No. 10 Southern Miss Takes Series Opener at Louisiana Behind Harris' Career Night

In a game that started an hour and a half later than originally scheduled due to a weather delay, No. 10 Southern Miss was still able to lock in and secure a Sun Belt series-opening win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Friday night in Lafayette. The Golden Eagles jumped on the Ragin' Cajuns early and never let up in an 8-1 blowout at Russo Park.

With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 25-9 overall and 8-5 in Sun Belt play, putting them on Texas State’s heels for second place in the conference standings. With the loss, the Ragin' Cajuns fell to 19-15 overall and 4-9 in Sun Belt play.

Harris Leads Dominant Night on the Mound

Sophomore LHP Grayden Harris (6-1) had himself a career night in the city he grew up a little over an hour away from. In 6.1 innings, Harris looked comfortable and in full control all game, as he finished with a career-best 10 strikeouts with just four hits and one run given up.

In the seventh inning with two Ragin' Cajuns on base with just one out, senior RHP Colby Allen came in the game and got the last two outs to leave those runners stranded. In the final 2.2 innings, Allen held Louisiana scoreless while racking up five strikeouts.

Overall, it was a dominant night on the bump for Southern Miss. The dynamic duo of Harris starting and Allen closing is among the toughest in the nation, and those two guys did everything that head coach Christian Ostrander could've asked for on Friday night to open a big conference series.

Eags Keep Offensive Momentum Rolling

After Tuesday's walk-off win over New Orleans at Pete Taylor Park, senior first baseman Matthew Russo told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI that he and the guys were "looking to keep this momentum going" into the weekend, and they did just that by scoring eight runs on seven hits.

Russo got the scoring started in the top of the second inning with a two-run bomb that traveled 400 feet over the right field wall at Russo Park. It was his fifth home run of the year. Russo, who has really started hitting the ball better over the last several weeks, is now batting .285 on the year.

In the top of the sixth inning, junior catcher Tucker Stockmen got in on the home run action as well, as he launched a two-run bomb of his own to nearly the same spot Russo hit his. It was Stockman's fourth homer of the year.

Junior outfielder Davis Gillespie has been on an absolute tear, batting .331 on the season, which is second on the team only to Kyle Morrison's .350 batting average. He was the only Golden Eagle with multiple hits on Friday, going 3-for-4 at the plate with one walk. The Ragin' Cajuns walked eight Golden Eagle batters, and Southern Miss made them pay for it.

Job's Not Finished

Friday's win was a great start for Southern Miss, but as the late great NBA legend Kobe Bryant once famously said, "Job's not finished."

Over the last couple of weekends, the Golden Eagles have seen what can happen when they take their foot off the gas for even one inning of play. They must come into Saturday's game with the same level of intensity and focus as if the series is still tied if they want to avoid a fourth consecutive Sun Belt series rubber match on Sunday.

After having two consecutive 2-2 weeks, it would be nice to see Southern Miss get greedy this weekend and go for the sweep in Lafayette. If the Golden Eagles can pull that off, it would be their first perfect 4-0 week since before conference play began.

The Golden Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns will get things underway again at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Russo Park. You can watch the game on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage throughout the weekend.