OMAHA, Neb. — Troy, which had scored five-or-more runs in 13-of-14 postseason games entering Tuesday’s elimination bout in Omaha, was held scoreless for the first time since May 2 in a 12-0 loss to West Virginia in front of a crowd of 21,814 at the 2026 College World Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Trojans made the second-straight Omaha appearance for the Sun Belt—the first non-autonomy conference to be represented in back-to-back College World Series since the Big West in 2016 and 2017—and the first in program history.
“While it's painful—and it should be, I don't think anyone should be frolicking around—we have real competitors top to bottom,” said Troy head coach Skylar Meade. “As the old saying goes, a bad day in Omaha is certainly better than a good day most places. And I do think that resonates as true.”
Despite just four hits on the day, Troy was not without scoring opportunities against the Mountaineers. The Trojans had the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings, but could not find the breakthrough hit, leaving 13 on base in the elimination contest.
“It's a moment. It's Omaha. It's a place to finish on top. There's not many places in the world like this. And I've been all over the world,” said Trojans senior first baseman Blake Cavill. “This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I got to spend it with 33 close brothers that would do anything for me and I'd do anything for them. It was awesome.”
Trojans junior right-hander Cooper Ellingworth worked around a leadoff single by West Virginia junior outfielder Armani Guzman and a walk in the top of the first, striking out senior catcher Matthew Graveline to strand two Mountaineers in scoring position. Troy redshirt senior third baseman Josh Pyne drew a four-pitch walk and stole second, but would get no further in the bottom half of the frame.
After Ellingworth again stranded a pair in the top of the second, West Virginia broke through in the top of the third. Graveline doubled home sophomore second baseman Gavin Kelly—the third-straight leadoff man to reach for the Mountaineers. A walk and a hit batter later, a bases-loaded wild pitch allowed a second Mountaineer run to score, 2-0.
Junior right-hander Dylan Alonso entered out of the Troy bullpen in the top of the fourth—striking out three of the first four West Virginia batters he faced to strand Guzman, who had drawn a nine-pitch walk and stolen second and third. Sophomore catcher Jimmy Janicki delivered the first Trojan hit with a one-out double down the right field line in the bottom of the fourth, but Troy could not capitalize.
Alonso added a fourth strikeout over his first five Mountaineers faced en route to a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth. West Virginia junior right-hander Dawson Montesa worked around a one-out single to left by Troy junior designated hitter Jabe Boroff to put the fifth-straight 0 on the board for the Trojans.
Alonso issued back-to-back two-out walks in the top of the sixth, before Kelly delivered the first hit off the Trojans reliever—a three-run shot to left center to run the Mountaineer lead to 5-0. Troy freshman right-hander Matt Dill induced a fly out to right to close the frame, but not before West Virginia added another run on back-to-back singles. With two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth, the Mountaineers turned to senior left-hander Ben McDougal out of the bullpen. A fly out to center and a walk later, Boroff stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, but grounded out to first base on the first pitch he saw.
West Virginia used two singles to plate an insurance run in the top of the seventh, extending its edge to 7-0. Troy loaded the bases once again in the bottom of the seventh, with sophomore outfielder Houston Markham doubling to right center, senior shortstop Aaron Piasecki drawing a four-pitch walk and redshirt senior third baseman Josh Pyne singling to right. That sequence forced the Mountaineers to make a second call to the bullpen, this time bringing in senior right-hander Reese Bassinger. Bassinger retired the 3, 4 and 5 hitters in the Trojans lineup to leave the bases loaded for the second-straight frame.
Troy junior left-hander Hayden Smith—who got the final out of the seventh inning—worked a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. Bassinger responded in kind, striking out the side for West Virginia in the bottom half of the inning.
West Virginia tacked on five runs in the top of the ninth to produce the final 12-0 margin.
Despite the finish, Troy senior outfielder Steven Meier reflected on the storybook season for the Trojans. “It was a story. It was a book,” said Meier. “It was full of chapters, and some better than others. Most at the beginning, especially worse. But chapter 12 going to Gainesville, was really sweet, 13 [at the Super Regional in Troy] was even sweeter and 14 [at the College World Series in Omaha] was a great one as well.”
The Trojans, who advanced to and hosted their first Super Regional in program history and advanced to and recorded their first victory at the College World Series, concluded the season 39-32.
“Now everyone knows why you work so hard, why you talk about it, why you recruit so much, why you'd never take breaks. They know,” said Meade. “Now when they hear us speak on it, they go, whoa, I get it. That's why it's so serious, because what we've gotten to do the last couple of weeks with hosting a Super Regional and then finishing our journey out here and showcasing—absolutely showcasing—that we are one of the best teams in the country, there was no luck involved.”
Over the past five years, the Sun Belt has sent 19 teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals, 12 to NCAA Baseball Regional finals, 3 to NCAA Baseball Super Regionals and 2 to the College World Series.
The Sun Belt has been represented in Regional finals for six-straight seasons, Super Regionals for three of the past four years and the College World Series in back-to-back seasons for the first time in conference history.
The Sun Belt’s three Super Regional appearances and two College World Series appearances over the past four seasons each lead all non-autonomy conferences.