Trojans Drop Second Game of Series to USM

Saturday, February 26

Riddle-Pace Field

1:00 pm

Troy University

University of Southern Mississippi

Photo by: Troy University

2/26/2011 3:36:44 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Ricky Hazel

FINAL BOX SCORE: PDF | HTML

Troy and Southern Miss squared off in another pitcher's dual on Saturday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field, but it was the visiting Golden Eagles who got the better of the day, taking a 4-1 victory over the Trojans in the second game of a weekend series.

The Trojans (5-1) suffered their first loss of the year while USM improved to 6-1 in a game that took just two hours and four minutes to play in front of 1,479 fans.

The teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday, with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m.

Troy got on top early in the game against USM sophomore starter Geoffrey Thomas (2-0) thanks to a two-base error by USM first baseman Adam Doleac that was followed by a solid single from Todd McRae.

For Troy, that was about the extent of the offensive production. Thomas worked seven strong innings, allowing just three hits and three walks, and he was aided by a pair of double plays behind him.

Freshman Josh Rogers worked the eighth inning for USM and came back out for the ninth but, after allowing a leadoff walk, gave way to the Eagles' All-American closer, Collin Cargill.

T.J. Rivera greeted the senior sidewinder with a solid single, but he got a fly ball off the bat of Drew Prichard and a double-play grounder from Blake Martz to end the game, giving Cargill his second save of the year.

Troy starter Ryan Sorce (0-1) retired the first eight USM hitters he faced before Joe Martin his a two-out homer on a full count pitch in the third to tie the game. The Eagles added two more runs in the fourth thanks to four straight singles to open the inning. B.A. Vollmuth and Marc Ellis each drove in a run.

The Eagles added an insurance run in the sixth when Vollmuth scored on a ground out after reaching on a single. A Sorce throwing error, his second of the game, made the run unearned.

Sorce worked 5.1 innings in his second start, allowing the four runs, three earned, on six hits. He struck out three. Sophomore Shane McCain came on out of the pen in the sixth to keep the Eagles at bay the rest of the way. The left-hander faced just 11 hitters, walking one but erasing the runner with a double play.

Vallmuth was the only player with more than one hit in the game and he scored two of the USM runs.

The Sunday series finale will pit Troy senior right-hander Drew Hull (1-0, 1.50) against USM junior right-hander Josh Thomason (1-0, 0.00).