Troy University Athletics
Sunday, February 21
Troy, Ala.
11:00 am
Troy University
8
vs
3
Hofstra
Trojans Complete Opening Weekend Sweep of Hofstra
2/21/2010 7:00:00 PM | Baseball
For three innings on Sunday morning, the Troy Trojans appeared to be a little hung over from two over-powering wins over visiting Hofstra to start a season-opening weekend series.
But things turned around quickly for the Trojans (3-0) in the fourth inning as Troy plated seven runs to take a 7-2 lead en route to an 8-3 victory over the visiting Pride (0-3).
It was back-to-back home runs from Chad Watson and Adam Bryant that opened the flood gates for the Trojans in the fourth inning off Hofstra starter Kevin Rigopoulos (0-1).
“I didn't think this game would like the first two and that proved to be true,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “Credit Hofstra because, even though they have a very young team, they came out and played hard today.”
Bryant's move to the second spot in the lineup paid dividends as he and Watson had three hits each at the top of the Troy batting order. Senior Ryan Ditthardt also had a big day on Sunday with four hits, including two doubles.
The seven-run fourth inning for the Trojans, combined with solid starting pitching from senior Andrew Dickinson (1-0) who kept the Pride at bay after surrendering a pair of runs in the first inning, were the difference in the game.
“Andrew has changed his arm slot a little and throws a ball with a very heavy sinking action,” Pierce said. “We expect him to get a lot of ground balls, which he did. I was surprised when they were able to get the ball into the air in the first inning, but he settled down.”
Hofstra grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first when E.J. Smith followed a Troy fielding error with a homer over the big wall in right. Dickinson allowed just three more hits over his six innings of work and he retired the final 10 batters he faced.
The trio of Nick Ward, A.J. Howard and Chase Whitley worked an inning each to close out the game for Troy. Howard surrendered a leadoff homer to Matt Ford in the eighth to account for the final Hofstra run.
Troy got that run back in the bottom of the inning when Ditthardt led off with a double, moved up on a ground ball and scored on a wild pitch.
Troy baseball, which had never seen a batter get hit by a pitch three times in a game before this series, had that happen twice this weekend. Jake Sullivan tied the school mark, set Saturday by Whitley, as he was hit three times on Sunday. Overall in the series, Hofstra pitchers hit 11 Troy batters.
The Trojans will close a season-opening four-game home stand on Tuesday night when the Samford Bulldogs visit Riddle-Pace Field. Samford opened the year by winning two of the first three games in a four-game series against Marshall.
“Samford is always a very competitive team that will play hard on every pitch,” Pierce said. “This will also be our last chance to get ready for the big trip to Arkansas next weekend.”
Junior right-hander Drew Hull will be the likely starter for the Trojans on Tuesday against Samford. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
But things turned around quickly for the Trojans (3-0) in the fourth inning as Troy plated seven runs to take a 7-2 lead en route to an 8-3 victory over the visiting Pride (0-3).
It was back-to-back home runs from Chad Watson and Adam Bryant that opened the flood gates for the Trojans in the fourth inning off Hofstra starter Kevin Rigopoulos (0-1).
“I didn't think this game would like the first two and that proved to be true,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “Credit Hofstra because, even though they have a very young team, they came out and played hard today.”
Bryant's move to the second spot in the lineup paid dividends as he and Watson had three hits each at the top of the Troy batting order. Senior Ryan Ditthardt also had a big day on Sunday with four hits, including two doubles.
The seven-run fourth inning for the Trojans, combined with solid starting pitching from senior Andrew Dickinson (1-0) who kept the Pride at bay after surrendering a pair of runs in the first inning, were the difference in the game.
“Andrew has changed his arm slot a little and throws a ball with a very heavy sinking action,” Pierce said. “We expect him to get a lot of ground balls, which he did. I was surprised when they were able to get the ball into the air in the first inning, but he settled down.”
Hofstra grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first when E.J. Smith followed a Troy fielding error with a homer over the big wall in right. Dickinson allowed just three more hits over his six innings of work and he retired the final 10 batters he faced.
The trio of Nick Ward, A.J. Howard and Chase Whitley worked an inning each to close out the game for Troy. Howard surrendered a leadoff homer to Matt Ford in the eighth to account for the final Hofstra run.
Troy got that run back in the bottom of the inning when Ditthardt led off with a double, moved up on a ground ball and scored on a wild pitch.
Troy baseball, which had never seen a batter get hit by a pitch three times in a game before this series, had that happen twice this weekend. Jake Sullivan tied the school mark, set Saturday by Whitley, as he was hit three times on Sunday. Overall in the series, Hofstra pitchers hit 11 Troy batters.
The Trojans will close a season-opening four-game home stand on Tuesday night when the Samford Bulldogs visit Riddle-Pace Field. Samford opened the year by winning two of the first three games in a four-game series against Marshall.
“Samford is always a very competitive team that will play hard on every pitch,” Pierce said. “This will also be our last chance to get ready for the big trip to Arkansas next weekend.”
Junior right-hander Drew Hull will be the likely starter for the Trojans on Tuesday against Samford. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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