No. 7 Southern Miss vs. Arkansas State: How to Watch, Biggest Storylines

The red-hot Golden Eagles open Sun Belt Conference play against Arkansas State in Jonesboro this weekend. Here's how you can watch the games, plus some of the big storylines heading into the series.

Arkansas State Athletics

Following an electric, walk-off win over in-state rival Ole Miss on Tuesday, No. 7 Southern Miss is in Jonesboro, Ark., this weekend, taking on Arkansas State in what will be both teams' Sun Belt Conference opening series. The Golden Eagles are 15-2 and winners of four consecutive games. The Red Wolves are 13-5 and winners of seven of their last nine games.

Weekend Weather Forecast

Tucker Stockman's walk-off single lifted No. 7 Southern Miss over Ole Miss at Pete Taylor Park on Tuesday night. / @SouthernMissBSB

The weather for the first two games of this series should be relatively good in Jonesboro, as the current forecast calls for a cloudy day with a high of 67 degrees and a low of 43 degrees on Friday, with just a 10-percent chance of rain.

On Saturday, the current weather forecast calls for another cloudy day with a high of 72 degrees and a low of 45 degrees, and just a 10-percent chance of rain.

On Sunday, things could be a little more up in the air, as the current forecast calls for a high of 73 degrees and a low of 30 degrees with an 85-percent chance of rain. The weekend should move smoothly through Friday and Saturday, but there could potentially be some start-time changes or even some delays on Sunday.

Will Elite Pitching Rule the Weekend?

Southern Miss sophomore LHP Grayden Harris had a career-best 13 strikeouts on Saturday in a win against North Alabama. / @SouthernMissBSB

This weekend's matchup features two of the Top-10 teams in the nation when it comes to ERA. As a team, Southern Miss has a 2.58 ERA, which ranks sixth in the country. Arkansas State has a collective 2.73 ERA, which ranks eighth in the country.

The Golden Eagles are sticking with the same starting pitching lineup they've had on weekends all season, with senior RHP Colby Allen, who was recently named to the College Diamonds National Pitcher of the Year Watchlist, on Friday, sophomore LHP Grayden Harris, who is coming off a career-best 13 strikeouts performance, on Saturday, and sophomore RHP McCarty English on Sunday.

Whether it's been the starters or other pitchers coming out of the bullpen, the Golden Eagles' pitching has been elite so far this season. Given that the Red Wolves have seen similar production out of their pitching staff, this could be a low-scoring weekend that is decided by just a few runs.

However, one thing to keep an eye on is Southern Miss potentially being a little more rested than it has been lately. The Golden Eagles are coming off their first two-day rest period in two weeks, which could help the bats wake up a little more than what we saw against Ole Miss on Tuesday.

How to Watch, Game Start Times

Arkansas State Athletics

If you aren't attending the games between Southern Miss and Arkansas State this weekend, you can watch all of them on ESPN+. Friday and Saturday's games will start at 6 p.m. Sunday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. However, given how the weather forecast is looking for Sunday, don't be surprised if the start time for that game gets changed.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage throughout the weekend.