Preview: No. 8 Southern Miss 'Looking Forward' to Winner-Take-All Opportunity vs. Troy

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the first time in this Sun Belt Conference tournament, No. 8 Southern Miss will face elimination, as it takes on Troy in a decisive Game 3 of the semifinals round on Sunday at 9 a.m. CT. The winner will move on to face the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in the Sun Belt Championship Game at 1 p.m. CT.

Eags Looking to Have the Final Word

There has been some chippiness between these two ballclubs through the first two games, and we would expect that to continue into Sunday. Troy RHP Tommy Egan yelled some choice words at the Southern Miss dugout following the Trojans' 9-6 win on Saturday evening, so if facing elimination wasn't already motivation enough, the Golden Eagles now have some extra bulletin board material to chew on.

Although the Golden Eagles won the first game they played against Troy on Friday night, it took a walk-in run and a dramatic walk-off grand slam to do it. The Southern Miss offense was relatively quiet for most of the second game against Troy on Saturday as well, before scoring four runs in the ninth to put some pressure on the Trojans.

As USM preps for its third tournament game against Troy, the biggest priority is clear: Get off to a better start at the plate. If the Golden Eagles can come out and take an early lead, it could go a long way toward not only winning against the Trojans but also putting their pitching staff in a good situation for the Sun Belt Championship Game as well.

Coach Oz Credit Troy's Toughness

After beating Troy with a walk-off grand slam in Friday night's game, Southern Miss knew how badly the Trojans would want a shot at revenge. However, Troy had to first beat South Alabama in an elimination game to get that second opportunity against the Golden Eagles.

The Trojans did just that with an 11-10 win over the Jaguars, then they kept that momentum going with a 9-6 win over USM. It was Troy's first-ever postseason win over the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander was impressed by his opponent's toughness.

"They had a lot of motivation," Coach Oz said of Troy's uptick in competitive fire on Saturday after how they lost to Southern Miss on Friday night. "That was a heartbreaking loss for them, I know that. They came out today and had to take care of business (in their first game against South Alabama), and they did that. Played extremely well. They're fatigued, they're tired, they got through it, they battled, they showed that toughness. I credit that, I'm gonna recognize that.

"We put their backs against the wall, and they came out swinging and got us today. But we get to play again tomorrow, and we look forward to that opportunity."

How to Watch / Game Start Time

USM, Ben Higdon — Southern Miss senior right fielder Ben Higdon looks on as storm clouds roll into Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium on Saturday afternoon. | Dalton Trigg

Get your coffee ready, because Southern Miss and Troy will get things started at 9 a.m. CT on Sunday at DABOS Park. You can watch the game on ESPN+ or listen to it on FM 97.7 or the Varsity App.

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more USM baseball coverage throughout Sunday, as the Golden Eagles fight for a spot in the Sun Belt Championship Game against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.

We will update this game preview once we know who the starting pitchers will be for the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinals between Southern Miss and Troy.

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