After a 15-2 start, Southern Miss baseball looked like a team with Omaha-level potential.
Now, as March comes to a close, the Golden Eagles are searching for answers.
What once looked like one of the most complete teams in the country now suddenly looks vulnerable in multiple areas, and after Tuesday night, there is no more ignoring it.
No. 8 Southern Miss dropped an embarrassing 5-1 decision to Southeastern Louisiana, falling to 6-6 over its last 12 games.
The shift has been as sudden as it has been jarring.
“We’re in a storm right now, and things aren’t coming easy for us,” head coach Christian Ostrander said.
And right now, every loss is starting to look the same.
Missed opportunities at the plate. A big inning that flips the game. And an offense that never quite finds its footing.
Tuesday was simply the latest example.
For three innings, Southern Miss appeared steady. Kros Sivley retired the first seven batters he faced and worked cleanly through the early frames, giving the Golden Eagles exactly what they needed to settle in.
Then came the fourth inning.
A leadoff single opened the door before Brody Capps blew the game open, launching a two-run home run off the videoboard in left-center. Two batters later, Southeastern Louisiana had runners on again, and the inning spiraled from there. A run-scoring single and a perfectly placed squeeze bunt pushed the lead to 4-0 before Southern Miss could escape.
In a matter of one inning, Southern Miss went from cruising to chasing.
And once again, the offense did little to give itself a chance to get back into the game.
Southern Miss managed just five hits, left 10 runners on base and finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Even more telling, the Golden Eagles went 2-for-20 with runners on base overall, continuing a stretch where piecing together hits has been almost nonexistent.
The only run Tuesday came in the eighth inning, when Joey Urban singled and later scored on a Ben Higdon RBI single. But even that inning ended with runners stranded, another missed opportunity in a growing list.
“We didn’t get it done,” Ostrander said. “We weren’t competitive enough in all the areas we need to be.”
What makes the slump more puzzling is the experience in the lineup. This is not a young group still trying to figure things out. This is a team that has already shown exactly what it can be.
This same ballclub opened the season 15-2, with wins over Oregon State, Alabama, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, establishing itself as one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
And yet Tuesday night, a midweek Southland starter looked untouchable at times, cruising through a career-high 6 2/3 innings.
Players like Matthew Russo, Kyle Morrison, Joey Urban and Ben Higdon have all played a lot of baseball and have proven they can compete at the highest level. Which is why this stretch has been so difficult to explain. What started with one or two quiet bats has spread throughout the lineup, and now, at times, even into the bullpen.
Josh Och walking in a run Tuesday night was almost surprising to even see on the box score.
“I think the difference in this [storm] is those first 15,16,17 games were just electric,” Ostrander said. “And then you hit a stretch where it’s really hard right now and you got to get out of it. I don’t believe we are a 500 team. I don’t believe we win one and lose one, but that’s what we’re doing right now. But I don’t believe that’s who we are.”
Early in the season, the Golden Eagles capitalized on mistakes, delivered timely hits and applied constant pressure. Now, they are searching for that same rhythm, often relying on isolated moments instead of sustained offense.
And in baseball, that is a difficult way to live.
“If I had the words for it, we’d have fixed it already,” Ostrander said. “These guys care. They want to win. They’re trying. But right now, it’s just not enough.”
So, what is the answer?
Well, inside the dugout, the message is not panic. If anything, it is the opposite.
“I think our plan is just to relax and let the game come to us a little bit,” Russo said. “Don’t go out there pressing, because that doesn’t work. We’re going to stay together and keep grinding.”
For Ostrander, it starts with the group staying together.
“We’re in a storm right now,” Ostrander said. “And to get out of storms, you’ve got to stay unified. You’ve got to keep fighting.”
That unity, players say, has not wavered.
If anything, it has strengthened.
“The beautiful thing about baseball is you’re only 0-1 today,” Higdon said. “Thursday, we get a chance to go 1-0. Friday, we get a chance to go 1-0 again. Saturday, the same thing. We’re just trying to go pitch by pitch, out by out, inning by inning. We have so much belief in these guys and so much love for each other. I like how we’ve been challenged. I think there’s a lot of resilience in this group, and I think we bounce back.”
For veteran players like Russo, this is not unfamiliar territory.
“Baseball’s streaky,” he said. “I think there’s been a stretch in every one of my years where you’re .500 for a little bit. It’s just about how you respond and how you lead through it.”
That leadership becomes even more important now, especially with a roster that has leaned on both returning contributors and new pieces still finding their footing.
The message to younger players is clear: this is part of the game.
“Everybody’s been through losses, whether it’s baseball or life,” Higdon said. “It’s not about complaining about them. It’s about how you get back on the field and fix what’s wrong.”
The opportunity to do that comes quickly.
Southern Miss now turns its focus back to Sun Belt Conference play with a road series at Old Dominion beginning Thursday, a chance to reset both mentally and in the standings.
And despite the recent results, the belief inside the clubhouse has not changed.
“I believe if we keep that 1-0 mentality, we’re going to win a lot of games,” Higdon said. “By the end of the year, nobody’s going to care about this. We’re going to be right where we need to be.”
First pitch between Southern Miss (21-8) and Old Dominion (13-15) is slated for 5 p.m.
