Hattiesburg Regional updates: Fourth-seeded Little Rock makes quick work of regional
The Southern Miss postseason rolls back into Hattiesburg where the Sun Belt regular season and tournament champion is hosting a regional for the second year in a row.
The No. 9 national seed Golden Eagles are hoping to reach Super Regionals for the fourth time in program history where they’d be matched up with the winner of the Gainesville Regional.
Hattiesburg Regional
Friday
Game 1: Little Rock 7, Southern Miss 4
Southern Miss opened the Hattiesburg Regional with a loss to the four-seed for the second straight year after a four-run ninth inning by Little Rock resulted in a stunning loss for the Golden Eagles.
The top-seeded hosts held a 4-3 lead when the Trojans strung together four hits, including a double and a home run, to steal the afternoon and hand USM its first loss in 33 games this season when leading after eight innings.
Game 2: Jacksonville State 15, Virginia 7
Jacksonville State put crooked numbers on the line score five different times to send Virginia on a Saturday afternoon date with Southern Miss in the losers bracket.
This is the second straight season the top two seeds in Hattiesburg each lost their opening game. The Cavaliers put seven pitchers on the mound and five for at least 25 pitches.
The Gamecocks got home runs from Cooper Blauser and Caleb Johnson. Jax State opened up a 9-0 lead with a 5-run fifth inning and held off a late Cavalier rally.
Virginia got seven hits, four doubles and a home run out of the top three spots in its order.
Saturday
Game 3: Virginia 15, Southern Miss 11 (10)
Southern Miss leaves its own regional without a win after losing a dramatic 15-11 extra-inning battle to Virginia in Saturday’s losers bracket contest between the top two seeds in the Hattiesburg Regional.
It’s the first time the Golden Eagles have gone 0-2 in a regional since 2011 in Atlanta and did so as the No. 9 national seed — the highest in program history.
Game 4: Little Rock 8, Jacksonville State 6
Little Rock, the four-seed in the regional, made it two wins in a row, knocking off Jacksonville State in a winners bracket game.
Fueled by three-hit days from Blake Simpson and Nolan Freund, the Trojans scored three times in the first inning and never looked back.
Sunday
Game 5: Jacksonville State 7, Virginia 6
Jacksonville State, which held a 7-0 lead entering the 8th inning, held on to eliminate the Cavaliers and earn a date later in the night against Little Rock.
Cooper Blauser led the victorious Gamecocks offensively, going 4-for-4 at the plate, with 2 doubles, a run and 2 RBIs.
Jacksonville State starting pitcher Steven Cash allowed three runs in seven innings, striking out 10.
Little Rock 6, Jacksonville State 3
Fourth-seeded Little Rock completed an unbeaten run through the Hattiesburg Regional with a victory over third-seeded Jacksonville State.
With the win, the Trojans advance to face the winner of the Gainesville Regional, which will be determined Monday.
Leadoff hitter Jerdy Lopez was the offensive star for Little Rock, collecting three hits, scoring a run and collecting two RBIs.
Pitcher Brody Bunting earned his first save of the year, finishing the night off by scattering just two hits and allowing one run over 3.1 innings.
Gainesville Regional
Friday
Game 1: Florida 8, Rider 7
After seven dominating innings, the top-seeded Florida Gators needed two late rallies to survive in the opener of the Gainesville Regional, defeating four-seed Rider.
Brendan Lawson connected for a game-winning home run for the Gators after Rider had taken a 6-4 lead with a 6-run 8th inning and tied the game in the top of the 9th.
Caden McDonald and Cade Kurland both homered in the 8th after the Florida relief corps fell apart in the top half of the frame.
The Gators used their No. 3 starting pitcher, Russell Sandefer, in the game, leaving their top two arms available for later in the regional.
Game 2: Miami 10, Troy 5
The Sun Belt Conference’s tough day continued in Gainesville, where Troy fell to Miami.
Miami’s Derek Williams went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs, Alonzo Alvarez finished 3-for-4 and the Hurricanes used a five-run 8th inning to break open a tie game and advance into the winners bracket against Florida.
After falling behind 4-0, Troy battled back to even the score with a Drew Nelson two-run home run. The Trojans’ bullpen, though, was tagged for three doubles, a single and two walks in the deciding 8th inning.
The Sun Belt Conference finished the day 1-4, with Texas State recording the conference’s only victory.
Saturday
Game 3: Troy 15, Rider 7
Five Troy batters finished with multiple hits and three finished with three RBIs as the Trojans remained alive in the Gainesville Regional.
Troy broke open a close game with a 9-run sixth inning to earn a date with the loser of the Florida-Miami game.
Game 4: Florida 22, Miami 10
Florida came out of the gate red-hot, scoring six runs in the first inning in a winners bracket battle against Miami.
Then, once the Hurricanes caught up and tied the game at 8 in the top of the fifth inning, the Gators put up seven-run innings in the sixth and eighth innings to blow the game wide open.
Florida catcher Karson Bowen finished 3-for-5 with a homer, four runs and 5 RBIs.
Sunday
Game 5: Troy 9, Miami 6
Score one for the Sun Belt over the ACC.
Troy overcame a 6-2 deficit with seven unanswered runs to eliminate the Miami Hurricanes and earn a date later in the day with the host Florida Gators.
The bottom two batters in the Trojans’ order, Jabe Boroff and Houston Markham, finished 5-for-8 at the plate with four runs scored and three RBIs.
Pitcher Zach Crotchfelt scattered four hits and one walk over 4.1 scoreless innings for Troy.
Game 6: Troy 16, Florida 11
Troy followed up its win over Miami early Sunday with a win over Florida later in the day.
The Trojans, holding a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning, erupted for nine runs to take a commanding 16-5 lead.
Florida managed to score four runs in the 8th and two more in the 9th off the Trojans’ relief corps.
Troy and Florida will meet in a winner-take-all game Monday to see who will advance to face the winner of the Hattiesburg Regional.
Monday
Game 7: Troy vs Florida, 4 p.m.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:15 PM.
