BRACKET | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The top four seeds—Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss, Troy and Louisiana—claimed wins in Day Two play at the 2023 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
Four games will be on tap on Thursday—No. 7-seeded James Madison vs. No. 6-seeded App State in an elimination game at 9:00 a.m. CT, No. 8-seeded Georgia State vs. No. 5-seeded Texas State in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. CT, No. 3-seeded Troy vs. No. 2-seeded Southern Miss at 4:00 p.m. CT and No. 1-seeded Coastal Carolina vs. No. 4-seeded Louisiana at 7:30 p.m. CT.
GAME 3 – No. 3 seed Troy def. No. 6 seed App State, 10-9 (10 Innings)
Senior second baseman Luke Drumheller sent a two-out, solo shot over the left field wall in the first inning to give App State an early advantage.
Two more home runs—another solo blast by senior designated hitter Alex Reed and a two-run bomb by sophomore outfielder CJ Boyd—highlighted a six-hit, four-run fifth inning that extended the Mountaineer lead to 5-0.
Following back-to-back walks to open the bottom half of the fifth inning, freshman designated hitter Brooks Bryan got three runs back for Troy with one swing of the bat, sending a 2-0 pitch 365 feet down the right field line for a three-run homer.
A one-out triple by junior outfielder Kole Myers kept the Trojans rally going and chased Mountaineer starter junior right-handed pitcher Xander Hamilton. After a hit by pitch, senior third baseman Caleb Bartolero brought Myers home on a single through the right side and junior first baseman William Sullivan plated the tying run for Troy on a sacrifice fly to center.
Troy added a small ball run in the bottom of the sixth to take its first lead of the game—and a leadoff 401-foot shot off the scoreboard by Bartolero in the bottom of the seventh made it 7-5 Trojans.
App State joined in on the small ball in the top of the ninth, plating four—the final two on a single through the right side by freshman shortstop Jonathan Xuereb—to take a two-run lead, 9-7. Troy answered in the bottom half, with a two-out, two-run bomb from junior shortstop Tremayne Cobb Jr. sending the game to extra innings, 9-9.
With two men on in the bottom of the 10th, Troy junior outfielder Kole Myers punched a ball into the left-center gap for a walk-off RBI double.
Junior right-handed pitcher Noah Manning picked up the win on the hill for the Trojans after entering midway through the ninth inning.
GAME 4 – No. 2 seed Southern Miss def. No. 7 seed James Madison, 7-1
James Madison got on the board first, manufacturing a run in the top of the fourth inning, but Southern Miss answered back in the bottom half with a two-run homer off the bat of freshman second baseman Nick Monistere to take its first lead of the game, 2-1.
It was all Golden Eagles from there, as the team tacked on a run on two singles and a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fifth and plated three more on four hits in the bottom of the sixth to open up a 6-1 advantage.
Southern Miss strung together four-straight singles to open the bottom of the seventh to score its final run and produce the 7-1 final margin.
Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year junior right-handed pitcher Tanner Hall used 102 pitches to toss a complete game three-hitter and secure the win—his 12th of the season. He retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced in the outing.
Offensively, senior outfielder Reece Ewing had a three-RBI day for the Golden Eagles.
GAME 5 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 8 seed Georgia State, 5-4
Georgia State started fast, jumping out to a 1-0 advantage when junior first baseman Luke Boynton doubled home senior designated hitter Max Ryerson in the top half of the first inning.
Regular-season champion Coastal Carolina responded in the bottom half of the frame, stringing together a two-out double, single and walk to load the bases for senior first baseman Zack Beach. Beach was first-pitch swinging and sent a bases-clearing double down the left field line to make it 3-1 in favor of the Chanticleers.
Super senior second baseman Payton Eeles made his way around the bases in the fifth after reaching on a fielder’s choice to give Coastal Carolina some additional breathing room, 4-1.
After freshman left-handed starter Liam Doyle exited, Georgia State immediately jumped on the Chanticleer bullpen. Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson smashed his second home run in as many days over the right field wall. Redshirt freshman catcher Colin Hynek and sophomore second baseman Jesse Donohue followed with a single and a double to give the Panthers a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. The Panthers plated a second on a sacrifice fly by junior outfielder Dalton Pearson to narrow the margin to 4-3.
Eeles started a two-out rally and came around to score again in the bottom half of the seventh—on a single from senior outfielder Graham Brown through the left side—to once again extend the Coastal Carolina advantage, 5-3. Panthers junior shortstop Matt Ruiz added a two-out solo shot in the top of the eighth to produce the final score, 5-4.
Doyle picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits over 6.0 innings pitched, while junior right-handed pitcher Teddy Sharkey earned the six-out save for the Chanticleers.
GAME 6 – No. 4 seed Louisiana def. No. 5 seed Texas State, 6-1
A two-out, three-run shot over the right field wall by Ragin’ Cajuns junior second baseman John Taylor broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Ragin’ Cajuns extended the lead to 5-0 in the fifth via a bases-loaded double to right off the bat of junior catcher Julian Brock that plated a pair and saw a third runner tagged out at home.
Louisiana starter junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Nezuh used 119 pitches to throw 5.2 no-hit innings, striking out nine in the process.
Texas State broke up the combined no-hit bid when junior outfielder Kameron Weil beat out the toss for an infield single to load the bases with no one out in the top of the seventh. The Ragin’ Cajuns turned two on the ensuing batter—while conceding a run—and senior right-handed pitcher Cooper Rawls struck out Texas State senior outfielder Jose Gonzalez to get out of the inning and end the Bobcat threat, 5-1.
Louisiana added an insurance run in the bottom half of the seventh, when junior outfielder Carson Roccaforte doubled home sophomore shortstop Kyle DeBarge to extend its lead to 6-1.
Nezuh and Rawls combined for a one-hitter on the hill, with Nezuh earning the win and Rawls getting the save.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 25
Game 7 – No. 7 seed James Madison vs. No. 6 seed App State, 9:00 a.m. CT
Game 8 – No. 8 seed Georgia State vs. No. 5 seed Texas State 12:30 p.m. CT
Game 9 – No. 3 seed Troy vs. No. 2 seed Southern Miss, 4:00 p.m. CT
Game 10 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina vs. No. 4 seed Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. CT
Friday, May 26
Game 11 – Loser Game 9 vs. Winner Game 7, 3:00 p.m. CT
Game 12 – Loser Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8, 6:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 27
Game 13 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, 9:00 a.m. CT
Game 14 – Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 12, 12:30 p.m. CT
If Necessary – 4:00 p.m. CT
If Necessary – 7:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 28
Championship Game – 1:00 p.m. CT