Heading into this weekend’s series at Louisiana Tech, No. 12 Southern Miss was confident it could come into Ruston, La., and get a big road series win while also showing the proper amount of respect for its opponent. Louisiana Tech was also confident, but perhaps those hard feelings toward Southern Miss got in the way of it reaching its goals on Friday night.

“Coach (Lane) Burroughs, he doesn’t like Southern Miss,” Louisiana Tech freshman Casey McCoy said earlier this week before the series began. “We’re going to do everything we can to beat them. We want to sweep them.”

Well, the series has yet to be determined, but you can count out the possibility of a Louisiana Tech sweep, as Southern Miss went into “The Love Shack” and won the first game of the series, 8-3, behind a couple of big home runs and exceptional pitching down the stretch. Bulldogs head coach Lane Burroughs was ejected from the game in the fifth inning for arguing with the umpires.

The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start in Ruston, as lead-off man Ben Higdon hit a single to left field off of Louisiana Tech starting pitcher Declan Dahl in the top of the first inning. Dahl then gave up a two-run home run to Joey Urban on the next at-bat, giving Southern Miss an early 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, Louisiana Tech tied things up at 2-2 after Casey McCoy hit a two-run bomb against Colby Allen. The Bulldogs then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third with a single that scored a man from third.

Just like in Tuesday night’s beatdown of Alabama, Southern Miss got some big fireworks in the fourth inning. Senior second baseman Kyle Morrison hit what was the Golden Eagles’ second grand slam of the game in the fourth inning against the Crimson Tide, and he followed that by hitting his team’s second homer of the game against the Bulldogs on Friday night. It was a three-run shot to centerfield to give his team a 5-3 lead.

Southern Miss added three more insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning thanks to singles from Davis Gillespie and Seth Smith, and the Golden Eagles ended up taking the first game of the series, 8-3. USM’s experience in the batting lineup remains one of the team’s biggest strengths.

Southern Miss senior RHP Colby Allen, who is still adjusting to his new role as the Friday-night starter, was hoping to get more of an extended run in his third start of the season, but some early-inning trouble ended up forcing head coach Christian Ostrander to make a move in the top of the fifth inning. Allen ended the night with five strikeouts, six hits given up, and a total of 87 pitches through 4.2 innings. He was one out away from securing his first win of the season.

Senior LHP Kros Sivley (2-0) got the win on Friday after registering two strikeouts in 1.2 innings with only one hit and no runs given up. Junior RHP Josh Och, who has been outstanding so far this season, got the save, as he struck out the final five batters he faced to end the game.

Before the season started, some believed the Golden Eagles’ starting pitching might be stronger than their bullpen, but through nine games, the opposite has proven to be true. However, it’s a long season, and it wouldn’t surprise us if USM’s starting pitching starts to peak at the right time. We only got to see three arms from Southern Miss on Friday, so Coach Oz has a lot to choose from over the next two days.

According to Warren Nolan’s RPI rankings, Southern Miss currently ranks No. 1 after beating Louisiana Tech on Friday. USM’s in-state rivals, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, rank No. 2 and No. 41, respectively. The Golden Eagles will face both of them in Hattiesburg in the coming weeks, starting with Mississippi State on Tuesday night at Pete Taylor Park. Obviously, it’s way too early to pay too close attention to RPI rankings, but it’s always good to see a team performing well with a tough schedule.

Southern Miss will look to extend its winning streak to nine games on Saturday while also securing a series win over Louisiana Tech. First pitch at “The Love Shack” is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage throughout the weekend.