No. 20 Southern Miss Crushes No. 11 Oregon State at Round Rock Classic

The Golden Eagles made a major statement on Saturday night in Round Rock, Texas, by blowing out one of the best teams in the nation.

Ben Higdon, Joey Urban, and Davis Gillespie talk things over in the Southern Miss outfield. / Dalton Trigg

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Following an emotional, dramatic, walk-off win in the Round Rock Classic opener, No. 20 Southern Miss turned its attention toward No. 11 Oregon State on a clear, blue-skied, windy Texas Saturday night. There would be no late-inning drama this time, though, as the Golden Eagles overwhelmed the Beavers in a 9-4 beatdown to improve to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 at Round Rock. Oregon State fell to 4-2 on the year.

Although it's still very early in the season, Southern Miss has shown why it deserves all the hype around the idea that this could be the year third-year head coach Christian Ostrander gets his program back to Omaha.

Golden Eagles Get Hot Starts From Urban and Harris

Dalton Trigg

Senior center fielder Joey Urban got things started off with a bang by hitting a solo home run to right field, giving Southern Miss a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sophomore LHP Grayden Harris also got off to a fantastic start by striking out six of the first seven batters he faced.

Urban finished 3-4 at the plate on the night, leading the Golden Eagles in both hits and RBIs (4). Through six games, Urban is now batting .500 on the year.

Harris (1-0), who notched his first win of the season, finished with a career-high eight strikeouts in five innings. The only runs Harris gave up came in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Oregon State first baseman Jacob Krieg smashed a three-run homer to give the Beavers a 3-1 lead. One could argue that the Beavers wouldn't have even been in a position to get that three-run homer had it not been for a Southern Miss error that put the lead-off man on base.

USM Storms Ahead in Sixth and Seventh Innings

Dalton Trigg

In the top of the sixth, Urban ripped a ball into the right field gap for a triple to get the Golden Eagles' run going. Then, senior first baseman Matthew Russo singled to score Urban, and junior left fielder Davis Gillespie, who has been on his own personal hot streak lately, followed that by hitting a two-run homer to give Southern Miss a 4-3 lead.

Urban found his way back up to the plate in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded, and he delivered with a two-run RBI single to expand the Golden Eagles' lead to 6-3. With the bases loaded again just moments later, Gillespie added one more run with a sac-fly to give Southern Miss a 7-3 lead.

Raucous "U-S-M" chants echoed through the cold air at Dell Diamond for the second consecutive night.

Sunstrom Slams The Door

Dalton Trigg

After taking the mound in the top of the sixth inning, sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom was magnificent for the Golden Eagles, earning a save and finishing with a career-high eight strikeouts in four innings. Oregon State, despite having traffic on the bases several times, was only able to get one run across with Sunstrom in the game. That run came in the bottom of the seventh off an RBI single, cutting USM's lead to 7-4.

Southern Miss added to its lead after a bases-loaded pitch clock violation by Oregon State in the top of the eighth scored another run. Then, in the top of the ninth, senior second baseman Kyle Morrison played the role of an insurance agent by adding one more run with an RBI single, giving Southern Miss a commanding 9-4 lead going to the bottom of the ninth.

Sunstrom had a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth with a groundout and two strikeouts to end the game. The Golden Eagles stayed undefeated at the Round Rock Classic, and once again, the "U-S-M" chants from the Black and Gold faithful rang throughout the stadium.

NO. 20 SOUTHERN MISS TAKES DOWN NO. 11 OREGON STATE. #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/xrv6ox2XpB

— Nasty Bunch & Beyond (@NastyBunchPod) February 22, 2026

Going For The Round Rock Sweep

Dalton Trigg

Next up, Southern Miss will take on Baylor on Sunday to wrap up the Round Rock Classic. The Golden Eagles have already put the nation on notice after beating the No. 11 team in the country in convincing fashion, but it would only strengthen their statement if they could finish off the weekend with a complete 3-0 sweep at Dell Diamond.

Southern Miss and Baylor will get underway at 3 p.m. on Sunday. You can stream the finale at D1Baseball.com. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage, wrapping up the weekend in Round Rock.

feed