HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Southern Mississippi hosts Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday afternoon in a nonconference matchup between two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Golden Eagles (44-15) boast one of the top records in the nation and have won seven of their last 10. The Trojans (36-26) are coming off a road series win at Eastern Illinois but have struggled against top competition.

Southern Mississippi’s offense is powered by first baseman Matthew Russo, who is batting .340 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. In his past five games, Russo went 7-for-17 with two homers and 10 RBIs, including a 2-for-4, one-homer, two-RBI performance in Sunday’s 11-7 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Arkansas-Little Rock will counter with reliever Isaac Evaniew, who has been inconsistent this season. In his last outing May 24 against Eastern Illinois, he threw three scoreless innings with one strikeout. However, he allowed multiple runs in two of his previous four appearances.

The Trojans’ offense is led by left fielder Blake Simpson and right fielder Ty Rhoades. Simpson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in Sunday’s 10-6 win over Eastern Illinois, while Rhoades added a 2-for-4, one-RBI effort.

Recent history favors Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles have won 10 of their last 12 games, including a sweep of Georgia Southern and a series win over Troy. Arkansas-Little Rock is 6-4 in its last 10, with losses to Southeast Missouri State and SIU Edwardsville.

The weather forecast calls for clear skies with temperatures in the mid-80s.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Southern Mississippi is projected to win 7-6. The Golden Eagles are ranked in the top 25 of most major polls, while the Trojans are fighting for an at-large NCAA tournament bid.

Game time is set for 3 p.m. Central. Southern Mississippi will start senior right-hander Grayden Harris (8-2, 3.12 ERA), who threw three innings of one-run ball in Sunday’s win. Arkansas-Little Rock has not announced a starter.