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Christian Ostrander and Southern Miss have their sights on the postseason (USM photo)
HATTIESBURG, Miss – Southern Miss had just defeated Alabama 9-7 to claim an important win. With the postgame interviews completed, I stood at the edge of 4th street, waiting for traffic to clear to cross over to where my truck was parked.
A man clad in a black polo shirt with a golden eagle logo looked at me and said, “That’s going to be a good win for our RPI. You know how important that RPI is. And with Alabama being in the SEC, you get credit for their schedule, too.”
I smiled and said, “Yes, these kinds of games can stand out later. These are both good teams.”
“Yep, if we take care of business, we’ll be playing at home again this June. That will be three in a row.”
We crossed and departed. But his words stuck with me. Games like this one do matter. Alabama is currently ranked 14th. Depending on how Coastal Carolina’s season goes, this might be the highest ranked team to visit Pete Taylor Park, at least in the regular season.
These kinds of contests can play an inflated role in a team’s profile. This win demonstrates that Southern Miss can match up with a quality SEC squad. But it’s just one data point in a season full of them. The Golden Eagles hosted Indiana State and Missouri State for a weekend series and traveled to Louisiana Tech for another three-game set. There are also games with Mississippi State and Ole Miss. It’s a strong schedule built intentionally that reinforces what our chatty street crossing fan had volunteered.
When Scott Berry retired last May, Christian Ostrander was elevated from pitching coach to head coach. He inherited not just a schedule but a scheduling philosophy that has led to regional hosts in 2017 and 2022 and a super regional host in 2022 and 2023.
“Coach Berry, over the years, found a really good model of what a schedule looks like for us,” Ostrander said. “If we put wins on the board, it gives us a chance to possibly have postseason here. This schedule, a lot of it was done before. Last year, (Berry) kind of gave it over to me and let me do it. I was able to add Indiana State, which I thought was a really good opponent. We are kind of set up well with our midweeks. We get to play Alabama, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. In your four non-conference weekends you try to make it challenging. I think we’ve done that, and that model will continue.”
Southern Miss is 11-6 heading into this weekend’s home Sun Belt Conference opening series versus Marshall.
The Golden Eagles won all four of their pre-SBC series, taking two of three in each. They beat Air Force and Alabama in home midweeks and dropped neutral site games versus Nicholls (in Biloxi) and Mississippi State (in Pearl).
“I’m really proud of where we are at,” Ostrander said Tuesday night. “Could we be better? I think we could. We knew there would be some growing pains and some opportunities with this club because there was so much new.”
It is a rebuilt lineup that has struggled at times offensively. The team is batting .257 now but was at .235 four games ago. In those four games, the offense has broken out. In the series at a strong Louisiana Tech club, USM hit five home runs and had 12 hits in a 9-4 victory Friday. Then followed that with eleven hits with a six-run ninth inning in an 11-3 win Saturday. Sunday, USM scored 11 runs and had 13 hits but still lost 18-13 in a game where a dozen Golden Eagles’ pitchers combined to allow 15 hits and 14 walks. Still, the pitching has been strong all season, with this notable exception. Now, the offense is improving.
Southern Miss had 11 hits on Tuesday in the 9-7 win over Alabama. This is an encouraging sign for a lineup packed with new players.
“We had three returning position players,” Ostrander said. “For everyone else, it’s the first time playing big boy Division I baseball. We knew it would take some time. I really like what I’ve seen the last four or five games offensively. We are getting some rhythm and establishing who needs to be out there. Hopefully, we will build upon it and continue to grow. We are learning something about this club every day.”
As the games have moved on, Ostrander hopes the challenging competition will provide dividends, along with players getting more comfortable at this stage.
“Where we’re at seventeen games into it is much different than where we started,” he said. “Also getting more swings, more ABs, and handling the environment. We played pretty tough competition, so they’ve been tested. I think that has helped.”
Dalton McIntyre leads the attack. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior from Jackson, Tennessee, is hitting .415 in 53 at-bats. The center fielder had three hits batting leadoff versus Alabama Tuesday.
“He was in junior college at Meridian,” Ostrander said of McIntyre. “I like him on the mound, lefthanded guy who can pitch a little bit. He had a really good year last year at Meridan offensively (batted .448 with 33 SBs). He started showing it this fall, and I’ll be honest with you, I thought, ‘this guy’s got a shot’. Once he got in the lineup, man, he hadn’t got out. He’s dynamic. He brings something. He touches the ball. Infield hits, gaps, whatever. He’s been great for us.”
While McIntyre has been a pleasant surprise, and veteran Slade Wilks (.295/4 HRs/14 RBIs) has been solid, no other everyday hitter is batting over .246. That’s what makes the past few games so encouraging. But that’s not the only area USM wants to improve throughout the season.
