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Southern Miss baseball fans could do nothing but watch in agony as typically steady-armed relief pitcher Colby Allen let the game slip away, confirming another NCAA Tournament regional opening game loss and extending an alarming pattern for the Golden Eagles.
Little Rock trailed by a run going into the top of the ninth inning, but the Trojans rallied with four runs to take the lead.
The 7-4 loss by No. 1 seed Southern Miss (44-16) to No. 4 seed Little Rock (37-26) on May 29 at Pete Taylor Park marked the fourth straight season in which the Golden Eagles have lost their first game of an NCAA regional. The run differential in those four losses is minus-18. The last time they won such a game was in 2022, when they beat Army 2-0.
"I'm disappointed in the loss, obviously," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "That's not what we envisioned, that's not what we set out to do. You play to win every time you get a chance. It was right there, but they made a strike in the ninth inning against our guy."
Last season, Southern Miss opened the 2025 Hattiesburg Regional with an 11-4 loss to No. 4 seed Columbia. During the Knoxville Regional in 2024, the No. 2 seed Golden Eagles fell 10-4 at the hands of No. 3 seed Indiana and in 2023, they lost 4-2 to Samford in Auburn.
The regional round of the NCAA Tournament utilizes a double-elimination bracket so losing the first game doesn't end a team's season, but it makes advancing to the super regional daunting. Teams that lose the first game have to win four straight games and two against the same team to win the regional. Winners of the first game can move on by winning its next two games.
Since 2021, Southern Miss is 1-5 in regional openers. It also has an all time record 2-3 in the Hattiesburg Regional.
"We don't focus on that," Ostrander said. "You lose Game 1 of a regional, well OK. You need to win Game 2 and just go one game at a time, really like we've done all year."
After losing to Columbia in 2025, the Golden Eagles bounced back with a 6-5 win over Alabama and redeemed themselves with an 8-1 win in a rematch with Columbia. The Golden Eagles moved on to play unbeaten Miami and had to win two in a row against the Hurricanes to advance. Southern Miss won the first game 17-6 and lost the second 5-4.
In 2024, Southern Miss beat Northern Kentucky 6-0 after losing to Indiana in its first game of the Knoxville Regional. The Golden Eagles beat the Hoosiers 15-3 in a rematch but was blown out and sent home by Tennessee 12-3.
Following Southern Miss' 2021 loss to open the regional, the Golden Eagles won three in a row before losing a winner-take-all-game to Ole Miss.
The 2023 season is the last time the Golden Eagles lost a regional opener and still advanced to the super regional. After losing to Samford, they rattled off four straight victories to move on.
"We've been here before," Ostrander said. "In '23 we lost Game 1 of the regional and we were able to come back and win that in Auburn. Last year we lost Game 1 and were able to get to the final game."
In the last six seasons, Southern Miss has never lost its first two games in a regional. The Golden Eagles have responded to a loss by winning at least two games in a row in each year.
Southern Miss proved its ability to play and thrive with its back against against the wall after following up a loss with two wins in a row on May 24 to clinch the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship. The Golden Eagles will have to be perfect throughout the rest of the Hattiesburg Regional if they want their season to continue.
Regardless of how well the team plays in must-win scenarios, history shows that coming back to advance to the super regionals after losing a regional opener is rare.
The talent in the Hattiesburg Regional will make that tall task even taller. Per average RPI rankings, the Hattiesburg Regional is the second most difficult in the NCAA Tournament.
Southern Miss begins its quest for four-straight wins against the loser of Virginia vs. Jacksonville State on May 30 at 3 p.m.
"We are in single elimination and our season can be over if we're not victorious," Ostrander said. "There should be some motivation there from the guys. We want to keep this group together. These guys have battled and achieved a lot of great things, but that doesn't matter now."
All times CT
Friday, May 29
Game 1: No. 4 seed Little Rock 7, No. 1 seed Southern Miss 4
Game 2: No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 3 Jacksonville State, 6 p.m., ESPN+.
Saturday, May 30
Game 3: Southern Miss vs. Loser of Game 2, 3 p.m., TBD
Game 4: Little Rock vs. Winner of Game 2, 8 p.m., TBD
Sunday, May 31
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4 p.m., TBD
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 8 p.m., TBD
Sunday, June 1
Game 7 (If necessary): Rematch of Game 6, TBD
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: How Southern Miss baseball has fared after losing first game of NCAA regional
Continue reading...
