Southern Miss lost to Troy 9-6 on May 23 in the Sun Belt Conference championship at DABOS Park. The defeat ended an 11-game winning streak for the Golden Eagles and sets up a rematch between the two teams on Sunday morning, with the winner advancing to play in the league’s championship game later that day.
The game was delayed by nearly two hours due to lightning and rain during the bottom of the seventh inning. Southern Miss, ranked eighth nationally and seeded first, trailed by seven runs entering their final at-bat but mounted a late rally. Tucker Stockman started things off with a single, followed by Gray Eubanks drawing a walk and Seth Smith singling to load the bases. Joey Urban then tripled, clearing all three runners before scoring himself on a Kyle Morrison single. However, Davis Gillespie struck out to end the game.
Troy took an early lead with three runs in the third inning after collecting four hits off Southern Miss starter Camden Sunstrom. The Trojans extended their advantage throughout the contest, including a two-run home run from Josh Pyne in the sixth inning and a bases-clearing triple from Aaron Piasecki in the seventh.
The Golden Eagles managed runs in both the fourth and sixth innings but were unable to close Troy’s gap until their ninth-inning surge fell short. Sunstrom allowed four runs over five innings for Southern Miss while striking out seven batters but took his fourth loss of the season. Zach Crotchfelt started for Troy and gave up just one run over five innings while striking out eight batters.
