HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss played 10 ½ innings against Western Kentucky on Saturday, nine of which it would probably rather forget.

The Golden Eagles wrapped up an 8-2 victory in the conclusion of a game suspended Friday night by rain and lightning, and then lost 7-1 in the regularly-scheduled game at Pete Taylor Park.

Southern Miss (21-9, 7-3 Conference USA) led 6-2 when play was suspended Friday night. It picked up right where it left off whent he game resumed Saturday afternoon, adding another run in the bottom of the eighth inning by way of a solo home run by Hunter Slater, and then quickly finished the game off in the last inning.

Slater had two hits in the game, and Luke Reynolds drove in three runs.

In game two, the Hilltoppers took a 5-0 lead with a four-run third inning and never looked back. The Golden Eagles didn’t score until the sixth inning, when Casey Maack delivered an RBI single.

Jacob Rhinesmith was 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs for Western Kentucky (15-15, 5-6), and Richard Constantine had two hits and drove in two runs.

For Southern Miss, Luke Reynolds and LeeMarcus Boyd both had two hits.

On the mound for the Golden Eagles, starter Stevie Powers (2-1) gave up nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings. He struck out seven. For Western Kentucky, Ryan Thurston (3-4) allowed six hits and one run over five innings, and struck out seven.

The teams will conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.