It wasn’t easy, but the Southern Miss Golden Eagles head home to Hattiesburg two wins away from reaching the elusive trip to the College World Series to have a chance at becoming the third Mississippi school in three years to win a National Championship. Standing between the Golden Eagles and a trip to the 2023 College World Series is the mighty Tennessee Volunteers led by the one and only Tony Vitello. There’s been a lot of talk on both sides since the announcement from the NCAA Baseball Committee about the details regarding Southern Miss getting the nod over Tennessee to host the 2023 Super Regionals after both the Volunteers and Golden Eagles eliminated the national seeds in Clemson and Auburn.

Right or wrong, that isn’t the argument. Southern Miss earned the bid as a Super Regional Host due to the capacity of Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Not to mention last season, when the Golden Eagles hosted the eventual National Champion, Ole Miss Rebels, Southern Miss showed college baseball fans what a Super Regional Host should look like. It was an absolute jungle that made a lasting impression for years.

Down to the matchup, Tennessee and Southern Miss are just about even in every category. Tennessee took over the Clemson Regional with its explosive offensive firepower. Behind 23 runs, Tennessee managed to rattle off three wins to sweep the Clemson Regional. Out of those three games came one against Clemson in game two, where the Volunteers found a way to shock the Tigers in an instant classic that went fourteen innings before Hunter Ensley knocked in a run to secure a 6-5 win over Clemson. Tennessee would dominate Charlotte in game three of the Regional to advance to play Southern Miss in the Super Regional.

However, Tennessee has struggled all season with consistency on the road, where the Volunteers are 5-12. With all due respect to Clemson, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is a hostile place for opposing teams to come in the NCAA Tournament. Not as big, but Tennessee will be facing a crowd that could rival many that the Volunteers see weekly in the Southeastern Conference. No doubt Tennessee will hear things in the bullpen that could rattle the Tennessee pitching staff to an unthinkable core.

Southern Miss has a tough challenge as they try to slow down the Tennessee offensive firepower. Southern Miss will likely send their ace, Tanner Hall, out to the rubber on Saturday to earn the advantage over the Tennessee Volunteers in game one of the three-game series. To reach the 2023 College World Series, Southern Miss needs to jump out on Tennessee in game one to avoid letting the Volunteers get hot.

Southern Miss and Tennessee will open the Hattiesburg Super Regional on Saturday afternoon with a national television audience on ESPNU. All the action with the first pitch will be at 2:00 on Saturday.