Tuesday night’s top-10 battle in Hattiesburg was as advertised, with No. 10 Southern Miss galvanizing a rowdy home crowd in a 7-6 win over No. 4 Mississippi State.
The Golden Eagles (11-1) carried the momentum of back-to-back weekend sweeps into the highly-anticipated in-state showdown and made a statement versus one of the nation’s top teams. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (11-2) have now dropped consecutive matchups after falling to top-ranked UCLA on Sunday.
Southern Miss jumped ahead out of the gate, with a three-run shot by Drey Barrett giving the home club a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Following the big hit was a bit of fortune in the bottom of the second, as Bulldog shortstop Ryder Woodson dropped an infield fly hit by Joey Urban. The error allowed Ben Higdon to score from first base. Southern Miss added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth in the form of a Seth Smith solo home run.
In the meantime, stalwart pitching by Christian Ostrander’s staff held Mississippi State’s high-powered offense scoreless through four innings. Mississippi State threatened in the top of the third, landing runners on the corners with no outs. Then, JW Armistead trotted out to the mound and mowed through the jam with two strikeouts and a forced fly-out.
Mississippi State finally broke through offensively in its next offensive frame. A Noah Sullivan double to right field scored Gehrig Frei and Ace Reese, and a Reed Stallman single scored Sullivan to cut the maroon and white’s deficit to two runs. The Bulldogs flipped the scoreboard in the seventh inning. A two-RBI single by Stallman and an RBI single by Woodson gave the visitors a 6-5 buffer.
Though momentum had shifted, Southern Miss had some magic left at its disposal. A double by Barrett, following a Matthew Russo single, gave the Golden Eagles runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch by Miller Maddox allowed Russo to score and Barrett to advance to third. Another wild pitch sent Barrett to home plate, putting the home club up one run.
Neither team could get on the board with a runner in scoring position in the eighth inning. A collective shock, followed by a sigh of relief, rang out in the home crowd when James Nunnallee hit what looked to be a two-run longball to reclaim a Bulldog lead. The ball was ultimately robbed at the right field wall by Higdon. Southern Miss closer Camden Clark handled business in the ninth inning with little drama.
Barrett led Southern Miss offensively with two hits, a home run, and three RBI. He was the only Golden Eagle with multiple hits in the matchup. Stallman carried Mississippi State’s bats, with three hits and three RBI.
On the mound, right-handed hurler Josh Och (3-0) earned the win for the Golden Eagles, while Clark was credited with the save. Och fanned a pair of batters in 1.2 innings, and Clark held the Bulldogs scoreless in the final frame. For Mississippi State, Maddox (1-1) was handed the loss after surrendering two runs on wild pitches in the seventh. Bulldog pitcher Jack Gleason was a shining star early in the contest, logging a game-best five strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
Next up
Southern Miss will continue midweek action, facing Nicholls at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before hosting North Alabama over the weekend. Mississippi State will return to Dudy Noble Field to face Lipscomb for a three-game series this weekend.
