Top 3 Storylines as No. 18 Southern Miss Prepares for Big Series at South Alabama

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 18 Southern Miss is riding a wave of momentum after sweeping last weekend's series against Texas State and walking off Tulane at Pete Taylor Park on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles went 4-0 on that homestand, and now they're looking to build on that momentum this weekend in another big Sun Belt series at South Alabama in Mobile. Here are the top three storylines to watch for this weekend.

Great Pitching vs. Good Pitching

Like the Golden Eagles, who have won four in a row, the Jaguars have a little hot streak brewing as well, having won three in a row. Also like the Golden Eagles, the Jaguars tend to play a little bit better at home, with a 16-8 home record compared to an 8-7 road record. Southern Miss is 17-5 at home and 8-6 on the road this year.

After getting their first sweep since before Sun Belt play began, the Golden Eagles are rolling out the same three starting pitchers for the second consecutive weekend, just in a slightly different order on the backend.

On Friday, it will be sophomore LHP Grayden Harris (7-1, 3.20 ERA) on the mound for Southern Miss, taking on South Alabama graduate RHP Mitchell Heer (4-2, 4.76 ERA). Harris was instrumental in the Golden Eagles' dominant 8-2 win over Texas State last Friday at The Pete.

Sophomore RHP Camden Clark (5-0, 1.69 ERA), who dazzled with eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings on Sunday in his first start after transitioning from his usual closer role, will be on the mound for Southern Miss on Saturday. He'll be facing South Alabama junior RHP Ryland Bozenhand (2-1, 4.61 ERA).

Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander believes that Clark's move from closer to starter not only solidifies his starting weekend rotation but could also have a positive ripple effect on the rest of the roster.

On Sunday, it will be sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom (3-3, 2.57 ERA) on the mound for Southern Miss, taking on South Alabama junior RHP Daniel Gonzalez (4-2, 3.55 ERA). Sunstrom is coming off a career-best in innings pitched (6) and pitches thrown (93) in last Saturday's 6-3 win over Texas State. With the sudden emergence of Clark into the Golden Eagles' starting lineup, "Sunny Saturdays" just became, possibly more fitting, "Sunny Sundays."

Overall, there is high-quality pitching on each side this weekend, but the Golden Eagles still have the edge in that department. Southern Miss pitching ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (405) and No. 2 in team ERA (3.90). South Alabama is tied for No. 6 in the Sun Belt in strikeouts (342) and No. 3 in team ERA (4.69).

Kyle Morrison Takes On His Old Team

After playing last season at South Alabama, senior second baseman Kyle Morrison transferred to Southern Miss and immediately took his game to the next level.

Through 41 games, Morrsion leads the Golden Eagles in batting average (.345), home runs (12) and RBI (37). On Tuesday night at The Pete, with the bases loaded with just one out in the bottom of the ninth, Morrison hit a single to only part of the field where there was a massive gap to give Southern Miss a walk-off 5-4 win over Tulane.

“It was awesome being able to stick to my plan and get the ball in the air," Morrison told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI when asked about hitting that ball to right field after Tulane brought its right fielder all the way into the infield to try to squeeze a double play. "I knew going into that at-bat I did not want to hit a groundball, and I was going to do everything I could to get the ball elevated!”

Needless to say, given what South Alabama has missed out on, there will likely be no love lost between Morrison and his former team this weekend.

"Oh yeah, man ... it's just going to play another weekend series," Morrison said in his postgame media availability when asked about the emotions heading back to South Alabama. "When I walk up to the field, I really don't like the other people in the dugout, and that's just me. I kinda play with a chip on my shoulder. A lot of people can see that. But yeah, just going over there to Mobile, it's just another weekend series. They've got some good players, but I think we've got even better players, so I'm excited for it."

A few weeks ago, Morrison did an exclusive sit-down interview with Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI, discussing his time at Southern Miss so far, his college baseball journey overall, and his "why." You can read that entire interview here.

Can Eags Bats Get Hot and Stay Hot?

The Golden Eagles needed this current four-game win streak, but there's always room for improvement. Sunday's series finale against Texas State (5-4 win in 10 innings) and Tuesday's game against Tulane (5-4 walk-off win) were great, but they would've been a little less stressful had Southern Miss gotten some more timely hits with runners on base in earlier innings.

For example, in Tuesday's walk-off win, the Golden Eagles, who had a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, had a chance to tack on some insurance runs after having the bases loaded with just one out. However, they grounded into a double-play to end the frame, and then ended up having to play in the bottom of the ninth after Tulane responded with a solo home run to tie the game at 4-4.

A win is a win, no matter how you slice it, but the Golden Eagles should be looking to take advantage of those extra scoring opportunities this weekend. As someone who is slightly concerned about Southern Miss fans' blood pressure this season, perhaps the "Cardiac Eags" can just be the "Dominant Eags" this weekend.

Keep an eye out for sophomore third baseman Dray Barrett this weekend, as he's coming off a breakout game where he hit two home runs to double his season total from two to four. Barrett is batting .268 on the year, but over the last few weeks, he's really turned it up a notch, hovering around .450 during that span.

You can watch all the games between Southern Miss and South Alabama this weekend on ESPN+ or listen to them on FM 97.7. As always, stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for postgame coverage throughout the weekend.

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