Week In Review: Southern Miss Beats ODU, Drops in College Baseball Top-25 Rankings

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Despite not always showing it on a nightly basis, the Southern Miss baseball team has both the talent and depth to warrant being a Top-10 team in the nation. The Golden Eagles posted their second consecutive 2-2 week last week with a midweek loss at home against Southeastern Louisiana and a 2-1 road series win at Old Dominion.

Where Eags Land in Latest Rankings

Travis Creel Tucker Stockman USM — @SouthernMissBSB

After being ranked No. 8 last week, Southern Miss’ shaky week led D1Baseball to drop the Golden Eagles two spots to No. 10 this week. That is still a very respectable ranking and probably a little higher than what Southern Miss has lived up to lately.

When the dust settles after the regular season and conference tournament, Southern Miss will need to be one of the top-16 teams in the nation in order to host a regional. If the Golden Eagles can find a way to get hot and lock up a top-8 national seed, that would guarantee them a chance to host a super regional as well if they can advance past regionals.

Week-In-Review Podcast

Davis Gillespie, Joey Urban, USM outfielders — @SouthernMissBSB

Through all the ups and downs that this season has already provided, the Golden Eagles are still one game better than last year’s team was at this point in the season. This year’s team is currently 23-9 through 32 games, while last year’s team was 22-10.

When it comes to hitting, it seems as if things are trending in the right direction, as the Golden Eagles registered at least eight runs and 10 hits in each of their three games against Old Dominion over the weekend. However, there have been some concerns with the bullpen as of late. Can the Eags get hot at the right time with all phases of the game clicking together? That topic is discussed on this week’s Nasty Bunch & Beyond podcast.

What’s Next

The Golden Eagles get things rolling again this week with a game against New Orleans at Pete Taylor Park on Tuesday night. Although the Privateers are 14-20 overall this season, they’re 7-3 in midweek games, so Southern Miss will have to bring the appropriate amount of energy to The Pete if it wants to avoid an upset. The Golden Eagles haven’t won a midweek game at home since they beat Ole Miss on March 10.

Southern Miss will then look ahead to its weekend series in Lafayette, La., against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. After losing three consecutive Sun Belt series in a row, the Cajuns will be looking to salvage their season by beating their No. 10-ranked rivals. Just like with the midweek game against New Orleans, the Golden Eagles will need to be on high alert in Lafayette over the weekend to avoid a letdown.

If we’ve learned anything during the first half of this college baseball season, it’s that anyone can be beaten on any given night, no matter what these rankings say. The Golden Eagles, despite still being considered a Top-10 team, still have a lot to prove.