HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A double by Southern Miss in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 4-4 tie and proved to be the only run after fourth frame Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park, as the USM pitching staff held on for a 5-4 victory over Missouri State in the rubber match of the series.

It was a back-and-forth game through four innings, with Zack Stewart's solo homer in the second – his third in the series – staking the Bears (4-3) to a 1-0 lead when it finally landed 418 feet from home plate beyond the right field wall.

Southern Miss (6-2) used two doubles, a single and a walk to go up 2-1 in the bottom of the second, and the Bears responded with a three-run fourth.

MoState used a USM error and hit batter to set up Nick Rodriguez's tying single and took advantage of another error that loaded the bases for Jake McCutcheon to hit a two-run single for a 4-2 lead as part of his 2-for-4 day at the plate.

The Golden Eagles had the immediate answer again with a tying two-run homer in the bottom half for a 4-4 score, and Seth Smith's double in the sixth proved to be the game-winner for the home team's 5-4 victory.

The Bears loaded the bases on three singles in the eighth but came up empty and were retired in order in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts to run the offense's total to 17 on the afternoon.

Missouri State wraps up its trip through the Magnolia State on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. game at Ole Miss. The Bears then open the home season March 1 at 3 p.m. against Arkansas State at Hammons Field.