Troy University Athletics
Friday, May 29
Gainesville, Fla.
5 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Miami
Troy Opens Gainesville Regional with Miami
5/28/2026 3:36:00 PM | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Troy opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday night at 5 p.m. CT as the No. 3 Trojans face No. 2 Miami in the opening round of the Gainesville Regional.
The Trojans punched a ticket to their ninth NCAA Regional and second under head coach Skylar Meade after a 32-29 season that saw them finish with the No. 6 strength of schedule and the No. 1 non-conference strength of schedule in the country.
Troy surged into the regional picture with a 10-6 month of May, seeing its RPI climb 32 spots from No. 67 to No. 35. The Trojans took a game from No. 7 national seed Alabama and won four games against rival South Alabama, including two in the Sun Belt Tournament, before earning a marquee SBC Tournament victory over No. 9 national seed Southern Miss.
On the mound, Troy left-hander Benjamin Stubbs will make his 16th start of the season for the Trojans. Stubbs is coming off a strong performance against Southern Miss on Friday, limiting the Golden Eagles to two runs in five innings while striking out five. Miami will turn to lefty Rob Evans, an All-ACC Second Team selection, who boasts a 10-2 record with a 3.16 ERA, 94 strikeouts, and 29 walks in 82.2 innings.
Evans is a familiar face to Troy, as he faced the Trojans back-to-back days while pitching for Georgia State in 2024. He started on April 20, going 1.1 innings with two hits, including a homer by former Trojan shortstop Tremayne Cobb Jr., one run, and one strikeout before pitching 0.2 innings in relief the next day, allowing one hit.
Miami enters the regional with a 38-18 record and an offense that ranks 16th nationally with 8.5 runs per game. Derek Williams (.376, 15 HR) and Alex Sosa (.332, 17 HR) are two of the top hitters in the ACC, both landing on the conference's Second Team. The Hurricanes will be without former All-American third baseman Daniel Cuvet due to injury.
Earlier on Friday, No. 8 national seed and host Florida takes on No. 4 seed Rider, the MAAC Tournament champion, at 12 p.m. CT. The two winners will meet at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday, while the two losers face elimination at 12 p.m. CT.
The Gators enter the regional with a 39-19 record and the No. 2 pitching staff in the SEC with a 4.16 team ERA. Sophomore righty Aidan King (2.68 ERA, 89:19 K:BB) earned SEC Pitcher of the Year honors while junior righty Liam Peterson (3.86 ERA, 107:35 K:BB) is MLB.com's No. 14-ranked 2026 draft prospect. Offensively, the Gators have mashed 90 homers and are led by Brendan Lawson (.308, 16 HR), Blake Cyr (.338, 13 HR) and Ethan Surowiec (.328, 11 HR)
Rider won the MAAC Tournament after entering the week as the No. 1 seed. The Broncs boast a 33-18 record and have five hitters batting over .300 in Kyle Neri (.352, 7 HR), Charley Magoulick (.345 AVG, 9 HR), Nick Shuhet (.343, 5 HR), Anthony Paskell (.328, 6 HR) and Erich Hartmann (.321, 6 HR). On the mound, ace P.J. Craig (3.39 ERA, 88:40 K:BB) will start against Florida while Kyle Batt (4.67 ERA, 34:35 K:BB) and Clayton Poiley (5.61 ERA, 38:31 K:BB) could potentially start Rider's future regional games. Christian Aiello has been the team's top bullpen arm with a 3.04 ERA, 70 strikeouts and 22 walks.
