McRae Powers Trojans in Win Over USM

Sunday, February 27

Riddle-Pace Field

1:00 pm

Troy University

University of Southern Mississippi

Photo by: Troy University

2/27/2011 5:29:47 PM | Baseball

By: Ricky Hazel

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Around the Troy baseball program, Sunday is known as “Championship Sunday” because, more often than not, a weekend series will be decided on that day.

The Troy Trojans made the decision early against Southern Miss at Riddle-Pace Field, using a seven-run third inning to blow the deciding game of the series wide-open in route to a 13-4 victory in front of 1,413 fans.

With the win, the Trojans (6-1) took their second straight weekend series of the year, and did so in dominating fashion against a Southern Miss (5-2) team expected to again compete for a Conference USA title and NCAA Regional berth.

“I was really pleased,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “When you have a lot of first year players on the club, they sometimes get tangled up in what Sunday's are all about and they forget to stay relaxed and play baseball. I was really pleased to see this team not do that.”

Troy's offensive production, which included a pair of doubles and six runs batted in by senior catcher Todd McRae, combined with another solid pitching performance to secure the victory. Senior right-hander Drew Hull (2-0) had just one shaky inning, but allowed just two runs on five hits over six innings with five strikeouts.

“Drew was outstanding and got things off on a great note,” Pierce said. “He is a great guy to have go out there on Sunday because of his experience. Every Sunday has a big meaning and you need a guy who can stay poised and within himself with the quality stuff to win the game. Drew has that combination.”

The Trojans wasted no time in getting into the Southern Miss bull pen in the game, chasing starter Josh Thomason (1-1) in the third. The junior was saddled with six earned runs in just two innings of work. He was the first of seven hurlers to take the mound in the game for USM.

Troy got the scoring started in the second, when Blake Martz, who had doubled, scored on a wild pitch. McRae followed a sacrifice bunt that moved Logan Pierce to third with a sac fly to give Troy a 2-0 lead.

Things came unglued for USM in the third. Hayden Hillyer opened the inning with a single and, after a walk to Adam Bryant, Tyler Hannah loaded the bases when his perfectly placed sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a bunt single.

Thomason's day ended when he walked T.J. Rivera to force in a run. Martz followed with a sacrifice fly off Matt Warren, who then walked Pierce to reload the bases before allowing a single by Tyson Workman.

Chase Horn was called on to pitch to McRae, who greeted him with a double to the gap in left-center on the first pitch, scoring three runs. McRae scored on a ground out to cap the seven-run frame.

“I am so proud of Todd because he has worked very hard to get some extra-base hit work done,” Pierce said. “He has been practicing for months. We want him to get more extra-base hits during the season but he started a little like last year where he was just getting singles. There is nothing wrong with that, but we knew he was capable of having a day like he had today. The work paid off and he had a big day and is deserving of it.”

Hull had his only hiccup of the game in the fifth inning when, after allowing a one-out walk to Jared Bales, he lost his composure on the mound for just a moment.

“I made a good 3-2 pitch that I thought was a strike, but it wasn't and I let that get too me a little bit and lost my focus,” Hull said. “I knew we were up by eight or nine at the time and that all I needed was to do a little damage control and we would be right back at it in the bottom of the inning.”

After allowing a single to Travis Creel and an RBI double to Kameron Brunty, Hull walked Tyler Koelling to load the bases for hot-hitting USM shortstop B.A. Vollmuth. On a day without winds blowing in at 15 MPH, things might have been different, but Vallmuth hit a fly ball to the wall in left to score a second run, but Hull got the next hitter to end the inning.

“We scored seven runs in the inning before and you are always concerned when that happens about your pitcher sitting down for too long,” Pierce said. “When he came back out he thought his arm was a little slower, which threw his timing off. Then, when you throw in the pitch where he thought he struck a guy out, you just have to work through those things.”

The Trojans picked Hull up in the bottom of the inning, getting both runs back when McRae delivered his second double of the game to score Pierce and Workman. Troy added a single run in the sixth on a double by Martz and another in the seventh on a double by Adam Bryant.

Vollmuth accounted for the other USM runs when he doubled in two in the seventh inning off junior Garrett McHenry. Workman came on to work a perfect ninth to seal the victory.

McRae said he was excited about having a big day offensively, but was just as excited about the way the Troy pitching staff performed throughout the weekend series.

“I just got into some good hitters counts and was able to get the barrel of the bat on the ball,” McRae said. “It was a great job by everyone. Our pitchers were really getting after hitters and getting ahead and that is the most important thing you can do.”

The Trojans will venture onto the road for the first time in the 2011 season on Tuesday when they travel to Birmingham to take on Samford. The Bulldogs were swept in a four-game series at Jacksonville over the weekend, but are a perfect 5-0 at home this year.

“Historically, those games have been high-scoring,” Pierce said. “There has been some decent pitching, but the teams always seem to hit. With the new bats this year, you don't really know what to expect. We do know we will see a well-coached, scrappy ball club. We just hope that the momentum from today flows right into Tuesday.”

The Trojans will send freshman left-hander Jimmy Hodgskin to the mound for his second start of the year. The first pitch from Joe Lee Griffin Field is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday night.