CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
MONTGOMERY
, Ala. — Two-time defending tournament champion Southern Miss and regular-season champion Coastal Carolina played the minimum to advance to the championship game at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.
Each took care of business against a fellow top-four seed on semifinal Saturday, with No. 2-seeded Southern Miss eliminating No. 3-seeded Troy, 2-1, and top-seeded Coastal Carolina knocking out No. 4-seeded Marshall, 6-1.
Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. CT winner-take-all championship game will be the first meeting of the season between the two nationally-ranked teams and likely NCAA Baseball Regional hosts. The Golden Eagles have won the last five head-to-head matchups dating back to April 2023.
GAME 13 – No. 2 seed Southern Miss def. 3 seed Troy, 2-1
Southern Miss extended its winning streak to 18 games and punched its ticket to its third-straight Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala., with a 2-1 victory over Troy on semifinal Saturday.
The Trojans and Golden Eagles traded blows in the first inning. A two-out, two-on double down the right field line off the bat of junior second baseman Sean Darnell brought in senior outfielder Steven Meier to get Troy on the board first. Southern Miss also used a two-out, two-on ball down the right field line—from junior designated hitter Joey Urban—to drive in sophomore outfielder Jake Cook and junior second baseman Nick Monistere.
Troy had the lion’s share of the chances from that point forward, but couldn’t push another run across. With the tying run in scoring position in the top of the eighth, Trojans senior shortstop Jakob Wax ran the count full, but Golden Eagles junior right-handed pitcher Colby Allen blew one by for his third strike out swinging of the frame.
Allen repeated the effort in the ninth with one out and the go-ahead run at the plate. He struck out Troy junior catcher Brooks Bryan swinging on a 3-2 pitch and induced a first-pitch pop up from freshman third baseman Jimmy Janicki for the final out of the game.
Southern Miss junior left-handed pitcher Kros Sivley earned the win after working 3.2 innings of two-hit baseball in relief. Allen picked up the six-out save for the two-time defending Sun Belt tournament champions, conceding just one hit and striking out four.
Troy left 12 men on base—including stranding six runners in scoring position from the second inning forward—in the one-run ballgame.
GAME 14 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 4 seed Marshall, 6-1
Multi-RBI games from junior second baseman Blake Barthol and senior outfielder Wells Sykes—paired with a gem from Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year sophomore right-handed pitcher Jacob Morrison—lifted Coastal Carolina to the title game at the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Ala., via its 17th-straight win, 6-1 over Marshall, on semifinal Saturday.
Marshall junior shortstop Maika Niu doubled to left and scored on a ground out to the pitcher by senior third baseman Eddie Leon to light up the scoreboard for the Thundering Herd in the top half of the first. A two-out, two-run, 382-foot blast to right from Barthol in the bottom half of the frame put the Chanticleers on top for good.
Coastal Carolina tacked on runs following leadoff hits from senior outfielder Sebastian Alexander in the third and fifth. Alexander came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Barthol in the third and a fielder’s choice from freshman designated hitter Domenico Tozzi in the fifth.
The margin extended to 5-1 when Sykes connected for a sacrifice fly to right in the bottom of the sixth, plating sophomore outfielder Blagen Pado—who reached on a leadoff hit by pitch.
After entering as a pinch runner for his first appearance since April 27, Coastal Carolina junior Dean Mihos stole second and scored on a Sykes single to left to provide the final 6-1 margin.
Morrison, who threw 7.0 innings of one-run baseball, moved to 11-0 on the season with the victory on the hill.
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. 2 seed Southern Miss def. No. 3 seed Troy, 2-1
Game 14 – No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina def. No. 4 seed Marshall, 6-1
Sunday, May 25
Championship Game – No. 2 seed Southern Miss vs. No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina, 1:00 p.m. CT
