MONTGOMERY, Ala. — By the time Southern Miss baseball finished batting in the bottom of the first inning against Appalachian State Saturday night, it was clear that order had been restored.
The second-seeded Golden Eagles established a commanding early lead in what became an 11-1 run-rule win over the No. 6 Mountaineers, booking a place in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title game on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+) and avenging a humdrum effort in a loss to App State earlier Saturday morning.
Three batters in, Southern Miss (40-17) demonstrated that it intended to bring the energy.