No. 10 Southern Miss Jumps on North Alabama Early, Completes Weekend Sweep

The high-powered Golden Eagles finished off an impressive week by sweeping North Alabama at Pete Taylor Park on Sunday.

Senior outfielder Ben Higdon celebrates after hitting a solo homer off the "Tradition of Excellence" sign in left field. / @SouthernMissBSB

HATTIESBURG, Miss – On a sunny Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park, in a game that was delayed a few hours due to weather that was moving through the area earlier in the day, No. 10 Southern Miss (14-2) wasted little time finishing off North Alabama (7-9). The Golden Eagles took advantage of some early home runs, leading to a 9-2 win and weekend sweep of the Lions.

With the win, Southern Miss completed an impressive 4-1 week that started with a resounding win over No. 4 Mississippi State on Tuesday. The only blemish for the Golden Eagles was a 3-2 loss to Nicholls on Wednesday, but head coach Christian Ostrander had his team prepared for a major bounce this weekend. Given some upsets of some of the teams ahead of the Golden Eagles in the Top-10 rankings, don't be shocked if Southern Miss moves up a few spots on Monday.

Gillespie, Higdon Create Cushion Early, Morrison Adds More Late

Senior outfielder Ben Higdon celebrates after hitting a solo homer off the "Tradition of Excellence" sign in left field. / @SouthernMissBSB

In the bottom of the first inning, junior outfielder Davis Gillespie got things started for the Golden Eagles with a two-run bomb to the right-field roost. Then, at the very next at-bat, senior outfielder Ben Higdon launched a solo homer off the "Tradition of Excellence" billboard in left field to push the Golden Eagles' lead to 3-0.

Gillespie wasn't finished with his early flurry, as he drove in another run in the bottom of the second inning with a double to give Southern Miss a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, with the bases juiced, senior second baseman Kyle Morrison gave Southern Miss a 7-0 lead with a bases-clearing triple. Senior designated hitter Caleb Stelly then singled to bring Morrison home and make it 8-0, Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles finished with 13 hits on the day.

English, Littleton Impressive in Shutout Innings; Causey Shows Poise in Late Jam

Southern Miss sophomore RHP McCarty English pitched five shutout innings in Sunday's win over North Alabama. / @SouthernMissBSB

Following a lights-out performance by sophomore LHP Grayden Harris on Saturday, redshirt sophomore RHP McCarty English had an encouraging outing on Sunday, as he pitched five shutout innings with five strikeouts while giving up just three hits and one walk. He finished with a career-high 77 pitches.

It has been a long road back to this point for English, who suffered a fractured elbow during his freshman year in 2024, but the Ocean Springs native is getting more comfortable with each passing week and showing off his potential that Southern Miss was so excited about when it brought him in a couple of years ago.

True freshman LHP Bruce Littleton, who possesses a tantalizing sweeping pitch in his arsenal, got one inning of action on Sunday. The talented Verstavia Hills product sat down the North Alabama lineup in order with two strikeouts on just 11 total pitches.

Coach Oz has teased Golden Eagle fans with brief looks at Littleton, but given what we've seen so far, we have to imagine that we'll be seeing a lot more of him on the bump as this season progresses.

True freshman RHP Dylan Causey was put into the game in the top of the eighth inning, inheriting a bases-loaded, no-outs jam. He was one strike away from getting out of that jam unscathed, but ultimately, North Alabama was able to scratch two runs across to avoid the shutout. Overall, though, given the situation he was put in, Causey showed incredible poise for a freshman.

More In-State Midweek Action

Senior outfielder Joey Urban was locked in while on base during Sunday's win over North Alabama. / @SouthernMissBSB

Next up, for the second consecutive week, the Golden Eagles will welcome an in-state rival to The Pete for some highly intriguing midweek action. After hosting and beating No. 4 Mississippi State last week, Southern Miss will take on an Ole Miss ballclub that is 15-2, although it hasn't faced the high level of competition the Golden Eagles (No. 1 RPI) have with its early-season schedule.

It will be the Rebels' first true road game of the season. Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI will be at The Pete to bring you coverage of what should be an entertaining midweek game.