CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Troy and Marshall advanced to semifinal Saturday at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala., via elimination game victories on Friday, setting up matchups of the top four seeds.
No. 3-seeded Troy will need to defeat No. 2-seeded Southern Miss twice on Saturday to advance to the championship game—the same is true for the Thundering Herd against No. 1-seeded Coastal Carolina.
The Trojans and Golden Eagles will meet first at 9:00 a.m. CT and the Thundering Herd and Chanticleers will square off at 12:30 p.m. CT, with if necessary games to follow.
Southern Miss swept Troy on the final weekend of the regular season and has handed the Trojans 1-of-2 losses in Montgomery in each of the past two championships. Coastal Carolina swept Marshall during the regular season and handed the Thundering Herd their first loss of this year’s championship on Thursday.
GAME 11 – No. 3 seed Troy def. No. 6 seed Old Dominion, 9-4
Troy jumped out to an early advantage and tacked on in the sixth and seventh to avenge a Tuesday loss to Old Dominion with a 9-4 win and earn a semifinal Saturday date with Southern Miss at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
A 418-foot, two-run shot to right from senior outfielder Steven Meier put a jolt into the Trojans dugout two batters into the bottom of the first inning. Later in the frame, fellow senior outfielder Mike Bello clipped a bases-loaded chopper through the left side of the infield to drive in two more.
With two runners in scoring position in the top of the second, Monarchs junior catcher Evan Holman knocked a two-RBI single into left to halve the deficit for Old Dominion, 4-2.
Three free passes loaded the bases for Troy in the bottom of the sixth—and freshman third baseman Jimmy Janicki drove in one with a single to right, with junior catcher Brooks Bryan being gunned down at home for the final out of the inning.
The Trojans blew the game open with a four-hit, four-run bottom of the seventh, capped by a two-RBI single to right by junior second baseman Sean Darnell to extend their advantage to 9-2.
Old Dominion junior third baseman Maverick Stallings rocked a 348-foot shot over the right field wall, following an eighth-inning triple by junior first baseman Zach Leite, to cut the final margin to 9-4.
Troy senior right-handed pitcher Grayson Stewart struck out seven over 7.0 innings pitched, conceding two runs on nine hits for his sixth win of the season.
GAME 12 – No. 4 seed Marshall def. No. 5 seed Louisiana, 17-13
In the highest-scoring game of this year’s championship, Marshall outpaced Louisiana, 17-13, to earn a semifinal Saturday matchup with Coastal Carolina at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
The familiar pairing of sophomore second baseman Drew Markle and junior designated hitter Luke Yuhasz got the Ragin’ Cajuns on the board first, with Yuhasz singling home Markle—who reached on a leadoff double to left in the top of the first. Following a Higgs single to right to put runners on the corners, Louisiana executed a double steal to score Yuhasz. A double to left off the bat of junior first baseman Lee Amedee plated Higgs to give Louisiana a 3-0 lead.
Thundering Herd junior shortstop Maika Niu blasted a solo shot to right in the bottom of the frame, signaling that Marshall would not go quietly.
After leadoff man senior outfielder Jackson Halter brought home a second Marshall run in the bottom of the second on a single to the alley in right center, senior third baseman Eddie Leon eventually came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the frame. Leon sent the first pitch he saw over the left field wall and out of the ballpark for a thundering—literally—grand slam, giving the Herd a 6-3 advantage.
Marshall followed a five-run second with a four-run third, capped by Niu’s second home run of the evening—this time a two-run shot to right. The Thundering Herd tacked on a small ball run in the fourth to extend their lead to 11-3.
Yuhasz got a pair back for Louisiana with a two-run shot to left in the top of the fifth, ahead of a double off the wall by sophomore third baseman Connor Cuff that plated two more. The four-run frame trimmed the Marshall margin to 11-7.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore second baseman Tyler Kamerer delivered a first-pitch-swinging, two-RBI single to center. Halter followed with an RBI double to right and Niu then cleared the bases with a triple to left center to make it 16-7 in favor of the Thundering Herd.
Louisiana responded in kind with a big frame of their own, narrowing the margin to 16-11 with a four-run top of the seventh, headlined by a Markle RBI single to right. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored a pair in the top of the eighth, with the opportunity for more. With the bases loaded in a 16-13 game, Marshall turned to senior right-handed pitcher Nicholas Weyrich. Weyrich needed just four pitches to induce consecutive soft rollers, which he fielded cleanly for force outs at the plate to end the Ragin’ Cajuns scoring threat.
Niu’s solo shot in the bottom of the eighth made him the third player in Sun Belt tournament history with three home runs in one game, joining South Alabama’s Ryan Mulhern vs. FIU in 2002 and Coastal Carolina’s Zach Biermann vs. UTA in 2019.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Clint Moak earned the win and Weyrich picked up the five-out save for Marshall—his seventh of the season.
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. 3 seed Troy def. No. 6 seed Old Dominion, 9-4
Game 12 – No. 4 seed Marshall def. No. 5 seed Louisiana, 17-13
Saturday, May 24
Game 13 – No. 3 seed Troy vs. No. 2 seed Southern Miss, 9:00 a.m. CT
Game 14 – No. 4 seed Marshall 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