“We need to continue to grow a little bit in some defensive areas,” said the head coach. “There are growing pains there. Freshman at first. Freshman behind the plate. We need them to grow. We need to find some more pieces in that bullpen. I like our starting pitching. I think we have enough. We need others to contribute. Moving forward, that’s what I’d to see.”
Ostrander knows what it takes to put a good product on the field. As the USM pitching coach under some of Berry’s best teams, he was in the thick of some great Golden Eagle moments. In the program’s second season in the Sun Belt, it is a conference on the rise. With power programs like Coastal Carolina, Troy, South Alabama, Georgia Southern, Texas State, and Old Dominion, the league has a case for the fourth toughest conference, behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and ahead of the Pac 12.
“Last year we saw it first hand and saw how tough it was,” Ostrander said. “We finished second in the league and were able to win that tournament. That was a dog fight. There are some really good programs. If you don’t show up ready to play, you will get beat. That’s great because if we get Ws, it puts us in a good spot at the end of the year.”
That brings us back to the fans, who had over 5500 in attendance Tuesday evening. They understand the game and their place in it. They might not have as large a stadium as some others down the road, but they have a passionate fanbase in a place where college baseball matters.
That has been the biggest adjustment for Ostrander moving to the big chair. He understood the great tradition. He had a great seat for a lot of it. The Black and Gold fans are invested and want to be a part of the program. He watched Berry thrive at it. He has to navigate his own way to excel in that capacity.
“Luckily, I have Coach Berry right here,” Ostrander said. “I lean on him so hard. He’s like a brother to me. The stuff on the field, that’s the easy part. We’re doing what we’ve always done. Personally, being so involved with pitching while trying to be visible with everything else, you have to navigate your practice plan a little bit to be able to do that.
“The stuff off the field … This place is special. What Coach Berry, Coach (Corky) Palmer, Coach (Hill) Denson, they incorporate the community with this program. I knew that was something that I would embrace. I want to do it. I want to be that guy. I feel like it was a good fit for me to do that. This fanbase is awesome, second to none. They support us. We’ve got to do our part to put on a good show.”
That good show could again lead to home postseason baseball. The league is strong, and the team has potential. As our chatty fan explained, these RPI games are important.
No fans enjoy hosting a regional more than in the Magnolia State and the Golden Eagles are primed to contend again.
Christian Ostrander and Southern Miss have their sights on the postseason (USM photo)
Ostrander’s Southern Miss is battle-tested, primed for conference play
AT THE BALLPARK Mark Etheridge - March 14, 2024HATTIESBURG, Miss – Southern Miss had just defeated Alabama 9-7 to claim an important win. With the postgame interviews completed, I stood at the edge of 4th street, waiting for traffic to clear to cross over to where my truck was parked.
A man clad in a black polo shirt with a golden eagle logo looked at me and said, “That’s going to be a good win for our RPI. You know how important that RPI is. And with Alabama being in the SEC, you get credit for their schedule, too.”
I smiled and said, “Yes, these kinds of games can stand out later. These are both good teams.”
“Yep, if we take care of business, we’ll be playing at home again this June. That will be three in a row.”
We crossed and departed. But his words stuck with me. Games like this one do matter. Alabama is currently ranked 14th. Depending on how Coastal Carolina’s season goes, this might be the highest ranked team to visit Pete Taylor Park, at least in the regular season.
These kinds of contests can play an inflated role in a team’s profile. This win demonstrates that Southern Miss can match up with a quality SEC squad. But it’s just one data point in a season full of them. The Golden Eagles hosted Indiana State and Missouri State for a weekend series and traveled to Louisiana Tech for another three-game set. There are also games with Mississippi State and Ole Miss. It’s a strong schedule built intentionally that reinforces what our chatty street crossing fan had volunteered.
When Scott Berry retired last May, Christian Ostrander was elevated from pitching coach to head coach. He inherited not just a schedule but a scheduling philosophy that has led to regional hosts in 2017 and 2022 and a super regional host in 2022 and 2023.
“Coach Berry, over the years, found a really good model of what a schedule looks like for us,” Ostrander said. “If we put wins on the board, it gives us a chance to possibly have postseason here. This schedule, a lot of it was done before. Last year, (Berry) kind of gave it over to me and let me do it. I was able to add Indiana State, which I thought was a really good opponent. We are kind of set up well with our midweeks. We get to play Alabama, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. In your four non-conference weekends you try to make it challenging. I think we’ve done that, and that model will continue.”
Southern Miss is 11-6 heading into this weekend’s home Sun Belt Conference opening series versus Marshall.
The Golden Eagles won all four of their pre-SBC series, taking two of three in each. They beat Air Force and Alabama in home midweeks and dropped neutral site games versus Nicholls (in Biloxi) and Mississippi State (in Pearl).
