Southern Miss baseballcontinues on a path to host an NCAA Tournament regional.
The No. 13 Golden Eagles(37-14, 19-8 Sun Belt Conference) swept James Madison (20-30, 10-17) at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. They earned theirthird straight conference series win, and it was also their first road conference sweep of the season.
Southern Miss rallied late in the series opener, scoring six runs in the seventh inning to win 8-5 on May 8. The Golden Eagles run-ruled James Madison in Game 2, 11-1 in eight innings, and earned the sweep in Game 3 with a 10-5 victory on May 10.
Here's what stood out for Southern Miss.
Golden Eagles' offense needs to stay consistent
After its sweep of ULM on May 2, Southern Miss only put up 12 runs through three games. In the series against James Madison, the Golden Eagles scored 29 runs off 35 hits and three home runs.
Outfielder Ben Higdon had five hits and seven RBIs in the series. Higdon has recorded 13 multi-hit games, which at times have powered the lineup. Center fielder Joey Urban had six hits and six RBIs following the ULM series, where he had just had one hit.
Southern Miss sits at eighth in the conference in batting average (.278) and 11th in RBIs (290). Those are numbers the Golden Eagles must boost.
MORE:Inside Southern Miss baseball's sweep vs ULM, latest NCAA Tournament projections
Advertisement
Can Southern Miss host NCAA Tournament regional?
Southern Miss has won its past six games and will host the final three-game series against Georgia Southern, which sits in last place in the conference.
Multiple projections have the Golden Eagles between a No. 13-16 seed, which would allow them to host a regional. Southern Miss is at No. 9 in RPI, up two spots.
If Southern Miss ends the regular season winning 12 of its last 14 games, it should impress the committee as a regional host. The Sun Belt Tournament follows and the Eagles are likely a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
Where Southern Miss stands in latest NCAA Tournament projections
According to USA TODAY, the Golden Eagles would host as the No. 13 national seed. The other teams in the regional would be No. 2 seed Arkansas, No. 3 Kent State and No. 4 San Diego State.
D1Baseball's projections have Southern Miss hosting as the No. 16 seed. Also in the regional would be No. 2 seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Pitt and No. 4 Southeast Missouri State.
Southern Miss' NCAA Tournament resume
The Golden Eagles' RPI, which is used to judge the strength of schedule, is at No. 9 and No. 1 in nonconference as of May 10.
Southern Miss has eight Quad 1 wins and is 13-2 in Quad 2 games. They are ranked No. 9 in strength of schedule.
Michael Chavezcovers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@ganne.tt.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter@MikeSChavez.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American:Southern Miss baseball sweeps James Madison, what does it mean for NCAA regional
Post a Comment