Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Brown
Trojans Complete Sweep of Brown
3/28/2010 2:00:00 AM | Baseball
While it wasn't exactly the kind of day Troy baseball coach Bobby Pierce had envisioned, the Trojans were able to complete a double-header sweep of visiting Brown on Saturday night, taking the nightcap 6-3.
The Trojans (10-11) took the opening game of the day/night twin-bill by a 9-2 final.
“We are still looking for more from this team, and we have got the get more if we are going to be the kind of team we envisioned going into the season,” Pierce said. “There is nothing wrong with the way we played today, but we lost focus at times today.”
GAME 2 - Troy 6, Brown 3
The Trojans jumped on Brown starting pitcher Rob Wilcox (0-2) for three runs in the second inning of game two, but struggled to get anything else on the board. Troy finished the night having left 11 runners on base, stranding at least one in every inning.
Fortunately for the Trojans, sophomore starting pitcher Tyler Ray (3-2) was up to the challenge. He worked into the sixth inning, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out five. Jordan Mathers, Nick Ward and A.J. Howard followed Ray before Chase Whitley came on in the ninth to close out the Bears (2-9).
Troy's three-run second inning could have produced more. Todd McRae had a two-run single in the frame and Miles Hoyle delivered a run scoring hit, but T.J. Rivera grounded into an inning-ending double play to thwart a potential big inning.
After Brown scored a single run in the third on doubles by Graham Tyler and Matt Colantonio, the Trojans answered back with a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Steven Felix to score Ryan Ditthardt. Troy added two runs in the sixth on consecutive two-out singled by Hoyle and Rivera.
Brown scored twice in the ninth off Howard, who surrendered a single to Daniel Rosoff and a double to Mike DiBiase, which were the only hitters he faced. Whitley came on and got a ground out before surrendered an RBI double. He got the last two hitters to close out the win.
Overall in the game Hoyle, Jake Sullivan, Rivera and Adam Bryant had two hits each for the Trojans. Rivera and Bryant had four hits on the day and Hoyle drove in four runs.
Five Bears had two hits each in the nightcap – Colantonio, Rosoff, DiBiase, Graham Tyler and Chris Tanabe. Brown had seven doubles among its 11 hits in the game.
The Trojans and Bears will continue their weekend series on Sunday, weather permitting, with a first pitch slated for 1 p.m. Troy is scheduled to send freshman right-hander Cass Abercrombie (0-0, 3.86) to the mound for his first collegiate start. Brown is expected to counter with a freshman right-hander as well, Kevin Carlow (2-0, 3.55).
GAME 1 - Troy 9, Brown 2
Troy senior Andrew Dickinson scattered eight hits over seven innings and the Trojans backed him by scoring runs in five innings as Troy took the opening game of a four-game weekend series from Brown 9-2 Saturday afternoon.
Dickinson (3-2) ran into major problems just once in his outing, allowing two runs in the fourth inning thanks to a walk, a pair of singles and a fielding error.
The Trojans (9-11) scored seven times on nine hits over six innings against Brown (2-8) starter Will Weidig (0-3), who was his own worst enemy by allowing seven walks. Troy added two runs off reliever John Murphy in the seventh inning to account for the final margin.
“I like the win but, as a coach I still saw some opportunities left out there by some poor at bats,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “We continued to do a nice job of setting up innings, and even scoring a couple of runs, but we still didn't do a very good job of finishing innings.”
Troy got on the board early when Chad Watson led off the game with his school record tying eighth career triple. He tied the mark set by Ed Nix during the 1984-85 seasons. Watson scored on a double-play grounder to put the Trojans up early.
The Trojans favorite inning, the second, didn't disappoint as Troy scored three times, but missed out on scoring more when Ryan Ditthardt hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. Steven Felix had an RBI single and Miles Hoyle had a two-run single in the frame.
Jake Sullivan singled in a run for Troy in the third for a 5-0 lead and Adam Bryant hit a two-run homer, his team-leading seventh, in the fifth to make up for the two runs Brown scored. The two runs Troy scored in the seventh came as a result of an error.
