Pandemonium at The Pete: Southern Miss Stuns UCSB, Ties Series with Major Comeback

The Golden Eagles' bats came alive in the later innings of Saturday's matchup against UC Santa Barbara.

Senior first baseman Matthew Russo gets fired up after helping wake up the Southern Miss bats in Saturday's win over UCSB. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

HATTIESBURG – The beauty of baseball is that you truly never know what will be in store from one day to the next. Less than 24 hours after scratching just one run by UC Santa Barbara (1-1) in a 5-1 season-opening loss, the Southern Miss (1-1) bats came alive in a big way at Pete Taylor Park on Saturday afternoon. After trailing 6-2 in the fourth inning, the Golden Eagles completed a massive comeback, ultimately winning the game 8-6 and forcing a Sunday rubber match.

"Man, I thought our guys competed hard," Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander said following the game. "We knew it was gonna be a fight coming into it. They get the lead, and it doesn't look real good, but the guys kept competing hard and were able to put some things together. Get a run here, get a run there, get it close. And then finally our bullpen stabilized it (with) five shutout innings. ... Really good to see. Very proud of these guys for staying in the middle of the ring and just competing their tails off today."

Josh Och, Camden Clark Close Things Out On The Mound

Junior RHP Josh Och earned a win (1-0) after having himself a day on the mound in the seventh and eighth innings. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Sophomore LHP Grayden Harris, who is expected to have a great year for the Black and Gold, got the start in this one, but it just wasn't his day. He registered four strikeouts, but also gave up four runs on five hits before Coach Oz made a pitching change. Camden Suntrom came in for 2.2 innings, but he also struggled some, giving up two more runs on a two-run home run during that span.

Junior RHP Josh Och (1-0), who earned today's win, deserves a lot of credit for how this one turned out. He only pitched the seventh and eighth innings, but he threw a shutout over that span, striking out two batters. Och got the Golden Eagles out of a jam in the seventh, as UCSB had two men on base with no outs, but ended up stranding them to keep the Black and Gold momentum going.

Sophomore Laurel, Mississippi product Camden Clark then came in to close things out with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning. Clark looked sharp in his first appearance as a Golden Eagle, striking out two of the three batters he faced while consistently reaching 96-97 mph with his fastball.

Golden Eagle Bats Got Hot, Stayed Hot

Sophomore shortstop Ty Long notched his first home run of the season with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning to bring the Golden Eagles within one run. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Junior catcher Tucker Stockman got the home run party at The Pete started in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit a solo shot to left field to bring Southern Miss within 6-3. Stockman went 2-4 at the plate.

Then, in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore shortstop Ty Long, who is considered by many around the team as a potential breakout star candidate this season, notched his first homer of the year with a two-run shot to cut the deficit to one.

Although he didn't get in on the home run fun, senior first baseman Matthew Russo still played a big role in the Golden Eagles' comeback, going 2-5 at the plate with two RBIs, including a single in the bottom of the seventh that scored senior DH Joey Urban from third to tie the game at 6-6.

"He's the personality (of the team)," Coach Oz said of Russo. "He's the infectious personality. He played with so much heart, desire, and love, and loves this program. You can just see it, man. ... He's the oak tree of that lineup for us, and I'm just so proud of him, and what he's done here, and what he means to this team."

Joey Urban Delivered The Knockout Punch

Senior designated hitter Joey Urban delivered the knockout blow with a two-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

With the game tied at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth, Urban delivered a knockout punch to UCSB by blasting a two-run shot that hit the newly-updated "Tradition of Excellence" billboard in left field. When Urban hit the ball, it went so high in the air that it possibly touched the clouds, and many fans believed it was going to be a flyout upon first glance. But the ball just kept carrying and eventually cleared the fence, leading to complete and utter pandemonium at The Pete.

Even the UCSB left fielder thought it was staying in… but it just kept carrying. #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/vAurqhFTWx https://t.co/VB7GRjvDCa

— Dalton Trigg (@dalton_trigg) February 15, 2026

"This is why you came (to Southern Miss)," Coach Oz said he told his team after today's game, which players thought felt like a regional atmosphere.

"We want to play in moments like this and atmospheres like this. Yeah, it felt like a regional game to me, I'm not gonna lie to ya. Again, we're gonna play a lot of good teams that we're gonna have to play well to win games. (Our guys) just proved to themselves today that they can stay in the middle of the ring, and come back, and grind it out, and beat a good team."

The newly updated Southern Miss "Tradition of Excellence" billboard graces left field at The Pete. / Dalton Trigg

After completing the big comeback and notching its first win of the year, Southern Miss will now look to secure the series against UCSB on Sunday, with redshirt sophomore RHP McCarty English getting the start on the mound. We'll see if the Golden Eagles' bats can keep up the momentum to help him out. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage following Sunday's rubber match.

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