Hattiesburg Regional Preview: Make-or-Break Time for USM vs. Virginia

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - For the second consecutive year, the Southern Miss baseball team finds itself in the loser’s bracket on Day 2 of the Hattiesburg Regional after losing to the 4-seed in the Friday game. Also for the second straight year. It will be the 1-seed vs. the 2-seed in that loser’s bracket game. The Golden Eagles lost a heartbreaker to Little Rock in front of a packed Pete Taylor Park crowd.

Last season, 1-seed USM eliminated 2-seed Alabama to keep its hopes alive for another game. On Saturday afternoon, the Golden Eagles will look to have history repeat itself, this time against the 2-seed Virginia, which lost to the 3-seed Jacksonville State in blowout fashion at The Pete on Friday night.

Potential Rain Changes Start Time

Southern Miss’ elimination game against Virginia was originally slated for 3 p.m. CT, on Saturday, but it was moved up two hours to 1 p.m. CT due to potential rain in the area on Saturday afternoon. However, the winner’s bracket game between Little Rock and Jacksonville State is still slated for 8 p.m. CT on Saturday night.

Parking for the USM game will start at 10 a.m. CT, and gates will open two hours prior to game time at 11 a.m. CT. Be sure to bring your shades, sunscreen, and a fan of some kind if possible, because it’s going to be another hot and humid day in the Hub City.

Eags Look to Respond with Backs Against Wall

It’s officially do-or-die time for the Golden Eagles. A loss to Virginia on Saturday afternoon would end their season. Given that this team has won 44 games, plus a Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championship, it would be incredibly disappointing for this ballclub to go “two and a barbecue” while being the host of a regional.

If we know as much about this team as we think we do, though, it won’t be going down without a knockdown, drag-out fight on Saturday. Baseball is a game of failure, and any team can win on any given night, but we believe this Golden Eagles team still has a lot left in the tank. Running the table and winning this regional coming out of the loser’s bracket won’t be easy, but this team has the talent and veteran experience to pull it off.

"You know, you want to win. That's what we set out to do,” head coach Christian Ostrander said on Friday after the loss to Little Rock. “Baseball's hard. It's a hard game. You gotta get 27 outs. I'm not discouraged with the way the guys competed. I'm not discouraged with their want and desire. We just didn't do enough.”

Not that it takes away from how disappointing the Golden Eagles’ loss to Little Rock was, but there were a handful of regional-opening upsets on Friday, including No. 1 UCLA, No. 5 Auburn, No. 8 Oregon State and No. 12 Florida State all lost their opening games at home to 4-seeds. It just goes to show that any team can beat anyone on any given day in college baseball.

Lefty vs. Lefty: Harris vs. Johnson

Southern Miss sophomore left-handed ace Grayden Harris will get the nod on Saturday with the Golden Eagles facing elimination. Harris has an 8-1 record this year with a 3.20 ERA and 100 strikeouts to just 19 walks. We’re expecting to see a big performance from the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year.

Harris will face a Virginia offense that finished 14th out of 16 teams in the ACC with a .275 batting average and first in strikeouts with 519 in the regular season.

However, the Cavaliers ranked second in the ACC in home runs with 97. So, it seems like it's all or nothing for this Virginia lineup. We'll see how Harris' typical "attack" strategy fares against it.

The Cavaliers will roll out LHP Kyle Johnson on Saturday afternoon to face the Golden Eagles' batting lineup. Johnson has a 1-3 record this season with a 5.86 ERA. He's registered 40 strikeouts to 20 walks in 35.1 innings pitched this year.

Those numbers might seem modest compared to some of the more elite arms the Golden Eagles have faced this season, but given the team's struggles against left-handed pitchers at times throughout the season, you never know how it could go. Southern Miss is hoping that the veteran experience in its batting lineup will win the day.

Eags Need More Offense Early

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Southern Miss needs to get off to a quicker start on the offensive end to have the best chances of extending their season.

The Eagles got runners in scoring position with no outs several times in the early innings of the Little Rock loss on Friday, but couldn't do anything with them. In the end, those missed opportunities loomed large, given how badly the top of the ninth inning unraveled for USM.

With the sense of urgency heightened, look for several guys to step up for the Golden Eagles at the plate on Saturday. We're keeping a close eye on senior right fielder Ben Higdon and sophomore third baseman / designated hitter Drey Barrett, as both of those guys are due for bounce-back games.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more game coverage following Game 3 of the Hattiesburg Regional on Saturday afternoon. Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so you never miss an update.

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