Burge Leads Way As Troy Completes Sweep of FAU

Sunday, April 12

Troy

1:00 PM

Troy University

Florida Atlantic

Burge Leads Way As Troy Completes Sweep of FAU

4/12/2009 9:30:00 PM | Baseball

TROY, Ala. ? The Troy Trojans got a third straight outstanding pitching performance, this time from senior Travis Burge, and beat up on the Florida Atlantic bull pen to take an 11-5 victory on Sunday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field to complete a weekend sweep of the Owls.

The Trojans (22-13, 10-5) have now won eight consecutive Sun Belt Conference games to move into sole possession of third place in the league race. FAU falls to 17-15 overall and 6-11 in the conference with the loss.

Burge (3-1) dominated the Owls with the exception of one pitch in the fourth inning. He averaged just 10 pitches per inning through the first seven and did not walk a batter.

“The story of the game today was Travis Burge,” Trojans head coach Bobby Pierce said. “He pitched well all day and kept their hitters off balance. Our starting pitching has been good in all eight games during this streak and, now, the bull pen is starting to make a comeback, which is a good combination.”

The Trojans gave Burge and early 3-0 lead against FAU starter Adam Morrison (0-2), scoring twice in the second on a single by Steven Felix and another run on a ground out by Adam Bryant. That duo, hitting eighth and ninth in the order for Troy, combined to drive in eight runs in the game for the Trojans.

“When you can get that kind of production from the bottom of the order it is really demoralizing for your opponent and it allows you to keep momentum going back to the top,” Pierce said.

FAU battled back to tie the game, scoring two runs in the fourth when Tom Hatcher his an 0-2 pitch out to left with a runner on. The Owls knotted the game in the fifth on back-to-back two-out singles from Anthony Mesa, who stole second to get into scoring position, and David Wilson.

That was where the score stayed until the sixth when the Trojans finally got Morrison out of the game and got into the FAU pen. Trevor Tyre singled in a run to chase Morrison from the game and then Felix doubled in two more on a Texas League bloop to right center, giving Troy a 6-3 lead.

The Trojans then put the game away in the seventh, scoring five times. Troy almost ended the game early, getting to within two runs of a run-rule victory before Glen Troyanowski, the fourth FAU hurler of the frame, struck out Michael Precise with the bases loaded to end the frame.

Felix and Bryant were again in the middle of the inning for Troy. Felix drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Bryant followed with a two-run single. Three Owls pitchers hit batters in the inning.

After the long seventh inning, Burge gave up a pair of runs in the eighth after back-to-back hits from Mesa and Wilson and two ground outs. The senior was lifted after throwing 88 pitches, allowing five runs on seven hits. Jeff Green and Tim Wheeler closed out the Owls, recording the final four outs for the win.

Troy had just nine hits in the game, including two each from Felix and Charley Williams. Miles Hoyle extended his hit streak to 11 games, but Chad Watson saw his 12-game streak come to an end.

Mesa and Wilson had two hits each to lead FAU, who managed just seven hits in the game.

The Trojans will now enjoy a week off before returning to action next weekend at Arkansas-Little Rock. UALR lost two of three games at South Alabama over the weekend and is alone in last place in the Sun Belt at 9-23 overall and 5-13 in the league.

“We have guys like Ryan Ditthardt, Brett Henry and Steven Felix who have been playing every inning of every game, and they are overdue for a break,” Pierce said. “We are all looking forward to getting some rest, but the time off will also give us a chance to work on some things we haven't been able to work on because of the busy schedule.

“We need to recharge and come back strong to start the second half of the season next week. I know that we need to be ready to play because we went to UALR in 2007 in much the same situation and they swept us.”