Southern Miss winning the seventh annual Round Rock Classic highlighted another successful weekend for Mississippi’s major teams as the 2026 season sets in.
The No. 20 Golden Eagles traveled to Texas to compete against Purdue, No. 11 Oregon State, and Baylor in the round-robin style tournament. Stepping out of Dell Diamond unscathed on Sunday night, Southern Miss now sits at 5-1 on the season.
Friday’s game was against Purdue and saw Southern Miss notch a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Boilermakers bounced back and tied it up in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, Drey Barrett doubled in Davis Gillespie to walk it off. Camden Clark (2-0) closed it out and got the win on the mound.
Saturday’s game was another thriller and against Oregon State, a team that advanced to the College World Series in 2025. The Beavers were up 3-1 going into the sixth inning when the Southern Miss bats came alive. Back-to-back three-run frames in the sixth and seventh innings followed by insurance runs in eighth and ninth made for a 9-4 upset.
Joey Urban led the Golden Eagles with three hits – including an opposite field home run off Oregon State starter Ethan Kleinschmit – and four RBI. On the mound, Grayden Harris (2-0) allowed two runs in five innings before Camden Sunstrom closed out the final four with no runs allowed.
Sunday’s finale against Baylor was arguably the easiest for Southern Miss fans to stomach. The Golden Eagles went up 2-0 in the second inning, scored again in the fourth, and then crossed the plate twice more in the ninth to win 5-1.
Of the team’s 12 hits, Matthew Russo and Seth Smith combined for half. Russo had a pair of doubles and a single, while Smith had three singles and two RBI and scored another. Barrett had two doubles and drew three walks. Kros Sivley (1-0) found his first win of the season.
Mississippi State, Ole Miss sweep
Both No. 4 Mississippi State (8-0) and Ole Miss (8-0) found sweeps at home against nonconference opponents.
The Bulldogs went to work and outscored Delaware 26-3 across the three games, including a run-rule win on Saturday.
Ace Reese had at least one hit in every game. Bryce Chance turned in a three-hit performance on Friday and continued to reach base throughout the series, while Noah Sullivan, Jacob Parker, Reed Stallman, and Blake Bevis all went deep.
Winning pitchers were Ryan McPherson (1-0), Tomas Valincius (2-0), and Duke Stone (2-0). Notably, McPherson struck out 11 batters across six innings.
The Rebels jumped out to an 11-6 win over Missouri State in Friday’s opener, powered by seven runs in the first two frames. But Saturday and Sunday’s games were a bit closer at 6-3 and 3-2, respectively.
Judd Utermark provided power at the plate, hitting three home runs. He hit two in Friday’s game before tying Sunday’s game with another long ball. Austin Fawley hit a grand slam on Friday, and Dom Decker hit his first home run on Sunday while scoring multiple runs.
Winning pitchers were Hudson Calhoun (1-0), Taylor Rabe (2-0), and JP Robertson (1-0). Notably, ace Hunter Elliott allowed five runs in Friday’s game.
Next up
Southern Miss: vs. Alabama on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Mississippi State: vs. Austin Peay on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Ole Miss: vs. Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
