When I watched Friday night’s game against Louisiana, I was thinking to myself … for this week’s grades, they might get all A’s. A dominant effort, potentially the most dominant we’ve seen from Southern Miss during this strange four week stretch, was one extreme end of the scale for this team. When they play like that, they could win the College World Series.
But then Saturday and Sunday felt like a boulder hitting the other side of the scale, shifting the narrative back to what we’ve become accustomed to over the last four weeks. Weak contact, not stringing together hits and the bullpen imploding late.
Statistically, Southern Miss did a lot of what it needed to do to win the series in Louisiana this weekend. The Golden Eagles scored 17 runs across three games and opened the series with a dominant performance on the mound from Grayden Harris. But when the defining moments arrived, the execution simply wasn’t there. The result was a series loss that felt avoidable, if not entirely self-inflicted.
That inconsistency has defined this team over the last four weeks. But there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
Here are weekend grades for Southern Miss baseball against Louisiana:
Starting Pitching – A-
It started exactly how Southern Miss would have drawn it up.
Harris set the tone Friday night with one of his best outings of the season. The left hander worked 6.1 innings, allowed just one earned run and struck out 10. He commanded both sides of the plate, kept Louisiana off balance and gave Southern Miss complete control of the opener.
That’s what a Friday night ace looks like, and the step that Christian Ostrander hoped to see Harris take.
Saturday’s start from Camden Sunstrom also began in dominant fashion. Through four innings, Sunstrom cruised through the Cajuns lineup, striking out six. But the fifth inning is where things got away from him, though not entirely his fault. He allowed a leadoff walk and then a single to center that Ostrander said should have been caught by Joey Urban.
Then the wheels fell off.
Louisiana laid down a bunt that Sunstrom fielded but threw away at third, loading the bases with no outs. He then walked in a run before being pulled for Camden Clark.
It was a solid outing overall, but you would have liked to see Sunstrom get into the sixth inning. He just couldn’t quite get there.
Ostrander has said Sunday’s strategy is to use an opener, so that role will no longer be factored into this section.
Bullpen – C
Arguably, the reason Southern Miss lost the series was because of the bullpen’s performance on Sunday, so it’s hard to give this group anything higher than a C.
Colby Allen provided a dominant presence in the opener, working 2.2 innings in relief of Harris and helping secure the win. It was overpowering, effective and exactly what Southern Miss needed in the series opener.
But, like the overall theme of the weekend, that consistency faded.
Camden Clark nearly worked out of a jam on Saturday. He recorded a lineout and nearly turned a double play, but Louisiana beat it out. After that, Clark looked human for the first time all season. He allowed five hits and his first earned runs of the year in the sixth inning, including two home runs.
KL Farr and Logan Pratt got through the remainder of Saturday without allowing runs. It was a frustrating day overall, as Southern Miss struck out 11, walked just three, and still allowed eight runs, four of them unearned, which ultimately was the difference in the game.
Sunday, however, was a different story.
After Southern Miss and Louisiana traded three run innings early, Louisiana managed just one hit the rest of the game. But Southern Miss pitching walked in two runs, which ended up being the difference.
In total, Southern Miss pitchers walked eight and struck out nine. That’s an uncharacteristic stat line for this staff, and ultimately, it cost them the game.
Lineup – C-
This was a difficult section to grade.
On one hand, scoring 17 runs across three games suggests a productive weekend. There were hitters who performed well and moments where the offense looked capable of breaking things open.
On the other hand, Southern Miss went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position on Friday, 0 for 6 on Saturday and 1 for 8 on Sunday. That’s 1 for 21 for the weekend.
Opportunities have not been the problem. Execution has.
Time and time again, the Golden Eagles had chances to put games away, extend innings or flip momentum. And time and time again, those chances slipped by.
This isn’t an offense that lacks talent. It’s one that has struggled to consistently string together hits to create separation.
For the season, Southern Miss is 88 for 314 with runners in scoring position, a .280 average. Over the first 18 games, that number was 48 for 154 (.312). Over the last 18 games, it has dropped to 40 for 160 (.250).
There were still several players who had strong weekends.
Seth Smith (.417) led the way, consistently finding barrels and reaching base multiple times. Kyle Morrison (.364) and Davis Gillespie (.364) also delivered strong performances, combining for multiple hits. Ben Higdon was consistently on base as well, batting .429.
But others struggled.
Matthew Russo (.167) and Drey Barrett (.167) had difficulty delivering in key moments, particularly with runners in scoring position. Tucker Stockman continued his difficult season with a .200 weekend.
At times, this lineup feels very pitchable. If opponents can navigate through Urban, Morrison and Gillespie, there is room to breathe in the latter half of the order.
As Ostrander said on the SuperTalk Eagle Hour, “it’s just calling a spade a spade.”
Two lineup spots: designated hitter and catcher, have been largely nonexistent, and players like Russo and Barrett have not been consistent enough to be major threats. That’s nearly half the lineup that has struggled to produce consistently.
At the end of the day, you have to be better than 1-21 with RISP, which is why I went with the C. Perhaps three or four more hits would have given you a sweep.
Overall – C
This was a series Southern Miss could have, and likely should have, won.
The pieces were there.
An ace level performance to open the weekend. Enough offense to stay competitive. A bullpen that, even in a down weekend, showed flashes.
But in the moments that define series, Southern Miss came up short.
It was another example of this team’s inconsistency. No one expects Southern Miss to look like it did Friday night every game. But if Ostrander can find a middle ground between that performance and what followed, this team will be in a much better position.
The good news is they’ve shown they can do it.
Now, it’s about doing it consistently.
