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1 day 10 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
It’s that time of the week again for my Southern Miss baseball report card, and this one might be the worst inked card of the year.
Despite going 2-2 on the week, the Golden Eagles were run-ruled in a top-12 matchup against Mississippi State in Starkville. They were fortunate to win the series against Appalachian State after a four-run eighth inning rally on Friday, then were overwhelmed on Saturday. On Sunday, after what head coach Christian Ostrander described as a “stern” talk, Southern Miss looked like itself again in a 13-4 win.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 days 7 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Southern Miss had everything it needed in the first inning, bases loaded, no outs and a chance to seize control.
It walked away with one run, and never recovered and Appalachian State made sure it paid for it.
After stranding the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning, the Golden Eagles managed just one hit over the next five innings, falling 6-2 to App State as the Mountaineers used a pair of three-run innings to take control late.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 days 10 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
For a team with nearly an entirely new roster, Southern Miss isn’t starting with a playbook in spring camp - it’s starting with discipline.
First-year head coach Blake Anderson has a team that is nearly 95% new from a year ago, ranking last in the country in returning production, according to ESPN.
Therefore, there is no designated captain on the team yet. Nearly 80 to 100 new players are still trying to learn each other, the system and how Anderson coaches.
By DIMA MIXON on
4 days 3 hours ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Ben Higdon and Grayden Harris were sitting in the dugout talking about Harris’ outing and down three runs on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Higdon told Harris that he just didn’t think the ball was rolling their way, to which Harris replied, “We just need like one big inning, like a four-run eighth.”
A few at-bats later, Harris hit it on the money when Ty Long touched home plate to complete the four-run inning in the eighth, giving Southern Miss its first lead of the night.
By DIMA MIXON on
4 days 11 hours ago
Meg Medina has long since confirmed her promise as a writer after receiving an Ezra Jack Keats Award at The University of Southern Mississippi’s 2012 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival.
Medina, along with other established and emerging authors and artists, will be celebrated during this year’s annual festival, which also includes the Ezra Jack Keats Award Ceremony, set for April 8-10 on the university’s Hattiesburg campus.
By David Tisdale on
4 days 14 hours ago
Elijah Jones is a proud Hattiesburg native who enjoys writing. Email him at edjhubtown@aol.com.
Earlier this month, the country mourned the loss of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson. My generation, as well as those that came after me, will recognize his name and the mission to which he dedicated his life. In the 1960s, Jackson worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders, Black and white, during the often-turbulent years of the civil rights movement. Chief among them, that most precious for all Americans: the right to vote.
By Elijah Jones on
4 days 16 hours ago
Photo by Amanda D. Lee, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
The likeness of Afroman adorns the mural at the Rebekah Stark Johnson Community Art Center honoring high-flying musicians with ties to the Hub City.
A singer and rapper with ties to Hattiesburg, Joseph Edgar Foreman- better known as Afroman, won a lawsuit filed against him for defamation by seven deputies of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in southern Ohio, where he resides.
By Amanda D. Lee - Reporter on
5 days 9 hours ago
When you are buried at sea, you join the legion of those who are flotsam and jetsam at the mercy of the tides, your bones moving with the currents, eternally adrift and forever missing.
By Benny Hornsby on
1 week ago
Photo by Dima Mixon, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
FLOWOOD — Oak Grove gets a massive region win on the road.
Behind a big sixth inning along with the pitching of Bradyn Murphy the Warriors knocked off Northwest Rankin 4-2 in a pivotal Region 3-7A matchup at Wesley Scarbrough Field on Tuesday night.
The Warriors (12-4, 3-0 Region 3-7A) and Cougars (15-4, 2-1) will meet again at Oak Grove on Friday night at 7 p.m.
By Brandon Shields on
1 week ago
Photo by Jacob Brumfield, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
STARKVILLE - The trip to Starkville has not been kind to Southern Miss the past two seasons.
No. 6 Mississippi State wasted no time taking control, erupting for nine runs over the first three innings and cruising to a 12-0 run-rule victory over No. 11 Southern Miss in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 1 day ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
It’s that time of the week again for my weekly Southern Miss baseball report card, and this one comes with a bit more nuance than usual.
