Trojans End Skid, Hand Pierce 250th Victory

Saturday, March 6

Troy, Ala.

6:00 pm

Troy University

Bethune Cookman

Trojans End Skid, Hand Pierce 250th Victory

3/7/2010 3:00:00 AM | Baseball

It took much longer than anyone thought it might, but Troy University baseball coach Bobby Pierce picked up his 250th victory as the Trojans mentor on Saturday night as Troy ended a five-game losing skid with an 18-2 win over Bethune-Cookman.

The two teams will play the rubber game of their weekend series on Sunday, with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. at Riddle-Pace Field.

For the Trojans (4-5), the game was never really in doubt after plating six runs in the first two innings against BCU starting pitcher Rayan Gonzalez (1-2). But, it was after scoring those early runs that Troy's bats went back into the deep freeze for the next four innings.

“We were able to score a lot of runs tonight, and that is something we have been looking for,” Pierce said. “But we also didn't do enough with the chances we had early in the game. They threw some young guys out there late and we were able to do some things against them, but we have to do a better job in those situations at all points in the game.”

Troy finally broke the game open in the seventh inning, scoring five times against the Bethune-Cookman (4-8) bullpen. The Trojans padded their advantage even more in the eighth, scoring seven more runs.

The six early runs were more than enough for Troy freshman left-hander Shane McCain (2-1), who allowed just two runs on four hits through 5.1 innings of work. He walked two and struck out six.

Were it not for ending the losing skid and Pierce's milestone win, the story of the game very likely might have been the pitching debut for Troy of senior Bart Pettus.

A shortstop by trade, Pettus has been hampered by a knee injury he suffered last year. With his mobility compromised, he has been working on making a return to the mound, where he was a standout in high school.

“Bart was a top quality pitcher in high school, and he has been wanting to do anything he can to help this team in his last year,” Pierce said. “With his bad knee, he can't play shortstop, so we wanted to give him a look on the mound.”

If Saturday's performance is any indication, the experiment is a success. Pettus came into a 6-1 game with a pair of runners on base. He surrendered a ground ball single to score a run on his first pitch. He retired the next four batters he faced before a two out error put a runner on base. He responded with a strikeout, his third, to end the seventh inning.

Jordan Mathers and Thomas Austin both also made their season debuts on the mound, both pitching scoreless innings to close out the Troy win.

Offensively, the big star was third baseman Chase Whitley, whose two-run single in the first got the scoring started for Troy. He followed up with a three-run double in the second and added another RBI double in the eighth, to drive in six runs in the game.

Adam Bryant continued to swing a hot bat, blasting a solo homer in the seventh and adding a two-run single in the eighth. Ryan Ditthardt had a pair of hits, including a two-run double and Miles Hoyle had two hits in the game.

Steven Felix had just one hit, but was hit twice, walked twice and scored four runs.

The seven hits in the game for Bethune-Cookman were scattered over seven hitters.

The Trojans will try to even their season record on Sunday when senior right-hander Andrew Dickinson (1-1, 6.00) takes the mound. Bethune-Cookman may counter with junior left-hander Roman Lancara (0-1, 7.27), but the Wildcats have not named a starter for the game.