CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina stayed unbeaten, while Troy and Louisiana staved off elimination with victories in Thursday play at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
A pair of elimination games—both rematches from Wednesday action—will be contested on Friday. No. 6-seeded Old Dominion will take on No. 3-seedeed Troy at 3:00 p.m. CT and No. 5-seeded Louisiana will face off against No. 4-seeded Marshall at 6:30 p.m. CT. 
 
With back-to-back victories to open the championship, Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina each advanced directly to Saturday play and now sit one win away from the championship game. 

GAME 7 – No. 3 seed Troy def. No. 7 seed Texas State, 4-2
Troy outpaced Texas State, 4-2, to stave off elimination in Thursday’s first win-or-go-home contest at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
A two-out double down the right field line from junior second baseman Sean Darnell brought home senior outfielder Steven Meier—who reached on an infield single and stole second to get into scoring position—to light up the scoreboard for the Trojans in the bottom of the first inning. Troy tacked on a second in the third, when junior outfielder Gavin Schrader’s pop up to shallow left fell between the Bobcats shortstop and left fielder, allowing freshman third baseman Jimmy Janicki to come around to score after a two-out double. 
 
Texas State’s first hit was literally a loud one, as redshirt senior outfielder Alan Shibley rocked a 2-1 pitch off the right field foul pole for a leadoff bomb in the top of the fifth inning. Bobcats junior first baseman Coy DeFury delivered a carbon copy shot down the right field line in the top of the sixth to knot the game at 2-2. 
  
With two-on and two-out in the top of the seventh inning, Troy turned to freshman right-handed pitcher Noah Thigpen, who promptly induced a grounder to short with his first pitch to neutralize the Texas State threat. In the bottom half of the frame, senior shortstop Jakob Wax put the Trojans back on top, 3-2, with a no-doubt shot over the wall in left—his third home run of the season. Meier then reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch to produce the final 4-2 margin. 
 
Thigpen threw 2.1 innings of no-hit baseball in relief for the Trojans to earn the victory and improve to 3-1 on the season. No pitch was bigger than his 3-2 high heat to strike out DeFury with two-on and two-out in the top of the ninth to close out the win.  
 
Troy will take on No. 6 seed Old Dominion in an elimination game at 3:00 p.m. CT on Friday, May 23. The Trojans took 2-of-3 during the regular-season series in Norfolk, but the Monarchs knotted the season ledger at 2-2 with a 4-2 win in the first meeting in Montgomery. 
 
GAME 8 – No. 5 seed Louisiana def. No. 9 seed Georgia Southern, 5-4 
Louisiana plated runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth in a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Georgia Southern to stay alive in the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns scored first, when junior designated hitter Luke Yuhasz singled through the right side in the bottom of the first to drive in sophomore second baseman Drew Markle—who reached on a single of his own and stole second to get into scoring position. 
 
None other than Eagles junior outfielder Juju Stevens came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning. As he had throughout Georgia Southern’s stint in Montgomery, Stevens came through with a bases-clearing double to left center to make it 3-1 in favor of the Eagles. 
 
Louisiana got one back in the bottom of the sixth and pushed ahead with a pair in the subsequent frame, as Markle singled home freshman outfielder Brooks Wright and came around to score after stealing second and advancing on a pair of Monarch errors. 
 
An eighth-inning leadoff homer to right field off the bat of Stevens—of course—knotted the game at 4-4. Louisiana junior outfielder Caleb Stelly worked the count full and singled through the right side to open the bottom half of the frame. Stelly advanced two bases on a wild pitch and touched home for the eventual game-winning run on a sacrifice fly from junior first baseman Lee Amedee. 
 
Sophomore right-handed pitcher JR Tollett earned the win—his sixth of the year—after hurling 4.0 innings of two-hit baseball in relief for hte Ragin' Cajuns. 
 
Louisiana will face No. 4 seed Marshall in an elimination game at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday. The Thundering Herd won the season’s first meeting in Montgomery, 9-5.  
 
