Where USM Lands in Latest College Baseball National Rankings; Looking Ahead to JMU

Southern Miss didn't see much movement in the national rankings for Week 13 following a 3-1 week. Now, the Golden Eagles will focus on a road series against James Madison.

Josh Hous

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Week 12 presented challenges for a Southern Miss baseball team that’s trying to catch fire at the right time before the postseason begins. More often than not, the Golden Eagles answered those challenges.

It started with a heartbreaking 7-6 road loss at Tulane in the final midweek game of the season on Tuesday after the Golden Eagles led 5-0 at one point. It ended with a sweep of UL Monroe, which, despite its .500 record, hadn't been swept all season until Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park. Overall, Southern Miss is carrying a 34-14 (16-8) record into Week 13.

USM Pitching 'Throttles' ULM Offense

Josh House / Southern Miss Baseball

Despite the Warhawks having the second-best batting average in the Sun Belt, the Golden Eagles' pitching staff completely shut them down over the weekend with 44 strikeouts. Grayden Harris, Camden Clark, Camden Sunstrom and Colby Allen all had stellar outings in their own right.

"On paper, they sure were. We knew it," head coach Christian Ostrander said during his weekly SuperTalk Eagle Hour segment on Monday, when asked about ULM being one of the best offenses in the conference.

"I remember watching video on them, and me and Gunner (Leger) knew that, 'ok, we're gonna have to earn this. ... You can't do the same thing over and over and be successful. But overall, I thought our guys just really throttled them. I don't think they could breathe at the plate this weekend, and that was fun."

Where Eags Land in Week 13 Rankings

Josh House

Given the 3-1 week that the Golden Eagles posted, here's what the national rankings looked like for them on Monday.

D1Baseball: The Golden Eagles stayed put at No. 12 this week.

Baseball America: The Golden Eagles moved up from No. 13 to No. 12 this week.

Perfect Game: The Golden Eagles moved up from No. 15 to No. 13 this week.

USA Today Coaches Poll: The Golden Eagles stayed put at No. 13 this week.

NCBWA: The Golden Eagles stayed put at No.12 this week.

Next Up: JMU

@SouthernMissBSB

With midweek games behind them, the Golden Eagles will now have a full week to prepare for a road Sun Belt series at James Madison this weekend. Anything can happen in college baseball, but given JMU's middle-of-the-pack offense and 13th-ranked team ERA in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss should be able to handle business on the road, so long as they bring the appropriate amount of respect for the opponent and attention to detail.

"Dangerous as any opponent we'll play," Coach Oz said of JMU during his weekly SuperTalk Eagle Hour segment on Monday. "Haven't dug in too deep, but offensively, they're extremely athletic. They've got 100-plus stolen bases as a team. That's how their offense goes. They're not gonna line up and just try to out-slug you. I think it's gonna be more small-ball oriented. ... Throwing strikes is gonna be a premium. I think our staff does that pretty good.

"We're just gonna have to go play clean baseball. We're on the road in an environment... I've never been there; most of our team hasn't been there. ... We're gonna go in, respect the opponent, and just try to play the best brand of baseball we can play."

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI throughout this week for more baseball coverage, including a closer look at the weekend performance of sophomore Ty Long at third base.