TROY, Ala.- Daryl Otwell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth plating the runner from third and pushing the Trojans past Kennesaw State 12-11 Tuesday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
“This wasn't the prettiest game on either side,” coach Bobby Pierce said. “We did a good job to stay in the game but it was not our best performance.”
Steven Felix led off the ninth inning with a walk. Shohei Fujita doubled to right field advancing Felix to third. Bryan Miller was intentionally walked and Brett Henry followed with a walk scoring Felix and picking up the RBI. Daryl Otwell was hit by a pitch scoring Fujita from third and sealing the win.
Kennesaw State's (5-8) Tyler Stubblefield was hit by a Mike Powers pitch and was followed by a Ric Bishop walk. Josh Whitaker singled down the left field line scoring Stubblefield. Jace Whitmer hit a homerun deep to left center giving the Owls the early 4-0 lead.
Troy (12-3) answered the Owl first inning with four runs of its own. Charley Williams reached base after getting hit by a pitch. Adam Bryant reached base on a fielders' choice with Williams reaching second on an error by Ross Tendler. Williams and Bryant advanced on a passed ball by catcher Jace Whitmer. Paul Gatchell followed the error and got hit by a pitch. All three runners moved up a base on a wild pitch with Williams scoring. Bryan Miller reached on another error by Tendler scoring Gatchell and Bryant. Michael Precise singled up the middle scoring Miller knotting the game at 4-4.
Kennesaw added a run in the fourth inning when Andrew Martin reached base on an error by Gatchell. Martin advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a balk from Jeff Green giving the Owls the 5-4 lead.
Troy quickly answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Bryan Miller singled to left field and scored on a fielder's choice groundout off the bat of Lance Miller tying the game, 5-5.
The Trojans took their first lead in the home half of the fifth inning. Williams walked and came around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Gatchell. Bryan Miller singled to left scoring Gatchell giving Troy the 7-5 lead.
The Owls added three more runs in the top of the sixth inning on two hits.
Troy retook the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning when Pettus singled to short. Fujita pinch ran and advanced to third on a double by Bryan Miller. Brooks was walked intentionally to load the bases. Otwell drew another walk for an RBI. Trevor Tyre pinch hit and hit the first pitch he saw to right field scoring Miller and Brooks, retaking the lead 10-9.
Kennesaw plated two runners in the top of the ninth inning on three hits forcing the Trojans to score in the bottom of the ninth.
The Trojans will return to action this weekend when they pack their bags and travel west to Arizona. Troy will face top-ranked Arizona State in a three-game series.
