Southern Miss baseball rallies from 4-0 deficit to beat Ole Miss, extend win streak to 8 games

HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss baseball’s season-long winning streak was extended to eight games Tuesday and comes with an extra sweet taste.

The Golden Eagles overcame an early 4-0 deficit to beat Ole Miss 7-4 at Pete Taylor Park. The win for Southern Miss snaps a five-game losing streak to Ole Miss dating back to the 2021 season.

Southern Miss (35-17, 18-9 Sun Belt Conference) scored three runs in the fifth inning to tie the game and then another three runs in the sixth to take the lead. Ole Miss scored two runs in each of the first two innings but was held scoreless by four different Southern Miss pitchers — JB Middleton, Ben Riley Flowers, Josh Och and Colby Allen — in the final seven innings.

All seven of Southern Miss' runs came with two outs. Carson Paetow batted 3-for-4 and had RBI hits in the fifth and sixth inning, both of which came immediately after the Rebels (27-25, 11-16 SEC) made a pitching change.

Rebels jump ahead early on Southern Miss

Southern Miss pitchers struck out four straight Rebels across the first and second innings, but that didn’t keep them off the scoreboard.

Kros Sivley started for the Golden Eagles and gave up a single, then a no-doubt Andrew Fischer home run and a walk for a quick 2-0 deficit. Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander visited Sivley on the mound after the walk, and he proceeded to strikeout the next three Rebels batters.

But that was all for Sivley, who was replaced by Landen Payne in the second inning.

Payne struck out his first batter, but Ole Miss tallied a third run from a walk and back-to-back singles. Then the Rebels loaded the bases when first baseman Matthew Russo fielded a groundball and threw to second base, but hit Luke Hill with the ball as he was approaching second. A Jackson Ross groundout accounted for Ole Miss’ fourth run and a quick 4-0 lead.

Southern Miss offense breaks through in 5th and 6th innings

Ole Miss’ pitching was strong through four innings, but not perfect. The Golden Eagles left five runners on base and finally broke through in the fifth inning.

With two runners on base and lefthanded Paetow at the plate, Ole Miss pulled righthanded starter Grayson Saunier for lefthander Gunnar Dannis. One out was needed to end another Southern Miss rally attempt and keep the Rebels ahead 4-1.

Paetow hit a sharp grounder up the middle and Hill’s throw to first base was off target to score Ozzie Pratt, move Davis Gillespie from second to third but most importantly keep the inning alive.

Then at the next at-bat, Nick Monistere doubled down the left-field line to score Paetow and Gillespie to tie the game.

Southern Miss' sixth-inning rally was sparked by Dalton McIntyre when he drew a four-pitch, two-out walk. Pratt drove him home with a double to the gap. Then following two consecutive hit by pitches from Cole Tolbert, Paetow singled up the middle to open the lead to 7-4.

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What's next for Ole Miss, Southern Miss?

Ole Miss and Southern Miss are both looking to add to their postseason resumes in the final regular-season series.

The Rebels will stay on the road for a three-game set at LSU beginning on Thursday (6 p.m., SEC Network).

The Golden Eagles will host Texas State beginning on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN+).

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss baseball beats Ole Miss for the first time since 2021