Troy baseball will host Super Regional after routing Florida again in Gainesville

It might be more accurate to say that an NCAA Super Regional is coming to Troy than to say the Trojans are merely heading to one.

Trojans punch ticket to program history

In a historic performance on Monday, Troy thumped host Florida for the second straight day in the Gainesville Regional. The victory marks the Trojans' fourth consecutive win in an elimination game, vaulting them into the Super Regional round for the first time in the program's history. Now holding a 36-30 record, Troy is set to host Little Rock (39-26) this weekend in a best-of-three series with a coveted spot in the College World Series on the line.

Offensive surge powers the win

The Trojans got off to a fast start behind Jimmy Janicki’s two-run double in the opening frame, but the game was truly decided during a massive five-run sixth. After loading the bases with three straight walks, Drew Nelson singled home two runs to extend the lead to 4-1. Sean Darnell immediately followed with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt that scored Steven Meier and beat the defense for an RBI single. Jabe Boroff then capped the rally with a two-run double, pushing the lead to 7-1.

While Florida’s Kyle Jones narrowed the gap to 7-2 with an RBI single in the seventh, the Gators couldn't capitalize further, as a critical pop-up to shortstop ended the frame with two runners on base. Boroff ultimately put the game out of reach in the eighth with a monster three-run homer. The designated hitter, who entered the weekend with a .185 average, finished his Gainesville run with four home runs and 12 RBIs.

Pitching locks it down

After a high-scoring 16-11 victory in Sunday’s championship round opener, the Trojan pitching staff was lights out on Monday. Hayden Smith, Benjamin Stubbs, and Noah Thigpen combined to hold the Gators to just seven hits. Smith tossed three innings, Stubbs earned the win with a scoreless fifth, and Thigpen notched his second save of the tournament across four innings of work.

For Florida, starter Cooper Walls took the loss after two early runs. The Trojans eventually broke the game open late, tagging the Gators' bullpen for eight runs over the final three and two-thirds innings.

The NCAA is expected to release the full Super Regional schedule either later Monday or early Tuesday. 205focus.com will provide updates as they become available.