Sun Belt Series Preview: No. 22 Southern Miss Takes On Texas State in Pivotal Weekend

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Golden Eagles, despite having home-field advantage at Pete Taylor Park, don't have the luxury of easing into this weekend.

No. 22 Southern Miss (25-12, 8-7) returns to Hattiesburg for a pivotal Sun Belt Conference showdown against Texas State (25-12, 9-6), with sole possession of second place on the line and postseason implications already taking place. If the Golden Eagles want to be in good shape come conference tournament time while also keeping their hopes of hosting a regional alive, they'll need to flip a switch this weekend, regain their confidence, and take care of business against the Bobcats.

Texas State's Offense Will Challenge Southern Miss

USM — Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the Golden Eagles, who have lost three of their last four games while also playing .500 baseball over the last month, there's no way around the adversity they've been facing. The only way to get past it is to go through it directly, especially given how good Texas State's offense is.

The Bobcats don't have many, if any, holes in their batting lineup, as they're tied for third in the Sun Belt with a .292 batting average as a team. Texas State has belted 73 home runs so far this season, which is the best mark in the conference by a wide margin. The Golden Eagles' pitching and fielding will have to be on their A-games this weekend, or things could potentially get out of hand in a hurry.

The Silver Lining for the Golden Eagles

USM — Southern Miss infielder Seth Smith (3) throws the ball during a college baseball game between Ole Miss and Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Ole Miss defeated Southern Miss 10-3. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some good news for the Golden Eagles is that 1) the Bobcats haven't been very good playing away this season, with a 3-6 road record, and 2) they tend to give up a good amount of runs due to their lack of pitching depth. If there was ever going to be a weekend for the Southern Miss offense to regain its confidence, this is the one. Head coach Christian Ostrander recently called on his team's "alphas" to step up. We'll see if it finally happens this weekend.

Although the Golden Eagles have had their fair share of shaky pitching here and there over the last few weeks, they still rank 20th in the nation in runs given up, with just 4.4 per game. The Bobcats, on the other hand, rank 114th in the nation with 6.0 runs given up. Texas State hits a lot of home runs, but they also let teams hang around, so Southern Miss needs to take full advantage of this trend, especially since the Bobcats' Friday and Saturday night starters will be right-handed pitchers. The Golden Eagles have struggled against crafty lefties all season.

Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: Sophomore LHP Grayden Harris (6-1, 3.24 ERA) for Southern Miss vs. freshman RHP Wade Cooper (4-0, 2.81 ERA) for Texas State. Although Cooper has made 14 appearances for the Bobcast this year, this will be his first start of his collegiate career.

SATURDAY: Sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom (2-3, 2.51 ERA) for Southern Miss vs. redshirt-sophomore Cade Smith (3-0, 3.27 ERA) for Texas State. Like Cooper, this will be Smith's first start of the season despite making 16 appearances so far this year.

SUNDAY: TBA vs. TBA

Full Series Preview (Podcast)

If you want to get a full series preview before this weekend gets underway, be sure to check out our latest Nasty Bunch & Beyond episode, where Texas State beat reporter Caleb Yum joins me to discuss what to expect as both teams battle for second place in the Sun Belt. And as always, stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage as this weekend progresses. You can watch all the games between Southern Miss and Texas State on ESPN+ if you can't make it to The Pete in person.

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