HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Camden Sunstrom threw six strong innings and Southern Mississippi used a pair of big innings to defeat Louisiana-Monroe 7-3 on Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park, completing a three-game Sun Belt sweep.

Sunstrom allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out five over six innings to improve his season record. The right-hander worked efficiently, retiring the side in order in the first, second and fourth innings before exiting after the sixth with a 4-3 lead. In his previous start April 26 at South Alabama, Sunstrom tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts in a 3-4 loss.

Southern Mississippi, now 34-14 overall, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. After two quick outs, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases on a hit by pitch, a single and an infield single. Drey Barrett walked with the bases loaded to force in the first run, and Ben Higdon followed with a two-run single through the left side to tie the game at 3-3. Nick Stockman then singled up the middle to score Barrett and give Southern Mississippi a 4-3 lead.

Louisiana-Monroe (24-24) answered in the top of the fifth when center fielder Davis Mauzy homered to left field, his third of the season, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Mauzy finished 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.

The Golden Eagles pulled away in the sixth. With the score still 4-3, Southern Mississippi strung together three consecutive run-scoring hits. Matthew Russo singled to right field to drive in a run, Barrett singled to center for another RBI and Higdon singled to right for his third RBI of the game, making it 7-3. Higdon finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Barrett drove in two runs while going 1-for-4.

Southern Mississippi’s pitching held firm after Sunstrom’s exit. JW Armistead pitched two-thirds of an inning of hitless relief, and Thomas Crabtree worked a perfect ninth with one strikeout. The Golden Eagles collected 12 hits, while Louisiana-Monroe managed seven.

Louisiana-Monroe had taken an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. After the Warhawks loaded the bases with one out on a walk, a hit by pitch and a single, a fielding error and another hit by pitch allowed three runs to score. But the Warhawks could not sustain the momentum.

Warhawks starter Seaver Sheets allowed four runs on three hits in two and two-thirds innings, striking out four but walking three. Seth Cooper relieved and threw two and one-third hitless innings with two strikeouts, and Holden Hess added one and one-third hitless frames. The Warhawks defense committed two errors that contributed to Southern Mississippi’s rally.

The series sweep extended Southern Mississippi’s winning streak to three games after the Golden Eagles won the first two games of the series Saturday by scores of 3-1 and 2-1 in 11 innings. Louisiana-Monroe had won four of its previous six games entering the weekend.

The most important stretch of the game came in the bottom of the third when Southern Mississippi erased a 3-0 deficit with four runs on three hits and two walks. That rally turned the game in the Golden Eagles’ favor and set the stage for their decisive sixth inning.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Southern Mississippi 6, Louisiana-Monroe 5, and Interstat’s ELO system gave the Golden Eagles an 83.50 percent probability to win before the game.