HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Interstat) — Blake Simpson homered and drove in two runs as Arkansas-Little Rock defeated Southern Mississippi 7-4 on Friday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park. The Trojans improved to 37-26, while the Golden Eagles fell to 44-16.

Arkansas-Little Rock seized control early. Nolan Freund singled in Jerdy Lopez in the third inning, and the Trojans added a run in the sixth on Ty Rhoades’ sacrifice fly. Angel Cano grounded out to score Simpson in the eighth, and the Trojans struck for three runs in the ninth on a wild pitch, a single by Freund and Simpson’s two-run homer.

Southern Mississippi answered with solo homers from Kyle Morrison in the third and Davis Gillespie in the eighth. Joey Urban hit a two-run shot in the fifth. Camden Clark started for the Golden Eagles, while Brannon Westmoreland, Gage Haley and Tag Andrews combined on the mound for the Trojans. Arkansas-Little Rock outhit Southern Mississippi 14-9.