Game Information
The Matchup: No. 3 Troy (32-29, 17-13 Sun Belt) vs. No. 2 Miami (38-18, 16-14 ACC)
Gametime: Friday, May 29 - 5 p.m. CT
Location: Gainesville, Fla. - Condron Family Ballpark
TV: ACC Network
Radio: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: NCAA.com
On the Mound
Troy: Sr. LHP Benjamin Stubbs (4-3, 5.13 ERA, 72:35 K:BB)
Miami: Sr. LHP Rob Evans (10-3, 3.16 ERA, 94:29 K:BB)
Backs Against the Wall
Troy had its heart ripped out when it lost to Southern Miss 7-6 in the Sun Belt Tournament on Friday night, a game that seemingly would have clinched an at-large bid for the Trojans. Troy entered the ninth inning leading 6-2, and lost on a two-out walkoff grand slam by Drey Barrett in an 0-2 count from Cooper Ellingworth.
The official ending time of the game was 11:07 p.m. Troy turned around on Saturday morning and won a 9 a.m. game over South Alabama 11-10, a game they led 11-4 going into the ninth inning before the Jaguars scored six two-out runs. While the Trojans won, they seemingly lost their momentum going into their afternoon game with Southern Miss. Troy put that theory to rest with a dominant showing on the mound from Zach Crotchfelt in his first start of the season, punching out eight in five innings of one-run ball as the Trojans topped the Golden Eagles 9-6.
Hot Second Half
Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Blake Cavill was one of Troy's coldest hitters to start the season. He didn't get his batting average above .200 until March 20th and entered April with a .238./.381/.317 slash line with only two homers. Since the start of April, Cavill has launched ten big flies and has a slash line of .313/.473./.643.
Janicki Just Hits
Sophomore catcher Jimmy Janicki - the Sun Belt Player of the Year - enters the NCAA Tournament as one of two players in college baseball with 20+ doubles, 15+ home runs and 70+ RBIs, the other being Arizona State's Landon Hairston. Janicki leads the Sun Belt in hits (84), home runs (17) and RBIs (73). His 22 doubles rank 11th nationally.
Series History
Troy has played Miami once in its history, a 12-4 loss to the Hurricanes in Atlanta back in 1978. At the time, Troy State was still a Division II program. Troy owns a 1-7 all-time record against Florida, most recently getting swept by the Gators in 2020. Troy owns a 2-0 record over Rider, taking a pair of games from the Broncs in Panama City back in 1992. Troy State was Division II at that time, while Rider was Division-I
The Trojans punched a ticket to their ninth NCAA Regional and second under head coach Skylar Meade after a 32-29 season that saw them finish with the No. 6 strength of schedule and the No. 1 non-conference strength of schedule in the country.
Troy surged into the regional picture with a 10-6 month of May, seeing its RPI climb 32 spots from No. 67 to No. 35. The Trojans took a game from No. 7 national seed Alabama and won four games against rival South Alabama, including two in the Sun Belt Tournament, before earning a marquee SBC Tournament victory over No. 9 national seed Southern Miss.
On the mound, Troy left-hander Benjamin Stubbs will make his 16th start of the season for the Trojans. Stubbs is coming off a strong performance against Southern Miss on Friday, limiting the Golden Eagles to two runs in five innings while striking out five. Miami will turn to lefty Rob Evans, an All-ACC Second Team selection, who boasts a 10-2 record with a 3.16 ERA, 94 strikeouts, and 29 walks in 82.2 innings.
Evans is a familiar face to Troy, as he faced the Trojans back-to-back days while pitching for Georgia State in 2024. He started on April 20, going 1.1 innings with two hits, including a homer by former Trojan shortstop Tremayne Cobb Jr., one run, and one strikeout before pitching 0.2 innings in relief the next day, allowing one hit.
Miami enters the regional with a 38-18 record and an offense that ranks 16th nationally with 8.5 runs per game. Derek Williams (.376, 15 HR) and Alex Sosa (.332, 17 HR) are two of the top hitters in the ACC, both landing on the conference's Second Team. The Hurricanes will be without former All-American third baseman Daniel Cuvet due to injury.
Earlier on Friday, No. 8 national seed and host Florida takes on No. 4 seed Rider, the MAAC Tournament champion, at 12 p.m. CT. The two winners will meet at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday, while the two losers face elimination at 12 p.m. CT.
