MONTGOMERY (Interstat) — The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles used a four-run first inning and a three-run second to build a commanding lead, then withstood a furious Louisiana-Lafayette rally in the ninth to win 11-7 in the Sun Belt Baseball Championship on Sunday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium.

Seth Smith opened the scoring with a solo home run to deep right field, his fifth of the season, giving the Golden Eagles a quick 1-0 advantage. After a single by Jesse Urban, Matthew Russo crushed his 11th homer of the year, a two-run shot to right-center that pushed the lead to 3-0.

The Ragin’ Cajuns could not answer against Southern Mississippi starter Grayden Harris, who struck out four over three innings while allowing only one hit. But the Golden Eagles extended the lead in the second, aided by a defensive miscue. Donovan LaSalle’s throwing error allowed Dylan Stockman to reach base. Josh Long followed with a bunt single, and Smith sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Urban then lined a two-run single to center, scoring Stockman and Long for a 5-0 lead. Urban stole second and later scored on Davis Gillespie’s double down the right-field line, making it 6-0.

Louisiana-Lafayette got on the board in the third when LaSalle homered to left, his 11th, cutting the deficit to 6-1. But Southern Mississippi responded immediately in the bottom half. Barrett singled and scored on Long’s double to right-center. Smith then singled up the middle to drive in Long, increasing the lead to 8-1.

The Golden Eagles tacked on more runs in the fourth. With two runners on base, Higdon singled up the middle off reliever Carter, scoring Russo and Barrett to make it 10-1. JR Tollett replaced Carter and pitched effectively, allowing no hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out four. He gave up an unearned run when Gillespie doubled in the fifth to score Morrison, making it 11-1.

Louisiana-Lafayette began to chip away in the seventh. LaSalle was hit by a pitch, and Spalitta walked. Rodriguez singled to left, bringing home LaSalle to cut the lead to 11-2.

The Ragin’ Cajuns made a dramatic push in the ninth. After a walk to Rodriguez, Lee Amedee belted a two-run homer to right, his seventh, making it 11-4. Brown then walked, and Mark doubled to put runners at second and third. Collins crushed a three-run homer to left, his fourth, scoring Brown and Mark to bring Louisiana-Lafayette within 11-7. But Southern Mississippi reliever Broadhead entered and induced a flyout and a lineout to end the game.

Harris earned the win with his three-inning stint. Kevin Farr and Thomas Crabtree each threw a scoreless inning in relief. For Louisiana-Lafayette, Tollett’s long relief performance kept the Ragin’ Cajuns within striking distance.

Smith led Southern Mississippi’s 15-hit attack with three hits, including a home run and two RBIs. Russo had two hits, a homer and two RBIs, and Gillespie drove in two runs. Amedee and Collins each homered for Louisiana-Lafayette, which managed eight hits.

The Golden Eagles improved to 44-15 overall and advanced in the tournament. The Ragin’ Cajuns dropped to 38-23. The teams split a three-game series in Lafayette in April, with Southern Mississippi winning the opener before Louisiana-Lafayette took the final two.

No point spread or over-under was available for the tournament game.