By Robert Wilson
Southern Miss baseball coach Christian Ostrander decided to not to pitch All-American JP Middleton against No. 4 seed Columbia in the first game of the Hattiesburg Regional last season.
Ostrander’s strategy was to get past Columbia and pitch Middleton against the winner between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Miami the next day.
Columbia upset No. 1 seed Southern Miss 11-4 to send the Golden Eagles to the loser’s bracket, but Southern Miss battled back and won three games in two days before losing to Miami 5-4 in the championship game.
Southern Miss is back hosting its second straight regional and plays No. 4 seed Arkansas Little Rock Friday at Noon Central in the first round of the regional. The start of the game was pushed back an hour due to possible weather conditions.
Ostrander’s top three starting pitchers this year are all outstanding – Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, sophomore left-hander Grayden Harris (8-1 record and 3.20 earned run average), sophomore right-hander Camden Clark (8-0 and 2.88 ERA) and sophomore right-hander Camden Sunstrom (6-4 and 2.79 ERA).
Clark is expected to pitch Friday afternoon against Arkansas Little Rock.
“Each year is different,” Ostrander said on an interview on Supertalk Mississippi Monday afternoon. “Each staff is different. I feel like I have three interchangeable parts. When they are on their games, they can hang with anybody. We are going to dive in and look up can one team do this, can one team do that, what’s their splits are against left and righty. What does this team do against this type of velocity?We are going to look at all factors because we have three unique pieces. That’s a good thing and we are going to attack it and get what the best matchup is at that time.”
Another factor different this year than last year is Oz got to chose when he played the Friday game. He likes to play the first game in the afternoon.
“ It is my decision and yes it was my choice,” Ostrander said. “Last year, we didn’t and that blew us away because TV decided they wanted Alabama and Miami on afternoon slot and that forced us to the night game. In my opinion we have always chosen the afternoon slot and I believe in that.”
Regardless of the the time slot, Southern Miss’ Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field will be full with Black and Gold fans and bursting with enthusiasm. Southern Miss has made it to the regional final five straight years and would like nothing more to do it for the sixth time.
This is the first regional for Clark, who played high school ball at nearby West Jones and transferred to Southern Miss this year after one year at Pearl River Community College.
“It’s exciting, getting to play a regional in Hattiesburg,” Clark said. “I’ve heard about it all year. All the guys talk about is the atmosphere. Regional baseball in Baseburg. I’m ready to experience it. I’m ready to see what that’s like. This is really special. A lot of people I know will be there. A lot of people from my home county, my hometown will be there. I’ve experienced being in the stands for a few regionals. Getting to be on this side of it is going to be awesome.”
Clark, who was moved from his closer role to a weekend starter halfway through the season, has had a tremendous season, but had one of his worst performances in the Sun Belt Conference tournament and wants to make amends from that showing. Clark allowed four hits and four runs in four innings before Southern Miss rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth and third baseman Drey Barrett won the game with a grand slam home run over Troy in the semifinals.
“I’m going to use it as something to learn off of,” Clark said. “I’m going to figure out where I went wrong, where my mistakes were. Why I wasn’t in the zone like I’m normally am. You just attack in your midweek bullpen and go out next game and just pitch like you have done your whole life.”
Clark loves pitching at the Pete.
“Pitching at your home field is huge,” Clark said. “You are used to it and all the fans are behind you. Our fan base is electric. Having to come play here as another team is not something I would want to do. It would not be something I would want to deal with. Having that gets in their heads a little bit. It gives us a big advantage.”
Southern Miss senior first baseman Matthew Russo will be playing in his third regional in Hattiesburg.
“There is no better feeling than to host a regional,” Russo said. “I don’t how many people they say is at the Pete, but it feels like 10,000. They are all cheering you on. There is no empty seats. We are telling the new guys to really embrace it. That’s my plan. To embrace the challenge that’s coming in this weekend. Embrace how fun it is going to be and play at least one last weekend in Hattiesburg.”
Southern Miss hopes to avoid having to battle back from the loser’s bracket like last year. But this year’s field as tough, considered one of the best fields by Baseball America with No. 2 seed Virginia and No. 3 seed and Conference USA tournament champion Jacksonville State completing the field.
The publication ranked all 64 teams and ranked Southern Miss No. 21, Virginia No. 22 and Jacksonville State No. 23.
Baseball America also picks Southern Miss as one of six No. 1 seeds which might get upset in their regional.
Southern Miss is coming in as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 13 of its last 14 games. And it’s only loss was a 9-6 loss to Troy where Southern Miss scored four runs in the bottom off the ninth and had the tying run on deck.
“Any team that you play from here on out is high quality and they can beat you,” Ostrander said. “It’s going to be a competitive field for sure. Whoever it was coming, we know we have to worry about ourselves and play good baseball. It’s very important to win that first game in the regional. I’m not saying it’s a must. In 2023, we lost Game 1 at Auburn and own that thing. If you can stay in the winner’s bracket after Day Two you’ve got a great shot. We are going to pour everything into Friday and get ready for that.”
Arkansas Little Rock is no pushover. The Trojans won their second straight Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship this year and is capable of hanging with high caliber teams. Arkansas Little Rock outhit Ole Miss 13-8 and Ole Miss scored two runs in the eighth inning to pull away with a 7-4 victory in Oxford earlier this season. Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the Lincoln Regional and was a possible top 16 seed before being upset by Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Also, Arkansas Little Rock made big noise last year in the Baton Rouge Regional when it upset eventual national champion LSU before LSU bounced back for a 10-6 win in the championship game.
The Hattiesburg Regional is matched up with the Gainesville Regional. If Southern Miss wins and No. 5 national seed and No. 1 regional seed Florida wins this weekend, the Golden Eagles will travel to Gainesville for the Super Regional. Southern Miss fans will remember when Southern Miss swept Florida in the Super Regional in 2009 to advance to the only College World Series appearance in school history. Jonathan Johnston threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and Southern Miss won Game 1 9-7 and the Eagles earned their trip to Omaha with a 7-6 win in Game 2.
If Southern Miss wins its regional and a team other than Florida wins that regional, the Golden Eagles will likely host the Super Regional next week. The other three teams in the Gainesville Regional are No. 2 seed Miami, No. 3 Troy and No. 4 seed Rider.