Southern Miss remained steady in the major polls, moving up to No. 11 in D1Baseball and No. 12 in Perfect Game. The Golden Eagles came in at No. 13 in the NCBWA and USA Today polls and No. 16 in Baseball America after a 3-1 week.
The Golden Eagles picked up a midweek win over Nicholls before taking two of three from Troy over the weekend at Pete Taylor Park. On paper, it looks like another strong week for Southern Miss.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 2 days ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Southern Miss rallied all weekend, and it was fitting that it needed another one to win the series against a gritty Troy ball club.
The No. 12 Golden Eagles didn’t panic.
Not when they fell behind by four runs early. Not after dropping Friday night’s opener. And not in a tense, back-and-forth finish against a Troy team that looked every bit like a Sun Belt contender, despite its record.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 3 days ago
Photo by Jacob Brumfield, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
When doubts were coming in about the Southern Miss lineup, they responded with their best hitting day since the North Alabama series two weeks ago. The Golden Eagles used 11 hits and 11 runs to cruise past Troy 11-5 to even the weekend series.
“I’m not sitting here telling you these last five games we have played our best,” Ostrander said. “It’s hard to play your best for 56 of them. You’ve got to hang in there and kind of roll with the punches sometimes. You have to stay locked in and stay together. It was good today to do what we needed to do and had to do.”
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 4 days ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Christian Ostrander and Southern Miss baseball have a real issue, and at the moment there isn’t much of an answer for it.
The hitting over the last several games has been downright atrocious.
Tonight, against the ninth-worst pitching team in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss mustered just seven hits, eight baserunners and went 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position in a series-opening 6-5 loss to Troy for the No. 12 Golden Eagles.
By DIMA MIXON on
1 week 5 days ago
Photo by Amanda D. Lee, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
The following business was conducted in Monday and Tuesday’s meetings of the Hattiesburg City Council:
By Amanda D. Lee on
1 week 5 days ago
Photo special to the Pine Belt News from William Carey Athletics
Hattiesburg, Miss.- After 44 seasons on the Carey bench, Mississippi’s all-time winningest college basketball coach, Steve Knight, announced his retirement today, bringing an end to a remarkable career that ranks amongst the best in college basketball history.
By Ben Smith on
1 week 5 days ago
Photo by Dima Mixon, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
One of the most accomplished and respected figures in Mississippi college athletics is calling it a career.
William Carey head men’s basketball coach Steve Knight announced his retirement following 44 seasons leading the Crusaders, closing the book on a historic tenure.
By DIMA MIXON on
2 weeks ago
Petal gets a big region win at home in a big way.
The Panthers scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to highlight an 11-3 rout of Brandon in the Region 3-7A opener on Tuesday night.
Petal (11-6, 1-0 Region 3-7A) and Brandon (9-6, 0-1) will meet again at Brandon on Friday night at 7 p.m.
“That’s the things you need to do is set the tone early against a team that’s a really good team and a team that’s been at Trustmark the last two years,” said Petal coach Conner Douglas. “We played hard and good things happen and proud of the guys.”
By Brandon Shields on
2 weeks ago
Photo by Russ Cloy, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
It was appropriate that on St. Patrick’s Day, the team that dominated its game was the one wearing green.
Lamar Christian used an overwhelming first inning to defeat Hillcrest Christian 13-0 in four innings Tuesday at the LCS Field.
The Lions improved to 11-2 overall, and 3-0 in MAIS District 4-2A; Hillcrest remained winless.
Despite the lop-sided margin, LC head coach Matthew Parker wasn’t 100 percent pleased with his team’s focus with a big lead.
By Stan Caldwell on
2 weeks ago
Photo special to the Pine Belt News from Pearl River Athletics
ELLISVILLE — In a top-10 matchup, No. 3 Pearl River and No. 7 Jones split both games of a doubleheader between the two squads in conference play.
Jones rode a dominant pitching performance from Colton Smith to take Game 1, while Pearl River answered behind timely hitting in Game 2 to salvage the split in a key MACCC showdown.
Both schools displayed terrific pitching, with just 22 hits combined through both games, and both showed the ability to come up with important at-bats in key moments.
By DIMA MIXON on
