Southern Miss Coach Disappointed After Series Loss to Arkansas State

Golden Eagles drop from No. 7 to No. 12 in D1Baseball rankings following Sun Belt Conference opening series defeat.

Mar. 16, 2026 at 10:49pm

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No. 12 Southern Miss suffered a disappointing series loss to Arkansas State over the weekend, dropping the rubber match 5-2 on Sunday after committing several early errors. Head coach Christian Ostrander expressed his frustration with the team's lack of effort, especially in the series finale, where he felt the Golden Eagles essentially beat themselves.

Why it matters

The series loss was a setback for the Golden Eagles, who had gotten off to a strong 16-4 start to the season. The defeat dropped them from No. 7 to No. 12 in the latest D1Baseball rankings, raising questions about the team's ability to rise up in tough conference matchups against lesser-known opponents.

The details

After losing the opening game of the series on Friday, Southern Miss bounced back with a win on Saturday to tie things up at 1-1. However, the Golden Eagles couldn't overcome early errors in Sunday's rubber match, which resulted in a 5-2 loss. Two errors and a wild pitch in the first inning led to Arkansas State scoring three runs and taking an early lead that they would hold onto throughout the game.

  • The series loss occurred over the past weekend (March 13-15, 2026).
  • The Golden Eagles' next game is a rematch against Nicholls on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

The players

Christian Ostrander

The head coach of the Southern Miss baseball team.

Arkansas State

The Golden Eagles' opponent in the Sun Belt Conference opening series, which they won 2-1.

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What they’re saying

“Yeah, just disappointed. Disappointed, because that's not the standard here. It's ok to lose. I can handle getting beat. I mean, we got beat Friday. They just beat us. But I thought [Sunday], we gave 'em a lot, and we had our chances, and that bothered me.”

— Christian Ostrander, Head Coach

“This team's gotta learn how to rise up in those situations. Every team has to learn it, and I don't know if we have yet. There's been a lot of great moments already this year, but some of those moments come when ... there's so much energy around them because of who you're playing, where you're playing, the environment ... Sometimes, you've gotta create your own, and quite frankly, I think against Nicholls a couple weeks ago and two games this past weekend, we didn't command that enough. We gotta supply it.”

— Christian Ostrander, Head Coach

What’s next

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The takeaway

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