Urban Grand Slam, Morrison Home Runs Help No. 11 Southern Miss Close Out App State

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – There had been no shortage of talk surrounding No. 11 Southern Miss' hitting struggles heading into Sunday's rubber match against Appalachian State, but the Golden Eagles broke out of their slump in a big way by blowing out the Mountaineers 13-4 at Pete Taylor Park. Southern Miss got out to an early 6-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back.

With the win, the Golden Eagles secured their second Sun Belt series win of the season, improving to 21-7 (5-4), while the Mountaineers fell to 13-13 (3-6). From shaking the dust off the home-run train horn, to welcoming back the Southern Miss bullpen we're used to seeing, here are our biggest takeaways from this one.

Welcome Back, Long Ball!

Heading into Sunday, neither team had hit a home run in the series. However, senior outfielder Joey Urban changed that for Southern Miss in the bottom of the second inning. The Golden Eagles already had a 2-0 lead thanks to a double from senior first baseman Matthew Russo and a single from freshman Gray Eubanks that scored a few runs. But then, with the bases loaded, Urban officially broke the seal on the Golden Eagles' hitting struggles by launching a grand slam to left field near the "Tradition of Excellence" billboard to give Southern Miss a commanding 6-0 lead early. It was Urban's eighth homer of the season.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, senior second baseman Kyle Morrison unloaded on a baseball and sent it to the right field roost for a solo homer to give the Golden Eagles an 11-4 lead. Then, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Morrison came back for more, as he hit a two-run bomb over the left field wall near the scoreboard to make it 13-4, Southern Miss. Morrison now has a team-best 10 homers on the year.

Although he didn't get in on the long-ball action, it should be noted how well freshman designated hitter Gray Eubanks continues to hit the ball. He led the Golden Eagles with three hits in four plate appearances with three RBI on Sunday. Through 11 appearances this season, Eubanks is batting .333 and making a strong case to be moved up in the Golden Eagles' lineup. At this point, it wouldn't shock us at all if he ends up getting a chance to be the lead-off man in the near future.

That's The Eags' Bullpen We Know

After having an uncharacteristically shaky performance in Saturday's 6-2 loss to App State, which spoiled a career day for sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom, the Southern Miss bullpen bounced back in a big way during Sunday's rubber match. Senior RHP Colby Allen came out of the pen for the second time this weekend and was as good as ever, registering seven strikeouts and giving up just one hit and no runs in three innings of action.

Over the final three innings, junior RHP Josh Och, sophomore RHP Drake Meeks and feshman LHP Bruce Littleton closed out for the Golden Eagles, as they held the Mountaineers to just one hit and no runs with five strikeouts during that span. Senior RHP JW Armistead (1-0), who came in for junior starting RHP Thomas Crabtree in the third inning, got the win.

What's Next

USM — On Feb. 17, 2026, 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

Next up, the Golden Eagles will prepare to take on a tough Southeastern Louisiana ballclub at The Pete on Tuesday night before flying to Old Dominion for a road Sun Belt series that will begin on Thursday, as Easter Sunday falls next weekend. Southern Miss defeated Southeastern Louisiana 3-1 in the fourth game of the season back on Feb. 17. That game came down to the wire, as the Golden Eagles were in a 1-1 tie with the Lions heading into the ninth inning before pulling away with some timely hitting from Urban and Russo.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles on SI for more baseball coverage throughout the week, including new national rankings dropping on Monday morning, as well as an exclusive interview with one of the Golden Eagles' hottest hitters as of late.