Big First Inning Sparks Troy Past Owls

Friday, April 10

Troy

6:00 PM

Troy University

Florida Atlantic

4/11/2009 2:30:00 AM | Baseball

For the second straight week, freshman Tyler Ray gave the Troy Trojans a strong outing in a Friday night start in Sun Belt play.

This time he got some early support from his teammates in the form of a seven-run first inning en route to a 12-3 victory over Florida Atlantic at Riddle-Pace Field. For the Trojans, it was a sixth straight Sun Belt Conference win and improved the teams' league record to 8-5. Troy is now 20-13 overall.

Ray (4-2) worked into the seventh inning, holding the Owls to three runs on four hits while striking out four. He had stretches where he retired seven straight to start the game, and then nine straight after allowing three runs in the third inning.

“It all started with Tyler Ray on the mound,” Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said. “He did it again on a Friday night. I hate that he struggled in the third, which was a 42-pitch inning where he started aiming the ball a little. He came in after that inning and knew what he was doing wrong and corrected it right away.”

Troy's seven-run first inning came off FAU starter Mike Gipson (2-3), who allowed eight runs, seven earned, in two innings for the Owls (17-13, 6-9). The Trojans got back-to-back two run doubles in the first from Trevor Tyre and Steven Felix in addition to RBI singles from Ryan Ditthardt and Adam Bryant and a bases loaded walk to Charley Williams.

“I was proud of the effort we gave out there, especially with the way we started off the game singing the bats,” Pierce said. “We went into a little bit of a lull there through the middle innings, but started swinging it better again late in the game.”

The Trojans had four doubles in a game that was marked by winds of more than 20 miles per hour that were blowing straight in, knocking all fly balls down. Those four doubles, two in the first, one by Henry in the second to score a run and one by Michael Precise in the eighth to plate two, accounted for seven of Troy's 12 runs.

“With the wind the way it was, we knew it would be tough to get anything out of the park,” Pierce said. “It seems like we have been playing in these conditions a lot lately, which is really tough on the defense.”

FAU scored all of its runs in the third inning off Ray. Travis Ozga plated one with a two-out single and Tom Hatcher followed him with a two-run single.

But, that was it for FAU in the game. Jeff Green and Jason Howell followed Ray and allowed just two hits over the final 2 2/3 innings.

For Troy, six players had two hits in the game, as the Trojans piled up 14 hits on the night. The only Troy starter held hitless in the game was Williams, who drove in two runs with a pair of bases loaded walks.

The Trojans, who have now won six straight in league play, will look for their seventh straight Sun Belt victory on Sunday night when junior right-hander Jason Walls (2-2, 3.75) takes the mound.

“Jason has been very good in his last two starts and we should be in great shape in the pen with Josh Storm and Chris Sorce both getting the night off tonight,” Pierce said. “You have to feel good about our chance to win the series with the way our pitching has been, the momentum we have and the confidence we are playing with right now.”

NOTES: Troy juniors Chad Watson and Miles Hoyle both extended hitting streaks during the win on Friday ... Watson has hit in 11 straight, which is a team-high this year, and Hoyle has hit in nine straight ... Brett Henry extended his streak of games reaching base to 36 by reaching base three times on Friday ... Steven Felix had his streak of consecutive innings caught snapped at 119 when Jake Sullivan came in to catch the ninth inning on Friday.