Playing on the weekend has been very, very good for both Southern Miss and Mississippi State this season. The middle of the week, not so much.

Southern Miss is only 3-4 this season in the non-conference games played on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mississippi State is 3-2. Both squads will try to gain some traction and pick up a quality non-conference win when they meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

Both Southern Miss and Mississippi State are coming into the game — their only head-to-head matchup of the season — off of series wins and are playing well overall.

Southern Miss hit four home runs on Saturday to beat Texas-San Antonio 13-2 and complete a three-game sweep. Southern Miss (19-6, 5-1 Conference USA) has won each of its first two league series and is tied for first place with Florida Atlantic and Rice.

The Golden Eagles lead Conference USA with a .313 team batting average, and their 33 home runs are 12 more than second-place Marshall. USM has also scored 188 runs. Western Kentucky ranks second in that category with 152.

Southern Miss has won eight consecutive games against opponents from the Southeastern Conference.

“Right now, we’re a tough team to pitch to, from top to bottom,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said after Saturday’s win over UTSA. “I’ve had several opposing coaches tell us that. But that’s a credit to our guys, a credit to our hitting coaches and the plans they have.”

Mississippi State, meanwhile, has won five of its last seven games since a pair of embarrassing midweek losses at home to Eastern Kentucky and Oral Roberts.

The Bulldogs (17-7-1, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) have straightened things out by winning their first two league series against Vanderbilt and Georgia. Both times, they won the first two games before dropping the finale.

“Our two day threes have not been our finest hour in league play so far,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said after Saturday’s 11-8 loss to Georgia.

Mississippi State’s struggles in its finale with Georgia, perhaps, spoke to one of its weaknesses — a lack of pitching depth.

The Bulldogs’ top two starters, Dakota Hudson and Austin Sexton, both rank in the top 10 in the SEC in strikeouts, and Hudson is No. 2 in the league with a 1.13 ERA.

No. 3 starter Daniel Brown, however, is 2-2 with a 5.00 ERA. As a staff, Mississippi State has walked 102 batters, the second most in the SEC. It walked 10 batters in the loss to Georgia.

“You just can’t be that sloppy on the mound,” Cohen said. “Our kids won’t make excuses. You have to make the other team beat you with swings.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. SOUTHERN MISS

Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

At Trustmark Park, Pearl

Radio: 105.5 FM (MSU) and 105.1 FM (Southern Miss)

Tickets: Tickets range from $5 to $25 and are available online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Trustmark Park box office