Troy scores seven unanswered runs to eliminate Ole Miss from College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. –  Troy launched three homers and scored seven unanswered runs to top Ole Miss 12-8 in Sunday’s College World Series elimination game.

The Trojans trailed 6-2 in the fifth before breaking through for three two-out runs to chase Ole Miss starter Hunter Elliott. Troy got two of its first three hitters on with singles from Josh Pyne and Jimmy Janicki before Drew Nelson drew a two-out walk to load the bases, putting Troy in position to grab the momentum.

Elliott worked a 1-2 count to Sean Darnell before a balk brought home the first run. Darnell followed it with a single through the left side to cut the Ole Miss lead to 6-5.

Darnell, who was on base five times, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, was responsible for four of the five runs against Elliott in his 4.2 innings. In the second inning, the senior second baseman had crushed a two-run homer 416 feet off of the Ole Miss lefty.

Troy claimed its first lead off the ballgame with a four-spot in the seventh, starting with a game-tying homer from Jimmy Janicki off of JP Robertson. Janicki lasered a line drive 417 feet off the Rebel right-hander before a one-out single from Nelson forced Ole Miss to bring in lefty Walker Hooks.

After a Darnell walk, Jabe Boroff broke the tie with a two-run double down the left field line, which were his 20th and 21st RBIs of the NCAA Tournament, the most since Georgia’s Rich Poythress in 2008. Fellow Pike Road, Alabama native Houston Markham extended the lead to 9-6 with a base hit up the middle.

Troy tacked on three more in the eighth with a backside blast from Blake Cavill before two runs came in on a dropped popup hit by Boroff after Nelson walked and Darnell singled.

On the mound, sophomore Noah Thigpen was dynamite out of the Trojan bullpen, going five innings with six hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts after taking over in the fourth. It was the longest relief appearance of his career, while his five punchouts matched his career high.

Thigpen exited after a leadoff single by Hayden Federico in the ninth before getting into a 2-0 count against Owen Paino. The Trojans brought on lefty Zach Crotchfelt, who punched out Paino, got Austin Fawley to fly out and struck out Brayden Randle to end the ballgame. 

Early in the ballgame, Ole Miss struck first with two runs in the first inning, both unearned to Trojan starter Tommy Egan. An error on a ground ball to first base allowed Ole Miss leadoff man Dom Decker to reach second base and score on a Judd Utermark single. With two outs, Federico knocked in Utermark on a double down the left field line.

Egan’s day ended after a leaoff walk in the third, finishing with two-plus innings pitched, four hits, four runs – two earned, two walks and two strikeouts. The Rebels added two in the second with a single by Fawley and a two-run blast by Randle.

Lefty Hayden Smith punched out two in the third to strand the inherited runner from Egan’s walk, but the Rebels scored two on a two-run blast from Collin Reuter in the fourth. The Trojans turned to righty Noah Thigpen after a walk to Decker, who started his spectacular day with two strikeouts in the frame. 

Notables

• Troy moves to 19-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 7-2 in this season’s NCAA Tournament, and 8-4 in the NCAA Tournament under Skylar Meade.
• Troy is 5-0 when facing elimination in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Trojans won four straight to win the Gainesville Regional after dropping their opening game to Miami.
• Troy is 5-4 against teams from the SEC this season. The Trojans have wins over Georgia, Alabama, Florida (2x) and Ole Miss. Troy’s SEC losses have come to Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Alabama.
• Troy’s overcame a four-run deficit in the win. It was its sixth comeback of four-plus runs this season – all six have come since the start of April. It was also Troy’s second four-run comeback of the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans overcame a 6-2 deficit to defeat Miami 9-6 in the Gainesville Regional
• Tommy Egan’s first strikeout of the day to end the first inning was his 100th of the season. He’s the first Trojan with 100 strikeouts in a season since Shane McCain in 2014.
• Hayden Smith made his first relief appearance since April 21 against Jacksonville State. His previous seven appearances had been starts. 
• Noah Thigpen’s five innings were the longest relief appearance of his career.
• Thigpen’s five strikeouts matched his career high. It was his fourth time recording five strikeouts, and his third time this season.
• Sean Darnell’s two-run homer in the second inning was his fifth homer of the season. It traveled 416 feet with a 103 MPH exit velocity. It was the furthest home run of his career, surpassing the 415-foot homer he hit at UAB on May 14.
• Darnell recorded his second three-hit game of the season.
• Darnell’s four RBIs matched his season high. He also drove in four with a grand slam against Alabama State on March 31.
• Jabe Boroff’s two-run double in the seventh inning gave him 21 in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the most NCAA Tournament RBIs since Georgia’s Rich Poythress also had 21 in 2008. 
• Jimmy Janicki’s solo homer in the seventh inning was his 21st of the season, fourth of the NCAA Tournament, and second of the CWS. It traveled 417 feet with a 111 MPH exit velocity. 
• Janicki’s first CWS homer against West Virginia tied the game in the seventh inning. He’s the third player with multiple go-ahead/game-tying homers in the seventh inning or later in a single CWS in the past 30 seasons, joining LSU’s Tommy White (2023) and Texas’s Cameron Rupp (2009).
• Janicki’s 21 homers this season are tied with Michael Rivera (1996) for the sixth-most in Troy history.
• Janicki recorded his 87th RBI of the season, which breaks a tie with Georgia’s Daniel Jackson for the second-most in college baseball. It is also the Troy single-season record. 
• Drew Nelson played centerfield for the first time in his college career. He moved to centerfield from left field after Steven Meier exited due to injury in the seventh inning. Meier was replaced by Zaid Diaz, who went to left field. 

Next Up
Troy will face the loser of Sunday night’s winner’s bracket game between No. 4 North Carolina and No. 16 West Virginia at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.