Three Semifinal Spots Claimed, Southern Miss & Texas State Remain Unbeaten at Sun Belt Baseball Championship
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CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three of four spots in Saturday’s semifinals have been claimed by Louisiana, Southern Miss and Texas State, with in-state rivals South Alabama and Troy to square off for the final spot on Saturday morning.
Southern Miss advanced directly to Saturday’s semifinals, while Louisiana staved off elimination in Friday play at the 2026 Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
Weather forced the tournament to split sites at DABOS Park in Montgomery, Ala., and Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Ala., a setup that will continue on semifinal Saturday.
No. 5-seeded South Alabama and No. 4-seeded Troy will meet in an elimination game at 9:00 a.m. CT at DABOS Park, ahead of the first semifinal between No. 7-seeded Louisiana and No. 6-seeded Texas State at 10:00 a.m. CT at Riddle-Pace Field. No. 1-seeded Southern Miss will take on the winner of No. 5-seeded South Alabama and No. 4-seeded Troy at 12:30 p.m. CT at DABOS Park, with an if necessary game potentially being played at 1:30 p.m. CT at Riddle-Pace Field.
GAME 10 – No. 1 seed Southern Miss def. No. 4 seed Troy, 7-6
A walk-off grand slam from sophomore third baseman Drey Barrett lifted Southern Miss directly into the Saturday’s semifinal round at the Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University with a 7-6 come-from-behind win over Troy in a weather-delayed matchup at DABOS Park.
A two-out, 368-foot blast over the fence and out of the stadium in left field from sophomore outfielder Houston Markham in the top of the second helped Troy seize control of the game early.
Trojans sophomore catcher Jimmy Janicki singled home a run in the top of the fifth and came around to score as part of a two-RBI single to left center from senior outfielder Drew Nelson that ran the Troy lead to 4-0.
A two-out single by senior shortstop Aaron Piasecki followed by a two-out double to left center by redshirt senior third baseman Josh Pyne added a fifth Trojan tally in the top of the sixth, before Southern Miss finally lit up the scoreboard in the bottom half. Senior first baseman Matthew Russo reached via a leadoff double and Barrett sent a two-run bomb off the scoreboard in left center to narrow the gap to 5-2.
The Trojans manufactured a small-ball run in the top of the eighth and carried that four-run edge, 6-2, into the bottom of the ninth. With one out and the bases loaded, Southern Miss junior outfielder Davis Gillespie drew a five-pitch walk to score a run and bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
After falling behind 3-0 in the count, Troy junior right-hander Cooper Ellingworth battled back to strike out Russo on nine pitches and bring the Golden Eagles down to their final out. Ellingworth worked ahead of Barrett 0-2, but Barrett delivered in the ultimate leverage situation with a no-doubt walk-off grand slam that cued the celebration for the Golden Eagle faithful.
Barrett’s six-RBI day—with two home runs—proved to be the difference for Southern Miss. Junior right-handed Josh Och, who worked the top of the ninth for the Golden Eagles, earned the win in relief to run his record to 6-2 on the year.
No. 4 seed Troy will face in-state rival No. 5 seed South Alabama in an elimination game at 9:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, May 23, at DABOS Park in Montgomery, Ala. The Trojans are 3-1 against the Jaguars on the year, including a victory in both teams’ tournament opener. No. 1 seed Southern Miss will take on the morning victor in Saturday’s semifinal at 12:30 p.m. CT at DABOS Park in Montgomery, Ala.
GAME 11 – No. 7 seed Louisiana def. No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina, 5-4
Propelled by a four-run third inning, Louisiana held on to defeat Coastal Carolina, 5-4, in a weather-delayed contest at Riddle-Pace Field to earn a semifinal rematch with Texas State at the Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University.
With two-on and two-out in the top of the third, freshman catcher Colt Brown doubled off the wall in right to score two and then came around to score on a follow-up two-RBI single to right by junior third baseman Drew Markle. Ragin’ Cajuns freshman shortstop Blaze Rodriguez scored from first on a two-out double to right center from junior outfielder Maddox Mandino in the top of the fourth to extend the Louisiana advantage to 5-0.
A leadoff double by Coastal Carolina junior third baseman Walker Mitchell, followed by an RBI double from sophomore outfielder Rex Watson and an RBI single through the left side of the infield by junior designated hitter Trace Mazon narrowed the margin to 5-2.
Back-to-back doubles by senior second baseman Blake Barthol and Mitchell opened the bottom of the eighth—before Mazon singled to left center to pull the Chanticleers within a run, 5-4.
With a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, junior right-hander Cody Brasch struck out Mitchell to close out the Ragin’ Cajuns win. After hurling 5.0 innings as the Louisiana starter on Wednesday, graduate student left-hander Andrew Herrmann threw 5.0 innings in relief to earn the win and run his record to 7-4. Brasch picked up the three-out save, his sixth of the season.
No. 7 seed Louisiana will square off against No. 6 seed Texas State in Saturday’s semifinal at 10:00 a.m. CT at Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Ala. The Ragin’ Cajuns would need to defeat Texas State twice to advance to Sunday’s championship game. The Bobcats are 4-0 against the Ragin’ Cajuns this season, including a 4-3 win in Sun Belt tournament play.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 19
Game 1 – No. 7 seed Louisiana def. No. 10 seed Marshall, 11-1 (7 Innings)
Game 2 – No. 9 seed Georgia State def. No. 8 seed Old Dominion, 17-1 (7 Innings)
Wednesday, May 20
Game 3 – No. 6 seed Texas State def. No. 3 seed App State, 6-5
Game 4 – No. 7 seed Louisiana def. No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina, 12-11
Game 5 – No. 1 seed Southern Miss def. No. 9 seed Georgia State, 7-6
Thursday, May 21
Game 6 – No. 4 seed Troy def. No. 5 seed South Alabama, 11-3
Game 7 – No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 3 seed App State, 8-2
Game 8 – No. 5 seed South Alabama def. No. 9 seed Georgia State, 7-4
Game 9 – No. 6 seed Texas State def. No. 7 seed Louisiana, 4-3
Friday, May 22
Game 10 – No. 1 seed Southern Miss def. No. 4 seed Troy, 7-6
Game 11 – No. 7 seed Louisiana def. No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina, 5-4
Saturday, May 23
Game 12 – No. 5 seed South Alabama vs No. 4 seed Troy, 9:00 a.m. CT
Game 13 – No. 7 seed Louisiana vs. No. 6 seed Texas State, 10:00 a.m. CT
Game 14 – No. 1 seed Southern Miss vs. Winner Game 12, 12:30 p.m. CT
If Necessary – 1:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 24
If Necessary – 9:00 a.m. CT
Championship Game – 1:00 p.m. CT
