An unpredictable five-run ninth inning that included a walk-off grand slam lifted Southern Miss over Troy and into the semifinals of the 2026 Sun Belt Tournament.
Friday’s game was originally scheduled for 11 a.m., but due to stormy conditions in Montgomery, Ala., the first pitch did not get thrown until 7:25 p.m.
Southern Miss (42-14), ranked No. 8 in the country and the top seed in the Sun Belt, trailed 4-seed Troy (30-28) for the entire game – that is until the last-inning comeback that will be remembered by black and gold faithful for years to come.
How it happened
Troy pitcher Benjamin Stubbs had a gem going through five innings, holding Southern Miss scoreless. The Troy offense gave him plenty of wiggle room, too, scoring five runs in that same timeframe.
The Golden Eagles were finally able to find a chink in Stubbs’ armor when Drey Barrett hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-2.
After recovering from a few jams on the mound, Southern Miss allowed another run in the top of the eighth when Troy scored off a double steal to increase its lead to 6-2.
The magic happened with only two outs left in the ballgame. The bottom of the ninth started with a Ty Long strikeout before two straight singles and a walk to load the bases. Davis Gillespie drew a walk to advance a runner home, making the score 6-3. A subsequent Matthew Russo strikeout on a 3-2 count brought Barrett up to the plate with the bases loaded. With a chance to have a multi-homerun game and send his team to the semifinals, he did just that when lifting a ball over the left-field wall.
Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, down by 3, down to your final strike … GRAND SLAM‼️
Every baseball kid’s dream in the backyard growing up. @SouthernMissBSB‘s Drey Barrett just lived it 👏 pic.twitter.com/3bcrRyM6F0
— ESPN (@espn) May 23, 2026
Josh Och (6-2), who allowed no runs in the top of the ninth, picked up the win for Southern Miss. Cooper Ellingworth (1-4), inheriting the bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the ninth, took the loss for Troy.
Next up
Due to weather issues that have plagued the Sun Belt Tournament’s schedule all week, Troy will play 5-seed South Alabama in an elimination game on Saturday at 9 a.m. The winner will play Southern Miss at 12:30 p.m.
Regardless of the result, Southern Miss will play on Sunday, either in the elimination game at 9 a.m. or in the championship game at 1 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket, 7-seed Louisiana advanced to play 6-seed Texas State in the semifinals after beating Coastal Carolina twice in three days.