The culture within the Southern Miss baseball program is as strong as it’s ever been.
Despite the season ending, which featured the Golden Eagles coming up short 5-4 to Miami in the Hattiesburg Regional on Monday night, throughout the game, countless moments demonstrated why Southern Miss continues to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of college baseball.
In an era where the NIL money and transfer portal has created an environment driven by an instant need for talent, the Golden Eagle baseball team has prided itself on developing players, both on and off the field. Allowing young players to not only learn but also fail.
"Winning is important, don't get me wrong," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "That's what we set out to do, but it's so much deeper than that. The relationships are the things that, to me, lead to success. You can't be generic, and you have to be genuine. You have to treat these guys, and they have to treat each other with genuine love, kindness, or whatever you want to say, but invest in your people. If you do that, then special things can happen."
Ostrander doesn't take credit for that. Rather, he has paid homage to those who helped establish those characteristics before him.
"That's been done at this program for a long time," Ostrander said. "There have been great leaders from this program for many years and great players, great coaches, and great assistant coaches that have instilled that. Our job is to continue that. I feel like we have done a good job of that."
Even Miami's head coach, JD Arteaga, acknowledged the strength of the Golden Eagles' program.
"They are a great ball club," said Arteaga, whose program will head to a Super Regional for the first time since 2016. "I can't think of an ACC team that's much better. They belong in a power conference. They are a good team up and down offensively and defensively. Those guys can really pitch. They can do some damage with the bats, too."
Late in the game against Miami, fifth-year senior Carson Paetow hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth that made it a one-run ball game, which proved to be a bittersweet moment for the longtime starting right fielder. Even after the gratifying moment, Paetow admitted that his actions on the field won't be what he remembers most from his career, but rather the moments off the field, especially those that helped develop him as a person and leader.
"The baseball talents don't carry over into the real world, but what they have taught us to be good people is really worth it," Paetow said. "The experience was incredible. It was done right. It's bigger than the ball on the field. There's a lot of things that a lot of people who don't play this game or don't play for Southern Miss just don't understand.
"Your two-strike approach doesn't really have much value in the real world, but the stuff that they teach us of how to go about ourselves, carry ourselves, and how to own a room and are what helps be a better father, husband and etc."
Sharing in an equally bittersweet outing was Southern Miss' starting pitcher Matthew Adams, who had come off just two days' rest but still delivered four strong innings that gave the Golden Eagles (47-16) a chance to win the game against the Miami (34-25).
"Each inning I went out there, I knew it could be my last. I didn't have a regular starter leash because of the short rest," Adams said. "I kept coming back to the dugout and telling them I wanted more. I wanted to be able to pitch one more time at the Pete. I feel like I took advantage of the opportunity I was given."
Adams, who was a sixth-year player after missing last season due to shoulder surgery last year, wouldn't trade any of his experience due to the valuable life lessons he took from the program.
"It's a home," said Adams of his time in Hattiesburg. "I tell people going back and forth all the time between Houston and Hattiesburg doesn't feel different to me. I have two families in different parts of the country.
"I wouldn't trade the six years for anything. I don't hope that I didn't get hurt. I don't wish that I didn't suck when I got here. I don't wish any of those things. I think God's plan was perfect in those six years. It also makes me feel like I don't deserve how great this program was to me."
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