Southern Miss Soars to Round Rock Classic with Early-Season Momentum

The Golden Eagles are in for a highly competitive weekend in Round Rock, Texas, but they're confident in their ability to find different ways to win games.

@dalton_trigg on X

No. 20 Southern Miss has gotten off to a great start in its 2026 campaign with a 3-1 record. The Golden Eagles got things rolling with an impressive opening weekend series win over a talented and nationally respected UC Santa Barbara ballclub. Then, they followed that by taking down Southeastern Louisiana on the road on Tuesday night in a low-scoring game that came down to the final inning.

Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander likes what he's seen out of his team so far, especially when it comes to finding different ways to win games.

Coach Oz Proud of USM's Early Resiliency

Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander after the loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

“You look at all four (games we’ve played), you've had a little bit of a mixed bag with everything,” Ostrander said during Tuesday's media availability. “(We had) a tough match game one (against UCSB) to where you're just fighting, do everything you can to keep it close, and just came up a little short. Then you get a chance to bounce back the next day against another really good arm, and (our) offense was resilient that day.

"I think we played great defense all four games for the most part. Some key pitching moments throughout, scattered about. Bullpin's been very strong thus far. So you’re always trying to find different ways to win. Sometimes you’re going to have offensive explosions, and those games might be fairly easy. There's going to be other times where you’ve got to keep it close to give yourself a chance to win. So, we've done that, and proud of it. On to the next.”

Golden Eagles Soar to Round Rock

In USM's second game of the season, senior designated hitter Joey Urban delivered a knockout blow to UC Santa Barbara with a two-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

What's next for Southern Miss is its toughest challenge yet, as it travels to Texas to compete in the prestigious Round Rock Classic against four high-quality opponents: Purdue (2-2), No. 11 Oregon State (3-1), and Baylor (4-0).

“I think it's a testament to what's been done here for so many years," Coach Oz said of Southern Miss being invited to participate in the tournament this weekend. "A good reputation, and our program’s earned that, and it's earned that for really the last several decades in my opinion. So it's nice to get the opportunity to do it. … If everybody shows up that I heard's going to Round Rock, we should have a really good group of fans supporting us.”

Can Starting Pitchers Bounce Back?

Senior RHP Colby Allen struck out three batters in five innings during the Golden Eagles' season-opening loss to UC Santa Barbara on Friday night. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Despite not having the greatest performances from its starting pitching lineup last weekend, Southern Miss still found a way to take down UCSB. That was an impressive feat, but if the Golden Eagles want to win the Round Rock Classic, they will need some bounce-back performances from senior RHP Colby Allen, sophomore LHP Grayden Harris, and redshirt sophomore RHP McCarty English.

"It's been great," Coach Oz said of his starting pitchers' practices this week. "Colby threw his bullpen yesterday, Grayden threw his this morning, and McCarty will throw his tomorrow in Round Rock. ... They're eager to get back out there. I don't think anything (from last weekend) was necessarily bad. It's just that our standards are really high, and you want your starters to get you deep. I'm really excited to watch these guys get their second turn, and get out there and build off the first one."

Quick Turnaround Preparation

Davis Gillespie gave Southern Miss a 1-0 lead over Southeastern Louisiana in the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run. / @SouthernMissBSB

"For myself, I take it one (game) at a time," Coach Oz said when asked about the challenge this tournament will present when it comes to quick turnarounds in preparing for a new opponent each day.

"I'm focused on Purdue. I'll worry about the next one that night, after our first game. ... There's not a lot of secrets anymore. Used to be, the scouting report was calling up your buddy from school X, Y, or Z that played the team you're playing, and they'd tell you. Now it's all right there in front of you.

"But there's a lot of preparation for sure. For the players, they're ready to get on that plane tomorrow to head to Round Rock and get ready to play."

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