Southern Miss Showcases 'Complementary Baseball' in Dominant Win Over Texas State

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After dropping three of its last four games heading into this weekend's massive Sun Belt series against a high-powered Texas State offense, No. 22 Southern Miss knew it needed to get off to a good start on Friday and generate some positive momentum.

In front of a healthy crowd at Pete Taylor Park with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the mid-to-high 70s, the Golden Eagles did just that by racking up 12 hits and securing an 8-2 win in the series opener. With the win, Southern Miss improved to 26-12 overall and 9-7 in Sun Belt play. Texas State dropped to 25-13 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

Eags Finally Display "Complementary Baseball"

"It was a good game. Great game all around," Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander told the media following the win. "Pitched it well. Some timely hitting when we needed it. Had that big inning, which was huge to create some separation."

Coach Oz has been preaching "complementary baseball" for the last few weeks, and that's what finally happened on Friday night, as four Southern Miss players had multiple timely hits, and the dynamic one-two pitching punch of sophomore LHP Grayden Harris and senior RHP Colby Allen overwhelmed the Bobcats.

USM — A look at the beautiful sunset at Pete Taylor Park from the 16oz Lounge. | Clark Webster

"Really good pitching performance," Coach Oz said. "I thought Grayden was lights out and competed his tail off against a really good offense. And then Colby was about as efficient as you can be, throwing 25 pitches and covering, what... eight outs, I think it was."

Although it was a great start to the weekend, Coach Oz knows the challenge that lies ahead. Fridays haven't been the issue lately; it's been the Saturday and Sunday games that have given the Golden Eagles trouble. Coach Oz wants his guys to be "starved" for another win on Saturday.

"Just proud of it," Coach Oz said of Friday's overall team performance. "We needed it. We needed to get back in that win column and get a little momentum going. Just like I told the guys, they should be starving for another one tomorrow."

Higdon Breaks the Game Open

After falling down 1-0 in the second inning, the Golden Eagles jumped all over the Bobcats in the bottom of the third inning, plating six runs by the time the frame was over. Thanks to a lead-off hit-by-pitch, a flurry of singles, and a Drey Barrett double, the Golden Eagles quickly flipped the script and took a 3-1 lead.

With one out and two men on base, senior outfielder Ben Higdon gave Southern Miss a lot more separation with a three-run bomb that hit the scoreboard in center field. It was just the third home run of the season for Higdon, but it was a massive one, not only for his team, but for himself individually. He finished the night 2-4 at the plate and is now batting .263 on the year.

Junior shortstop Seth Smith, senior first baseman Matthew Russo, and sophomore third baseman Drey Barrett joined Higdon as the other Southern Miss players to get multiple hits in the win. The Golden Eagles got at least one hit from every spot except for the nine-hole.

Exorcising Saturday Demons

As mentioned before, Friday nights haven't been the problem for Southern Miss lately. The last few Saturday performances by the Golden Eagles–losses at Old Dominion and Louisiana–have been shaky at best, and that's putting it nicely. They'll look to exorcise those demons at The Pete on Saturday afternoon by getting a second straight win and clinching this important Sun Belt series early. With a win, the Golden Eagles would take sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt standings.

Sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom (2-3, 2.51 ERA) will be on the bump for the Golden Eagles, facing Bobcats redshirt-sophomore Cade Smith (3-0, 3.27 ERA). The game will start at 2 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage following Saturday's game.

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