Troy Powers Past South Alabama in Sun Belt Tournament Opener

Thursday, May 21

Montgomery, Ala.

9 a.m.

Troy University

30-27

South Alabama

33-22

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
South Alabama	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	5	1
Troy	0	1	3	0	2	0	1	4	X	11	9	2

Troy Powers Past South Alabama in Sun Belt Tournament Opener

5/21/2026 2:41:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - No. 4 seed Troy blasted three homers and escaped an early jam in an 11-3 win over No. 5 seed South Alabama in its opening game of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.

The Trojans (30-27) led 4-1 in the top of the fourth, but starter Tommy Egan exited the ballgame after walking the first two Jaguars (33-22) of the inning. Lefty Zach Crotchfelt walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but put out the fire by punching out Ethan Melton and getting leadoff man Brennon Wright to ground into a double play.

Crotchfelt went on to toss four innings for the Trojans, striking out four hitters to two walks while limiting the Jaguars to three hits and two unearned runs. Dylan Alonso closed the door in the eighth and ninth, retiring all six hitters he faced, striking out two.

Troy drew five walks and scored four runs against South starter Daniel Gonzalez in his three innings of work. The Trojans scored a run without a hit in the second with three walks and a Houston Markham sacrifice fly before adding three more runs in the third. Sean Darnell drove in two with a bases-loaded RBI single, while Drew Nelson stole home after Darnell faked a steal attempt to second base and avoided a tag getting back to first base.

Lefty Jaxon Shineflew pitched 4.1 innings out of the bullpen and issued six runs. Troy scored two small-ball runs in the fifth with Steven Meier reaching on an error on a sac bunt to score Blake Cavill from second before Nelson added a sac fly.

The power surge came late for the Trojans with Cavill launching a solo homer to open the seventh before ending a four-run eighth with his second solo shot. Houston Markham followed a Jabe Boroff double with an RBI single through the left side before Aaron Piasecki crushed a two-run homer.

Notables

Troy moves to 4-1 in its opening game of the Sun Belt Tournament under head coach Skylar Meade.
Troy moves to 3-1 against the Jaguars this season. It's the first time the Trojans have beaten South Alabama three times in a season since 2014.
Troy moves to 4-0 against South Alabama starting pitcher Daniel Gonzalez in his career.
Zach Crotchfelt's 4.0 innings out of the bullpen were tied for the longest relief appearance of his career. He also pitched four innings of relief against Louisiana earlier this season.
Blake Cavill hit two home runs for the second consecutive game. He hit two grand slams in the regular season finale at ULM on Saturday.
Cavill is the first Trojan with a multi-homer game in the Sun Belt Tournament since Adam Bryant in a 12-5 win over Arkansas State on May 29, 2010.
Cavill is the first Trojan with back-to-back multi-homer games since Shane Lewis on May 2nd and 5th, 2023, against Jax State and Georgia Southern.
Cavill's first homer traveled 355 feet with an exit velocity of 105 MPH, his shortest homer of the season. His second homer was his furthest of the season, traveling 414 feet with an exit velocity of 106 MPH.
Cavill's 12 homers this season are a new career high, topping the 11 he hit for the Trojans last season. 10 of his 12 homers this season have come against Sun Belt opponents.
Aaron Piasecki's two-run homer in the eighth was his ninth of the season. It traveled 371 feet with an exit velocity of 98 MPH.

Quotables
Head Coach Skylar Meade on escaping the fourth inning jam…
"We end up getting the huge K of Melton. Big 95 [MPH] rideball. Wright, that kid grinds, but we felt like there was a pitch in our back pocket to execute a great fastball on the inner side, and we're able to induce the double play. I thought Darnell did a good job playing patient on it. He [Wright] is a good runner, but you don't have to overattack that ball and get in front of the base. He caught it in rhythm, stepped, touched, and obviously got it to Blake. That's where the game was won. You never know when it is. You think you know when it is, but that was the time when we won the game."

First Baseman Blake Cavill on his two homers…
"It really comes down to my first at-bat. I was early. I was out in front. I opened up the stride a bit - next at-bat, I was up the middle. That's when I knew I was back on-plane. I got a first pitch both times, fastball middle-in, and did what Ben [Wolgamot] told me to do."

LHP Zach Crotchfelt on his performance…
"I just go out there and feel super confident. I know that these guys have a lot of trust in me, so it makes my life a little bit easier. Unfortunately, I walked the first guy. I was just getting my feel. It all just comes down to all those days working on stuff- all the tough spots we've been in this year, just staying convicted, being in the moment."

Next Up
No. 4 seed Troy faced No. 1 seed Southern Miss at 11 a.m. on Friday. A win would push the Trojans to the semifinals, where they'd play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. A loss would have Troy face the winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 5 seed South Alabama and No. 9 seed Georgia State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.