Weekend Walk-Off: Southern Miss Clinches Epic Series Win vs. UC Santa Barbara

Despite facing adversity all throughout the weekend, the Golden Eagles never quit fighting and notched a high-quality series win to start the season. Here's how it happened.

Southern Miss star first baseman Matthew Russo gets fired up after launching a home run over the right field wall in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against UC Santa Barbara. / Joe Harper/bngphoto.com

HATTIESBURG – Across the nation, No. 20 Southern Miss (2-1) vs. UC Santa Barbara (1-2) was expected to be one of the best opening weekend series that college baseball could offer, and boy oh boy did it live up to the hype. In fact, it might have exceeded it.

Despite facing adversity all throughout the weekend, including a loss in the first game on Friday and then being down by four runs in the second game on Saturday, the Golden Eagles battled back to secure a series win against a high-quality opponent with a 6-5 walk-off in Sunday's rubber match at Pete Taylor Park.

"That's a really good team," Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander said of UC Santa Barbara following the series-clinching win. "I think that offense is gonna do good things for that team, especially with that pitching staff. ... They made it hard. Every pitch this weekend made it feel like you couldn't make a mistake. So, hats off to them. They do a great job. First-class program, and I wish them all the best."

Late-Inning Drama For The Golden Eagles

Third baseman Drey Barrett salutes The 16oz Lounge and The Roost in right field after giving Southern Miss a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

With the series hanging in the balance, sophomore third baseman Drey Barrett launched a solo home run into The Roost in right field to give Southern Miss a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Barrett went 2-4 at the plate, leading the Golden Eagles in hits, and it seemed as if he had just given his team what would be the game-winning run.

DREY BARRETT. SOUTHERN MISS LEADS 🔥

'Eags 3 outs from taking massive series pic.twitter.com/zacfNUIprG

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) February 15, 2026

However, in the top of the ninth inning, with the Gauchos down to their final out and staring defeat in the face, they were given new life after sophomore shortstop Ty Long dropped what would've been the game-winning out. It's nearly inevitable that the momentum of a game will change after an error like that, and on the very next at-bat, UC Santa Barbara tied the game at 5-5 off a triple from senior DH Cole Kosciusko. Nervous energy quickly spread across the sold-out crowd at The Pete.

Sophomore RHP Camden Clark, who was the closer for Southern Miss on back-to-back nights, was close to having two ninth-inning shutouts on the weekend until that infield mishap happened. Even after giving up the triple following the error, Clark was able to keep the Guachos from taking the lead, which ended up being huge in the bottom of the ninth.

"The common person would probably deflate, because he's running on adrenaline," Coach Oz said of Clark pushing through adversity. "I said, 'this out is important, you've gotta stay within yourself, you can't control what happened.' That punch-out he got there to end that inning and keep that runner at third was huge. He showed a lot of poise. That really impressed me, but I'm not surprised."

First "Pete Taylor Park Magic" Moment Of The Season

Southern Miss players Matthew Russon and Ben Higdon celebrate. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

In the bottom of the ninth inning, junior catcher Tucker Stockman started swinging momentum back the Golden Eagles' way with a lead-off single. Then, Long got a little bit of redemption for his infield blooper, as he showed major poise at the plate by working his way on base by being walked.

With two men on, and Southern Miss senior center fielder Joey Urban at the plate with a hot .455 batting average on the weekend, UC Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Checketts decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases. The only problem with that, though, is that it gave star senior first baseman Matthew Russo, who had already gone yard in the sixth inning, a chance to win the game.

Southern Miss wins it on Matt Russo walk off walk

What a series between 2 very talented teams as Southern Miss loses the opener and comes back to win the next 2.🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/YEhNARWbSc

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) February 16, 2026

Gauchos junior LHP Nic Peterson didn't even give Russo a chance to hit the ball, as he walked him with the bases loaded, bringing pinch runner Seth Smith home for the game-winning run. The lights at The Pete flashed frantically, the train sounded off several times, and the Golden Eagles secured a series win over a high-quality opponent to start the season.

Freshman Pitcher Impresses After Being "Thrown To The Wolves"

Freshman RHP Dylan Causey was fired up after getting Southern Miss out of a jam in the top of the eighth inning. / Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Coming into the weekend, many would've probably expected Southern Miss starting pitchers to perform better than the bullpen, but one could argue that it ended up being the other way around, as Colby Allen, Grayden Harris, and McCarty English all had their fair share of struggles during the opening weekend.

One performance that stood out during the Golden Eagles' thrilling win on Sunday was that of freshman RHP Dylan Causey from South Jones High School. The pressure was on for Causey, as Coach Oz put him in a tie game at the top of the eighth inning with one Guacho runner on base and no outs.

After making a good play on a bunt to get the first out at first base, Causey then struck out the next two batters, stranding a UCSB man at second base. It was his only action of the night, but it was an extremely encouraging sign for what could lie ahead for the Ellisville native.

"We had confidence in him," Coach Oz said of Causey. "That's why we put him in there. I said it all along, I was hoping I wouldn't have to throw any freshmen to the wolves, but that was a tough moment, and he answered it. ... That's a moment that's just gonna catapult his career in my opinion. I think he's got the makings to be special, and he did a great job."

Fans "Pack The Pete" In Record-Breaking Fashion

Record-breaking 16,518 total opening weekend attendance for Southern Miss at The Pete. #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/jPdKzUp9P6

— Nasty Bunch & Beyond (@NastyBunchPod) February 16, 2026

After clinching the series, Southern Miss announced its total attendance over the weekend: 16,518. That is a new all-time record for opening weekend attendance at Pete Taylor Park. Just to add context to how significant that number is, it averages out to about 5,500 per game, which is more than 1,200 over the ballpark's officially listed capacity.

There is truly nothing like the atmosphere at The Pete on weekends like this one, especially in high-stakes moments like what we witnessed on Sunday night. It might have been a little more drama than Golden Eagles fans probably bargained for this early in the season, but you won't find any of them complaining about experiencing postseason-like baseball in February. Perhaps this is just a taste of what's to come.

Next up, Southern Miss will travel to Hammond, LA, to take on Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night. First pitch will be at 6 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN+.

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