Preview Podcast: Southern Miss Looks to Bounce Back vs. North Alabama

The Golden Eagles experienced the high of beating Mississippi State on Tuesday and the low of losing to Nicholls on Wednesday. Now, they'll look to start a new winning streak.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Christian Ostrander makes a pitching change during the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss., on March 3, 2026. / Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This week's midweek slate was a mixed bag for No. 10 Southern Miss. On Tuesday night in front of a full-capacity crowd at Pete Taylor Park, the Golden Eagles took down No. 4 Mississippi State to seemingly reaffirm their status as a Top 10 team in the nation. However, on Wednesday night, Southern Miss slipped up by dropping a game to Nicholls, effectively ending its 11-game win streak.

Golden Eagles Look to Respond This Weekend

Southern Miss Golden Eagles first baseman Matthew Russo (19) reacts with teammates during the game against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. / Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On today's episode of Nasty Bunch & Beyond, Dima Mixon, Sports Editor for the Pine Belt News, joined me to talk about the big emotional swing that took place between those two games. We discuss the Golden Eagles' continued impressive pitching performances and whether the team's occasional offensive struggles are something to worry about going forward.

Fresh off that disappointing loss to Nicholls, Southern Miss will now welcome North Alabama to The Pete for a three-game series this weekend. North Alabama is just 7-6 on the year, but it's a team that has a quality 15-5 win over Murray State and also gave Ole Miss all it could handle on Wednesday in an 8-5 loss.

“We don’t like getting beat here. We don’t like getting beat at all,” Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander said following his team's 3-2 loss to Nicholls on Wednesday. “I hope they are pissed off about it, and I look forward to seeing their response on Friday.”

As good as Southern Miss has been during its 11-2 start to the season, there are still areas that can be improved. That should serve as a major confidence boost for the Golden Eagles, because normally, one would think a team was firing on all cylinders with a record like that. Like Coach Oz, we also look forward to seeing how this team responds to a disappointing loss this weekend.