Little Rock trailed by a run going into the top of the ninth inning, but the Trojans rallied with four runs to take the lead.
The 7-4 loss by No. 1 seed Southern Miss (44-16) to No. 4 seed Little Rock (37-26) on May 29 at Pete Taylor Park marked the fourth straight season in which the Golden Eagles have lost their first game of an NCAA regional. The run differential in those four losses is minus-18. The last time they won such a game was in 2022, when they beat Army 2-0.
"I'm disappointed in the loss, obviously," Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said. "That's not what we envisioned, that's not what we set out to do. You play to win every time you get a chance. It was right there, but they made a strike in the ninth inning against our guy."
Last season, Southern Miss opened the 2025 Hattiesburg Regional with an 11-4 loss to No. 4 seed Columbia. During the Knoxville Regional in 2024, the No. 2 seed Golden Eagles fell 10-4 at the hands of No. 3 seed Indiana and in 2023, they lost 4-2 to Samford in Auburn.
The regional round of the NCAA Tournament utilizes a double-elimination bracket so losing the first game doesn't end a team's season, but it makes advancing to the super regional daunting. Teams that lose the first game have to win four straight games and two against the same team to win the regional. Winners of the first game can move on by winning its next two games.
Since 2021, Southern Miss is 1-5 in regional openers. It also has an all time record 2-3 in the Hattiesburg Regional.
"We don't focus on that," Ostrander said. "You lose Game 1 of a regional, well OK. You need to win Game 2 and just go one game at a time, really like we've done all year."
How has Southern Miss baseball dealt with an NCAA regional opening game loss?
After losing to Columbia in 2025, the Golden Eagles bounced back with a 6-5 win over Alabama and redeemed themselves with an 8-1 win in a rematch with Columbia. The Golden Eagles moved on to play unbeaten Miami and had to win two in a row against the Hurricanes to advance. Southern Miss won the first game 17-6 and lost the second 5-4.
In 2024, Southern Miss beat Northern Kentucky 6-0 after losing to Indiana in its first game of the Knoxville Regional. The Golden Eagles beat the Hoosiers 15-3 in a rematch but was blown out and sent home by Tennessee 12-3.
Following Southern Miss' 2021 loss to open the regional, the Golden Eagles won three in a row before losing a winner-take-all-game to Ole Miss.
The 2023 season is the last time the Golden Eagles lost a regional opener and still advanced to the super regional. After losing to Samford, they rattled off four straight victories to move on.
"We've been here before," Ostrander said. "In '23 we lost Game 1 of the regional and we were able to come back and win that in Auburn. Last year we lost Game 1 and were able to get to the final game."
In the last six seasons, Southern Miss has never lost its first two games in a regional. The Golden Eagles have responded to a loss by winning at least two games in a row in each year.
Southern Miss proved its ability to play and thrive with its back against against the wall after following up a loss with two wins in a row on May 24 to clinch the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship. The Golden Eagles will have to be perfect throughout the rest of the Hattiesburg Regional if they want their season to continue.
Regardless of how well the team plays in must-win scenarios, history shows that coming back to advance to the super regionals after losing a regional opener is rare.
The talent in the Hattiesburg Regional will make that tall task even taller. Per average RPI rankings, the Hattiesburg Regional is the second most difficult in the NCAA Tournament.
Southern Miss begins its quest for four-straight wins against the loser of Virginia vs. Jacksonville State on May 30 at 3 p.m.
"We are in single elimination and our season can be over if we're not victorious," Ostrander said. "There should be some motivation there from the guys. We want to keep this group together. These guys have battled and achieved a lot of great things, but that doesn't matter now."
Hattiesburg Regional schedule
All times CT
Friday, May 29
Game 1: No. 4 seed Little Rock 7, No. 1 seed Southern Miss 4
Game 2: No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 3 Jacksonville State, 6 p.m., ESPN+.
Saturday, May 30
Game 3: Southern Miss vs. Loser of Game 2, 3 p.m., TBD
Game 4: Little Rock vs. Winner of Game 2, 8 p.m., TBD
Sunday, May 31
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4 p.m., TBD
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 8 p.m., TBD
Sunday, June 1
Game 7 (If necessary): Rematch of Game 6, TBD
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: How Southern Miss baseball has fared after losing first game of NCAA regional
Continue reading...
