Southern Miss Baseball Season Ends in Heartbreaking Fashion vs. Virginia in Hattiesburg Regional

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No matter what a team has accomplished leading up to the NCAA tournament, anything can happen in college baseball come postseason time. Baseball has a way of breaking hearts more times than not, yet people will never be able to stay away from it.

Despite winning 44 games, which extended its 40-win season streak to 10 years, the longest in the nation, along with outright Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championships, Southern Miss was unable to win a game as the No. 9 national seed in the Hattiesburg Regional this weekend. In an elimination game at Pete Taylor Park on Saturday afternoon, the Golden Eagles dropped a barn-burner against Virginia, 15-11.

How the Eags' Saw Their Season End

Throughout the game, Southern Miss and Virginia traded haymakers early and often. It started with a three-run bomb to dead center for USM junior catcher Tucker Stockman in the bottom of the second to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. Then UVA came right back in the top of the third with a three-run homer of its own, courtesy of Joe Tiroly, to put the Cavaliers back in front, 4-3.

Trailing 11-8 in the bottom of the eighth inning and staring elimination dead in the face, the Eagles tied the game at 11-all with a Drey Barrett RBI single and a two-RBI double from Stockman. Barrett tried to make it home on Stockman's clutch hit to give the Eagles the lead, but he was called out at home plate to end the frame.

In the bottom of the third, the Eagles put up a crooked number once again with another three-run homer, this time from junior left fielder Davis Gillespie, to give USM a 6-4 lead. However, Virginia just kept on responding to each blow the Eagles landed. The Cavaliers got an RBI single, a three-RBI triple, and another RBI on a ground out to put up five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 9-6 lead.

Some great pitching by USM junior right-hander Thomas Crabtree kept Virginia from scoring runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but in the top of the 10th, he got into some trouble with the Cavaliers getting a lead-off double and a walk with no outs.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Camden Sunstrom, who would've ideally been the starter for USM tomorrow had it won the game, came in for Crabtree and got what felt like a momentum-altering double play with the bases loaded that got a force out at home and a second out at first. Unfortunately for USM, that's where the limit of Pete Taylor Magic was reached on this Golden Eagles' season, as Virginia followed up that double play by getting a two-RBI single and a two-run homer in back-to-back at-bats to crush the hopes of everyone wearing the Black and Gold.

Coach Oz on Disappointing Regional "Not Defining" This Year's Team

Head coach Christian Ostrander and the rest of the Southern Miss baseball program are disappointed with how this season ended, but Coach Oz stresses that this ending in the 2026 Hattiesburg Regional shouldn't define his players or this team's accomplishments.

"We just couldn't get off the field, to keep (Virginia) from getting those big hits, those moments there where the game was kinda in the balance," Coach Oz said.

"Came close... real close. Got that double play... but then they put a good backside swing on a ground ball in the six-hole, got a hit. Hand a slider, and the guy hits it out. So, you're close, man. Would you love to go back and take a few pitches, do something different, a few swings here and there? Of course. But you can't do that. You gotta go with what you got. It was just a hard-fought two games, and we came up on the short end.

"But that does not define these young men. It does not define this year. It does not define what they have achieved and accomplished. We're frustrated with it, and it hurts. But at the end of the day, these guys have nothing... nothing, to be ashamed of or to hold their heads down."

Shoutout to the Southern Miss Seniors

Although it didn't end the way they wanted it to, this class of Southern Miss seniors will be remembered forever for their leadership, grittiness and fully embodying what it means to be a "Southern Miss guy."

All of this year's seniors were special and had special moments along the way, whether it was Matthew Russo always coming up big in clutch moments, Colby Allen closing out games with big punch-outs, Joey Urban or Kyle Morrison's homers, Ben Higdon showing off his rocket of an arm from right field, JW Armistead using his side-winding pitch motion to get timely outs in big spots, or Kros Sivley cementing his USM legacy by becoming just the third pitcher in program history to cross the 100 appearances mark. And even though Caleb Stelly didn't have the season he would've hoped for after transferring over from Louisiana, he said earlier this season that coming to Southern Miss helped him find joy playing the game again.

Out of all the seniors, though, Russo, Allen and Higdon will especially be missed for their unmatched leadership and fiery competitiveness on and off the field.

Russo Reflects on His Southern Miss Career

"During Senior Day, I told the guys when we had our Senior Dinner, that baseball is just a plus of what you get to do here at Southern Miss as a baseball player," Russo said following the end of his legendary Golden Eagles career.

"There's so many external factors that collide into being a Southern Miss baseball player. You have these relationships with your best friends each year, you have your relationships with the coaches, and then you have the fans, and then you get to play baseball, the game that you grew up playing. So that's a good way to look at it for me."

"What (Coach Oz) means to me... he challenges your mind so much. It's unbelievable. He not only made me a better baseball player, but I know I'm gonna be a lot better of a human being because of him, guys like him, guys like Coach (Ladd) Rhodes, Coach (Travis) Creel, and it's really special. I'm gonna be a better father one day, better husband. So it's just that all the external factors are really hitting me. I know that baseball will eventually, because it's so fun. It's just a blessing to put on whatever jersey we're wearing that day, and go out, and I'm glad I've cherished it all."

Although this season comes to an unfortunate end for the Golden Eagles, the program is in a great place going forward. With most of its pitching returning, another strong senior class being on deck, and one of the best high school recruiting classes coming to Hattiesburg, it's looking like more exciting baseball is on the horizon in 2027 for Southern Miss.

Baseball season is over, but the coverage of USM athletics at Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI will continue into the summer. Stay tuned for key updates on the football and men's basketball teams in the coming weeks and months, and thank you to all of you who followed along and read all of our work throughout the entire baseball season.

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