HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Southern Mississippi defeated Georgia Southern 10-1 on Friday at Pete Taylor Park, riding a dominant start from Camden Clark and a relentless offensive attack to a lopsided victory in the opener of a Sun Belt series.

Clark, the top star for the Golden Eagles, threw five innings and allowed five hits with one earned run and nine strikeouts. He improved to 7-2 after following up back-to-back wins over James Madison and Louisiana-Monroe in which he combined for 15 strikeouts over 13 scoreless innings.

Georgia Southern took the lead in the top of the second when Sean White homered to left field, his eighth home run of the season, making it 1-0. That lead was short-lived. Southern Mississippi had already tied the game in the bottom of the first when Seth Smith walked, stole second and scored on a double by Ozzie Morrison.

The Golden Eagles grabbed the lead for good in the third inning. Joey Urban singled and moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a single by Nick Russo to make it 2-1. Southern Mississippi added a run in the fourth when Owen Odom walked, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Urban’s double, stretching the lead to 3-1.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fifth. With the Golden Eagles holding a two-run edge, they broke it open. Carson Barrett doubled to left center, driving in two runs after walks to Bryce Gillespie and Russo. Ben Higdon then grounded out but brought Russo home, pushing the lead to 5-1. Georgia Southern made three pitching changes in the inning but could not stop the rally.

Clark exited after the fifth having surrendered only two hits after the second inning. Relievers JW Armistead and Kros Sivley combined for four scoreless innings. Armistead worked the sixth, allowing two hits and striking out two. Sivley followed with three shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out four.

Georgia Southern’s only opportunity after the fifth came in the sixth when White singled and Jonathan Jaime singled, but a flyout and a strikeout ended the threat.

Southern Mississippi padded the lead in the seventh. Higdon doubled and scored on a single by Jordan Stockman, making it 6-1.

The Golden Eagles put the game out of reach in the eighth. Smith led off with a home run to left field, his third of the season. Urban doubled down the left-field line. Gillespie singled to right center, driving in Urban. Russo singled through the right side, and then Higdon delivered a two-run single up the middle that scored Gillespie and Russo. Higdon was thrown out trying to advance to second, but the inning gave Southern Mississippi a 10-1 lead.

Georgia Southern starter Ethan Garrett took the loss. He worked 3 2-3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Relievers Jayden White and Jay Wade also pitched but could not slow the Golden Eagles’ bats.

White led the Georgia Southern offense, going 3 for 4 with a double, a homer and the team’s only RBI. Edwards added two hits and a stolen base.

For Southern Mississippi, Urban finished 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Higdon had two hits and three RBIs. Smith homered, drove in a run and scored twice. The Golden Eagles collected 13 hits off six Georgia Southern pitchers.

The loss dropped Georgia Southern to 16-39 overall and 5-22 in Sun Belt play. Southern Mississippi improved to 39-14 and 18-9 in conference.

The two teams meet again Saturday for the second game of the series. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Southern Mississippi 7, Georgia Southern 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Golden Eagles an 80.60 percent probability to win.