Hattiesburg Regional Preview: 'Focused' USM Ready for Little Rock, Economic Impact & Much More

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – At long last, Southern Miss returns home for postseason baseball at Pete Taylor Park this weekend, as the Hattiesburg Regional officially gets underway on Friday. "Baseburg" is sure to be rocking as the Golden Eagles take on Little Rock in Game 1 of regional play at 12 p.m. CT.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a massive Sun Belt Conference tournament run, where they won their third championship in four years to accompany this year's regular-season championship as well.

Here are several key things you need to know about today's game.

Eags "Excited, Proud, Focused" Ahead of Little Rock Opener

"They're clearly very excited," head coach Christian Ostrander said of his team getting ready to host a regional for the second consecutive year.

After losing the first game of the Hattiesburg Regional to Columbia last year, the Golden Eagles fought all the way back to a Game 7 against Miami before ultimately seeing their season come to an end with a 5-4 loss. Coach Oz hopes that experience from last year will be something his guys have learned and grown from.

"Proud and excited to bring baseball back to Hattiesburg, postseason and stuff. They're very focused, too. I think there's a lot of carryover from last year, the guys that were in this exact position a year ago. I hope we're better for it because of that. So, they're very excited, eager, and just kinda waiting for the first pitch."

What to Expect from Southern Miss

Although sophomore LHP Grayden Harris has been the Friday starter on the mound for Southern Miss all season, it will be sophomore RHP Camden Clark who will get the nod on Friday against Little Rock in Game 1 of the Hattiesburg Regional. Although this move could be in part due to Harris having pitched three innings during Sunday's Sun Belt Championship Game win against Louisiana, Coach Oz alluded to the idea of him and pitching coach Gunner Leger crunching numbers and letting the analytics play a role in the Golden Eagles' pitching game plan, based on who they're playing.

Clark is 8-0 this year with a 2.88 ERA. He's registered 77 strikeouts to just 11 walks in 50 innings pitched over 22 appearances. The former closer-turned-starter will be eager to get his first taste of postseason baseball at The Pete.

From an offensive standpoint, the Golden Eagles have been solid from top to bottom in the batting lineup as of late. There is an even distribution of hits, and any given player on any given day could end up being the difference. For example, sophomore third baseman Ty Long, who was batting in the 9-hole during Sunday's Sun Belt Championship Game, led Southern Miss with three hits in four plate appearances.

According to Coach Oz, the team's leadership and culture are what have allowed things like that to happen on a regular basis for this Golden Eagles ballclub.

"It's strong," Coach Oz said of his players' leadership this week, leading up to the regional. "Our locker room, our culture, our unity in that locker room, and the chemistry of this group is strong. You're about to play your 60th game of the year. These guys have achieved a lot, and they're a good team. You don't become a good team just by talent alone. It's the other variables, and I think these guys certainly have that. Great leadership."

"These older guys, man, this is special. You don't know how many more games they have. There's so much motivation for them, positive emotional motivation. These young guys want to go do it for them just as well, so it's gonna be fun to watch these guys compete together."

What to Expect from Little Rock

Little Rock is expected to start senior RHP Brannon Westmoreland, who is 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In 93 innings pitched through 16 appearances this season, Westmoreland has registered 76 strikeouts to just 21 walks. Those are exceptional numbers for the Trojans' senior right-hander, but he will be trying to contain the Golden Eagles' veteran offense in their home stadium, which is no easy task to do.

As for the Trojans' offense, if things look a little familiar to Southern Miss fans, that's because Little Rock head coach Chris Curry molded his offense after legendary former Golden Eagles head coach Scott Berry.

"I'm fighting to not get emotional," Coach Curry said after finding out his team was heading to Hattiesburg earlier this week. "Scott Berry and Corky Palmer, they built Southern Miss. And the first thing I'm going to do is have breakfast with Coach Berry. These guys don't even know it, but almost everything we do offensively, coaching and stuff, comes from Coach Scott Berry at Meridian Junior College."

Little Rock is not a team that Southern Miss will want to take lightly, as the Trojans took the eventual national champion LSU Tigers to a decisive Game 7 in the Baton Rouge Regional in 2025. Now, with that being said, though, Little Rock ranked fifth out of 10 Ohio Valley Conference teams in batting average this year at .289 and seventh in runs scored (370).

If the Southern Miss pitching staff does what it's capable of doing on Friday afternoon, the Golden Eagles should be able to start this regional off with a win, something they haven't been able to do over the last two years.

What's at Stake

Getting that first win will be crucial, because whichever team wins its first game moves on to the winners' bracket game, which will be at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Winning the first game doesn't guarantee winning the entire regional, of course, but it certainly puts a team in a much better position. The Golden Eagles would much rather simply win three games in a row this weekend to punch their ticket to the Super Regionals, rather than playing from behind and potentially needing to play an extra game over the weekend to have a chance to move on.

All of that is easier said than done, but that's the plan going into Friday.

Know Before You Go

ENTRANCE GUIDE: The main gate at Pete Taylor Park (1) will be for fans with tickets in the grandstands or suites. The Roost gate (2) will be for fans with standing-room-only (SRO) tickets.

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 🚨

Main Gate - Grandstand & Suites 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬
Roost Gate - SRO & Roost 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬

*Please note that this is a change from the regular season pic.twitter.com/0N1xhMhvds
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) May 28, 2026

NOTE: If you are new to Pete Taylor Park, having a standing-room-only ticket doesn't mean you have to stand the entire game. You are more than welcome to bring your lawn chair to find a spot to squeeze into in the 16oz. Lounge alongside the right field fence down the first base line.

PARKING MAP: Whether you bought a parking pass or are looking for free parking, please see the campus parking map below to find where you need to be on Friday.

A limited number of single-day parking passes are now on sale 🚗

🅿️ » https://t.co/awhBx4jZSI

For those who already have parking passes, see the map below to familiarize yourself with the lots!#OTR | #ETM | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/qxX2Nl4o3p
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) May 28, 2026

STADIUM POLICIES: Pete Taylor Park has a "clear bag" policy and is also a cashless venue. For other important policies, please visit Southern Miss' "Regional Central" page.

Weather Forecast

As of Thursday night, the Hattiesburg weather forecast, according to the WDAM app, called for a 20 percent chance of rain at the new start time of 12 p.m. CT and temperatures in the high 70s. Friday's game was moved back from 1 p.m. CT due to potential isolated thunderstorms being in the area.

Stay tuned for more updates if the weather ends up delaying games during this weekend's Hattiesburg Regional.

Hattiesburg Regional Economic Impact

Local businesses are preparing for the madness that comes with the baseball team hosting a regional. This weekend's Hattiesburg Regional is expected to generate nearly $11 million in total economic impact, according to tourism officials (H/T SuperTalk News).

If you'd like to hear Southern Miss President Dr. Joe Paul talk about that economic impact, as well as his general excitement for this upcoming weekend of baseball in Hattiesburg, give the latest episode of "Nasty Bunch & Beyond" a listen.

How to Watch / Listen

USM Hattiesburg Regional — Southern Miss Athletics

If you aren't attending Game 1 of the Hattiesburg Regional in person, you can watch the game on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon. Fans can also listen to the game via the Southern Miss Sports Network through the Varsity Network App.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more USM baseball game coverage all weekend. Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so you never miss an update.

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