GAME 9 – No. 2 seed Southern Miss def. No. 6 seed Old Dominion, 10-0 (7 Innings) 
Behind a power surge from the offense and a seven-inning complete game four-hitter from senior right-handed pitcher Matthew Adams, Southern Miss outpaced Old Dominion in a 10-0 run-rule win at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
The Golden Eagles broke the ice with a small ball run in the bottom of the first, before sophomore outfielder Jake Cook blew the game open with a three-run shot to right—his third home run of the season and second in as many games in Montgomery. 
 
Junior designated hitter Joey Urban opened the fifth with a solo shot to left center and senior shortstop Ozzie Pratt followed in short order with a two-run bomb to extend the Southern Miss advantage to 7-0. 
 
In the bottom of the seventh, junior designated hitter Matthew Russo stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a two-RBI single to right to get the Golden Eagles within a tally of the run rule. Two pitches later, senior outfielder Carson Paetow grounded the ball through the right side of the infield to bring home Cook for the game-ending run. 
 
Adams earned the victory on the hill, striking out seven over as many frames, as he improved to 6-2 on the season. 

By virtue of its victory, Southern Miss will advance directly to Saturday action, while Old Dominion will take on No. 3 seed Troy in an elimination game at 3:00 p.m. CT on Friday, May 23. The Monarchs won the first meeting in Montgomery, 4-2, though Troy took 2-of-3 in the regular-season series in Norfolk. 
 
GAME 10 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 4 seed Marshall, 4-2
Coastal Carolina got on the board early and rode a quality start from sophomore right-handed pitcher Cameron Flukey to a 4-2 victory over Marshall at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
Junior catcher Caden Bodine drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, advanced to second and then to third on a pair of wild pitches and scored on a sacrifice fly to light up the scoreboard for the Chanticleers.
 
Bodine plated sophomore outfielder Blagen Pado with another sacrifice fly in the following frame and redshirt senior outfielder Sebastian Alexander followed with an RBI single to right to make it 3-0 in favor of the Chanticleers. A balk scored a third run in the second inning to extend Coastal Carolina’s advantage once more to 4-0. 
 
Flukey dealt for 7.0 innings, scattering five hits and a walk and striking out 10 in the process. When he was lifted in the top of the eighth, Marshall manufactured a two-out rally. The Thundering Herd strung together four-straight singles, including RBI knocks to right from sophomore first baseman AJ Havrilla and senior third baseman Eddie Leon to produce the final 4-2 score. 
 
Flukey picked up the win to improve to 6-1 on the season, while senior righty Ryan Lynch recorded a four-out save. 
 
By virtue of its victory, Coastal Carolina will advance directly to Saturday play, while Marshall will take on No. 5 seed Louisiana in an elimination game at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, May 23. The Thundering Herd won the season’s first meeting in Montgomery, 9-5.  
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 20
Game 1 – No. 7 seed Texas State def. No. 10 seed App State, 3-0
Game 2 – No. 9 seed Georgia Southern def. No. 8 seed Arkansas State, 13-8
 
Wednesday, May 21
Game 3 – No. 6 seed Old Dominion def. No. 3 seed Troy, 4-2 
Game 4 – No. 2 seed Southern Miss def. No. 7 seed Texas State, 9-1
Game 5 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 9 seed Georgia Southern, 8-1 
Game 6 – No. 4 seed Marshall def. No. 5 seed Louisiana, 9-5
 
Thursday, May 22
Game 7 – No. 3 seed Troy def. No. 7 seed Texas State, 4-2 
Game 8 – No. 5 seed Louisiana def. No. 9 seed Georgia Southern, 5-4
Game 9 – No. 2 seed Southern Miss def. No. 6 seed Old Dominion, 10-0 (7 Innings)
Game 10 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 4 seed Marshall, 4-2 
 
Friday, May 23
Game 11 – No. 6 seed Old Dominion vs. No. 3 seed Troy, 3:00 p.m. CT 
Game 12 – No. 5 seed Louisiana vs. No. 4 seed Marshall, 6:30 p.m. CT
 
Saturday, May 24
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. No. 2 seed Southern Miss, 9:00 a.m. CT
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina, 12:30 p.m. CT
If Necessary – 4:00 p.m. CT
If Necessary – 7:30 p.m. CT
 
Sunday, May 25
Championship Game – 1:00 p.m. CT