Troy Offense Shines in Sweep at Arkansas State

Saturday, April 21

Jonesboro, Ark.

2:00 PM

Troy University

27-12, 10-7

Arkansas State

12-23, 4-13

Troy

Arkansas State

Troy Offense Shines in Sweep at Arkansas State

4/21/2018 10:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Game One)Box Score (Game Two)

By: Jace Sanders

JONESBORO, Arkansas – Troy's offense exploded in a pair of 13-10 and 12-9 wins at Arkansas State to sweep its first Sun Belt series of the 2018 season Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.

The Trojans (28-12, 11-7) ripped 35 hits in the two games and earned their first conference sweep on the road since 2016 at Georgia State – Troy hit safely a season-high 22 times in game two of the twin bill with Arkansas State (12-24, 4-14).

Game One
The two teams combined for 20 total runs in three consecutive frames, but Troy held on and clinched the series with a 13-10 win.

A big five-run fourth inning put Troy up 6-0, but the Trojans saw that lead turn into a three-run deficit after the Red Wolves scored nine runs in the bottom of the inning. However, Troy showed even more resiliency and responded with a six-run fifth to take the lead back for good.

Matt Sanders and Chase Smartt each turned in three-hit games – Sanders scored three times and Smartt collected two doubles in the game.

The spectacular stretch for the Trojan bullpen continued, as four pitchers combined to allow just one run in the final six official innings on the mound – there were just four A-State hits over that span.

Zack Lightsey (2-0) earned the win after 1.1 innings of one-hit relief and freshman Levi Thomas (1) picked up his first save in his first save situation with a perfect ninth inning on the mound.

Arkansas State's Jeremy Brown finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles in the game and Peyton Lannon (0-2) took the loss after walking the one batter he faced – who later came around to score the go-ahead run.

Game Two
Offensive fireworks continued in the second leg of the doubleheader, as the Trojans reached a new season-high with 22 hits in the game – the most by a Troy team since the 2013 squad put up 24 hits against Florida A&M.

This time, Troy saw themselves down 4-1 early, but once again used a six-run inning to gain the advantage for good. Credit most of the batting success to the five batters that turned in three-hit games to lead the Trojans – Matt Sanders, Brandon Lockridge, Rigsby Mosley, Brody Binder and Manning Early.

Overall, all nine of Troy's starters hit safely in the game and eight of the nine recorded multiple hits and scored at least one run. Early was one of the standout performers, finishing 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scores.

The Red Wolves kept slowly creeping back within striking distance but the Trojan pitching staff once again did a great job of thwarting the rallies. Corey Childress (3-2) got the win in a long-relief stint – working four innings and giving up three runs on four hits around three strikeouts.

CJ Carter (5), like Friday's game, pitched 2.2 innings on the mound, this time earning the save. Carter fanned three and allowed only one hit to close out the sweep for Troy.

Jeremy Brown continued his good work for A-State with three more hits in game two and was just a homer shy of the cycle with three RBIs. Starter Coulton Lee (2-5) wore the defeat with six runs given up on nine hits.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"Great result, it was a long day today. We had two crazy games, unlike anything we've played all this year. Any time your team can sweep a conference team on the road means you've got a really good team. I'm proud of the way we fought for that sweep this weekend."

Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
Troy had a thing for the fourth inning today – scoring 11 runs in the two frames of the doubleheader. The Trojans saw five come across in game one and six in game two, both pivotal in the outcome of both games.

Notable
• Troy added a triple to its already record-setting total to move to 21 three-baggers this year. Brody Binder recorded the triple in the sixth inning of game one, the first of his career.

• Joey Denison drove in four runs in the doubleheader and still leads the conference with 50 RBIs this season.

• After having just six doubles all season, Chase Smartt hit three doubles in the doubleheader Saturday – he now has 25 in his career.

• Senior Matt Sanders recorded six hits (6-for-11) in the doubleheader with two RBIs and six runs scored. Sanders ranked second nationally entering the weekend in runs scored, 10 behind the leader.

• Freshman Manning Early reached a new career-high with three hits in game two of Saturday's games and tied a personal-best with three runs driven in.

• All nine of Troy's starters recorded a hit in a game for the first time since April 26, 2015, against Texas State – Troy won that game 9-6. Additionally, all but one of the starters recorded multiple hits in the game.

On Deck
The five-game road trip concludes with a trip to face off with in-state foe Alabama at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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Next Event

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L, 3-4

Apr 24 (Tue)

6:00 PM

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Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Lightsey, Zack (2-0)

L: Lannon, P. (0-2)

S: Thomas, Levi (1)

Troy

Batting:

2B: Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Prestegard, Cole 1 ; Smartt, Chase 2

3B: Binder, Brody 1

RBI: Sanders, Matt 2 ; Frederic, Drew 2 ; Denison, Joey 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 2 ; Binder, Brody 1 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Early, Manning 1

SH: Early, Manning 1

SF: Denison, Joey 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Sanders, Matt 3 ; Frederic, Drew 3 ; Binder, Brody 2 ; Prestegard, Cole 1 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1 ; Smartt, Chase 2 ; Early, Manning 1

SB: Sanders, Matt 1 ; Frederic, Drew 1 ; Denison, Joey 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1

HBP: Lockridge, Brandon 1

Arkansas State

Batting:

2B: Brown, J. 2

HR: MacDonald 1

RBI: Brown, J. 3 ; MacDonald 3 ; Ray, Cu. 1 ; Deshazier 2

Base Running:

RUNS: Tipton, D. 1 ; Johnson, To. 1 ; Brown, J. 1 ; MacDonald 1 ; Vaughan, C. 1 ; Welch, W. 1 ; Hawkins, G. 1 ; Ray, Cu. 1 ; Deshazier 1 ; Jablonski 1