded in both of those innings. A-State added two insurance runs with solo home runs off of Golden Eagles RHP Thomas Crabtree in the bottom of the eighth, and that essentially ended things for the Black and Gold.

Sivley a Bright Spot

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One bright spot for the Golden Eagles on Sunday was the pitching performance of senior LHP Kros Sivley. The lefty came into the game in the bottom of the third, inheriting a bases-loaded jam from English, but he got out of the jam and finished with three strikeouts and only one hit given up in 3.2 scoreless frames.

Next up, the Golden Eagles will face Nicholls in Biloxi on Tuesday night, not only looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Colonels at home a few weeks back, but to bounce back from what was a disappointing opening weekend in conference play. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage as new rankings are revealed on Monday.