HATTIESBURG — About halfway through its game against Columbia on Sunday afternoon, Southern Miss found its rhythm at the plate and it didn’t stop dancing until deep into the night.

The Golden Eagles scored in each of the last four innings to beat Columbia 8-1 in an elimination game Sunday afternoon, then dropped nine runs on Miami in the first inning on the way to a 17-6 rout in their second contest of the day at the NCAA Tournament’s Hattiesburg Regional.

The two wins put Southern Miss (47-15) into a winner-take-all rematch with Miami (33-25) Monday at 8 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Jake Cook’s RBI groundout in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie with Columbia (30-19), which had beaten USM earlier in the regional. The Golden Eagles added another run in the seventh, then blew it open with Ben Higdon’s three-run home run in the eighth.

In the nightcap, Southern Miss had six consecutive two-out hits — the last a three-run homer by Joey Urban — to jump out to a 9-0 lead. Matthew Russo led off the second inning with a home run to make it 10-0, and the Golden Eagles coasted from there.

Urban finished 2-for-3 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored against Miami. Tucker Stockman and Carson Paetow each had three RBIs, and Stockman hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to put an exclamation point on the win.

Ole Miss 11, Georgia Tech 9
Ole Miss 19, Murray State 8
Ole Miss slugged its way to two season-saving victories in the NCAA Tournament’s Oxford Regional.

The Rebels hit three home runs and banged out 14 hits as they outlasted Georgia Tech 11-9 in an elimination game Sunday afternoon. Will Furniss’ RBI single in the seventh inning put the Rebels (42-20) ahead for good, and Campbell Smithwick’s solo home run in the eighth provided some insurance.

In the second game, Ole Miss hit five more home runs and scored 13 runs between the third and fourth innings to take control as it routed Murray State 19-8.

Ole Miss scored eight runs in the third inning, then in the fourth Furniss, Judd Utermark and Isaac Humphrey hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to make it 13-3.

Ole Miss and Murray State will play for the third time this weekend — Murray State won the regional opener on Friday — in a winner-take-all game on Monday at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.