The Gators enter the regional with a 39-19 record and the No. 2 pitching staff in the SEC with a 4.16 team ERA. Sophomore righty Aidan King (2.68 ERA, 89:19 K:BB) earned SEC Pitcher of the Year honors while junior righty Liam Peterson (3.86 ERA, 107:35 K:BB) is MLB.com's No. 14-ranked 2026 draft prospect. Offensively, the Gators have mashed 90 homers and are led by Brendan Lawson (.308, 16 HR), Blake Cyr (.338, 13 HR) and Ethan Surowiec (.328, 11 HR)
Rider won the MAAC Tournament after entering the week as the No. 1 seed. The Broncs boast a 33-18 record and have five hitters batting over .300 in Kyle Neri (.352, 7 HR), Charley Magoulick (.345 AVG, 9 HR), Nick Shuhet (.343, 5 HR), Anthony Paskell (.328, 6 HR) and Erich Hartmann (.321, 6 HR). On the mound, ace P.J. Craig (3.39 ERA, 88:40 K:BB) will start against Florida while Kyle Batt (4.67 ERA, 34:35 K:BB) and Clayton Poiley (5.61 ERA, 38:31 K:BB) could potentially start Rider's future regional games. Christian Aiello has been the team's top bullpen arm with a 3.04 ERA, 70 strikeouts and 22 walks.
Game Information
The Matchup: No. 3 Troy (32-29, 17-13 Sun Belt) vs. No. 2 Miami (38-18, 16-14 ACC)
Gametime: Friday, May 29 - 5 p.m. CT
Location: Gainesville, Fla. - Condron Family Ballpark
TV: ACC Network
Radio: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: NCAA.com
On the Mound
Troy: Sr. LHP Benjamin Stubbs (4-3, 5.13 ERA, 72:35 K:BB)
Miami: Sr. LHP Rob Evans (10-3, 3.16 ERA, 94:29 K:BB)
Backs Against the Wall
Troy had its heart ripped out when it lost to Southern Miss 7-6 in the Sun Belt Tournament on Friday night, a game that seemingly would have clinched an at-large bid for the Trojans. Troy entered the ninth inning leading 6-2, and lost on a two-out walkoff grand slam by Drey Barrett in an 0-2 count from Cooper Ellingworth.
The official ending time of the game was 11:07 p.m. Troy turned around on Saturday morning and won a 9 a.m. game over South Alabama 11-10, a game they led 11-4 going into the ninth inning before the Jaguars scored six two-out runs. While the Trojans won, they seemingly lost their momentum going into their afternoon game with Southern Miss. Troy put that theory to rest with a dominant showing on the mound from Zach Crotchfelt in his first start of the season, punching out eight in five innings of one-run ball as the Trojans topped the Golden Eagles 9-6.
Hot Second Half
Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Blake Cavill was one of Troy's coldest hitters to start the season. He didn't get his batting average above .200 until March 20th and entered April with a .238./.381/.317 slash line with only two homers. Since the start of April, Cavill has launched ten big flies and has a slash line of .313/.473./.643.
Janicki Just Hits
Sophomore catcher Jimmy Janicki - the Sun Belt Player of the Year - enters the NCAA Tournament as one of two players in college baseball with 20+ doubles, 15+ home runs and 70+ RBIs, the other being Arizona State's Landon Hairston. Janicki leads the Sun Belt in hits (84), home runs (17) and RBIs (73). His 22 doubles rank 11th nationally.
Series History
Troy has played Miami once in its history, a 12-4 loss to the Hurricanes in Atlanta back in 1978. At the time, Troy State was still a Division II program. Troy owns a 1-7 all-time record against Florida, most recently getting swept by the Gators in 2020. Troy owns a 2-0 record over Rider, taking a pair of games from the Broncs in Panama City back in 1992. Troy State was Division II at that time, while Rider was Division-I
Players Mentioned
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