“I’m really proud of where we are at,” Ostrander said Tuesday night. “Could we be better? I think we could. We knew there would be some growing pains and some opportunities with this club because there was so much new.”
It is a rebuilt lineup that has struggled at times offensively. The team is batting .257 now but was at .235 four games ago. In those four games, the offense has broken out. In the series at a strong Louisiana Tech club, USM hit five home runs and had 12 hits in a 9-4 victory Friday. Then followed that with eleven hits with a six-run ninth inning in an 11-3 win Saturday. Sunday, USM scored 11 runs and had 13 hits but still lost 18-13 in a game where a dozen Golden Eagles’ pitchers combined to allow 15 hits and 14 walks. Still, the pitching has been strong all season, with this notable exception. Now, the offense is improving.
Southern Miss had 11 hits on Tuesday in the 9-7 win over Alabama. This is an encouraging sign for a lineup packed with new players.
“We had three returning position players,” Ostrander said. “For everyone else, it’s the first time playing big boy Division I baseball. We knew it would take some time. I really like what I’ve seen the last four or five games offensively. We are getting some rhythm and establishing who needs to be out there. Hopefully, we will build upon it and continue to grow. We are learning something about this club every day.”
As the games have moved on, Ostrander hopes the challenging competition will provide dividends, along with players getting more comfortable at this stage.
“Where we’re at seventeen games into it is much different than where we started,” he said. “Also getting more swings, more ABs, and handling the environment. We played pretty tough competition, so they’ve been tested. I think that has helped.”
Dalton McIntyre leads the attack. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior from Jackson, Tennessee, is hitting .415 in 53 at-bats. The center fielder had three hits batting leadoff versus Alabama Tuesday.
“He was in junior college at Meridian,” Ostrander said of McIntyre. “I like him on the mound, lefthanded guy who can pitch a little bit. He had a really good year last year at Meridan offensively (batted .448 with 33 SBs). He started showing it this fall, and I’ll be honest with you, I thought, ‘this guy’s got a shot’. Once he got in the lineup, man, he hadn’t got out. He’s dynamic. He brings something. He touches the ball. Infield hits, gaps, whatever. He’s been great for us.”
While McIntyre has been a pleasant surprise, and veteran Slade Wilks (.295/4 HRs/14 RBIs) has been solid, no other everyday hitter is batting over .246. That’s what makes the past few games so encouraging. But that’s not the only area USM wants to improve throughout the season.
“We need to continue to grow a little bit in some defensive areas,” said the head coach. “There are growing pains there. Freshman at first. Freshman behind the plate. We need them to grow. We need to find some more pieces in that bullpen. I like our starting pitching. I think we have enough. We need others to contribute. Moving forward, that’s what I’d to see.”
Ostrander knows what it takes to put a good product on the field. As the USM pitching coach under some of Berry’s best teams, he was in the thick of some great Golden Eagle moments. In the program’s second season in the Sun Belt, it is a conference on the rise. With power programs like Coastal Carolina, Troy, South Alabama, Georgia Southern, Texas State, and Old Dominion, the league has a case for the fourth toughest conference, behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and ahead of the Pac 12.
“Last year we saw it first hand and saw how tough it was,” Ostrander said. “We finished second in the league and were able to win that tournament. That was a dog fight. There are some really good programs. If you don’t show up ready to play, you will get beat. That’s great because if we get Ws, it puts us in a good spot at the end of the year.”
That brings us back to the fans, who had over 5500 in attendance Tuesday evening. They understand the game and their place in it. They might not have as large a stadium as some others down the road, but they have a passionate fanbase in a place where college baseball matters.
That has been the biggest adjustment for Ostrander moving to the big chair. He understood the great tradition. He had a great seat for a lot of it. The Black and Gold fans are invested and want to be a part of the program. He watched Berry thrive at it. He has to navigate his own way to excel in that capacity.
“Luckily, I have Coach Berry right here,” Ostrander said. “I lean on him so hard. He’s like a brother to me. The stuff on the field, that’s the easy part. We’re doing what we’ve always done. Personally, being so involved with pitching while trying to be visible with everything else, you have to navigate your practice plan a little bit to be able to do that.
“The stuff off the field … This place is special. What Coach Berry, Coach (Corky) Palmer, Coach (Hill) Denson, they incorporate the community with this program. I knew that was something that I would embrace. I want to do it. I want to be that guy. I feel like it was a good fit for me to do that. This fanbase is awesome, second to none. They support us. We’ve got to do our part to put on a good show.”
That good show could again lead to home postseason baseball. The league is strong, and the team has potential. As our chatty fan explained, these RPI games are important.
No fans enjoy hosting a regional more than in the Magnolia State and the Golden Eagles are primed to contend again.
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