Southern Miss is set to begin a five-game homestand with a non-conference baseball matchup against Mississippi State on Tuesday in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles, holding a 10-1 record, enter the game on a 10-game winning streak after sweeping Louisiana Tech over the weekend. Mississippi State, currently 11-1, suffered its first loss of the season in extra innings to UCLA.
Mississippi State is ranked as high as No. 3 in national polls and is led by first-year head coach Brian O’Connor. Southern Miss has reached as high as No. 8 in rankings under third-year head coach Christian Ostrander, who achieved his 100th win with the program on Sunday, reaching this milestone faster than any previous Southern Miss baseball coach.
The matchup marks the first time since the 2023 NCAA Super Regional that two Top 10 teams will meet at Pete Taylor Park. In that series, Southern Miss was ranked No. 9 and Tennessee No. 8 according to the now-defunct Collegiate Baseball Poll.
Key players for Southern Miss include Kyle Morrison, who has a seven-game hitting streak and hit both a grand slam against Alabama and a three-run home run at Louisiana Tech last week. Joey Urban leads the team with a .463 batting average, four home runs, and sixteen RBIs after recording hits in all four games last week. Seth Smith holds a .478 average through six starts, while Davis Gillespie is batting .405.
Last season, each team won one game when they faced off: Southern Miss claimed a 3-0 victory in Hattiesburg while Mississippi State secured an 18-3 win in Starkville.
Freshman Dylan Causey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for Southern Miss after pitching an inning against Alabama last Tuesday. Mississippi State’s probable starter is senior right-hander Brendan Sweeney (0-0, 1.23 ERA).
Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ or listen via affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network.
Southern Miss continues its homestand Wednesday against Nicholls at Pete Taylor Park.
