Troy Slugs Past Samford 13-6

Tuesday, February 28

Troy, Ala.

6:00 p.m.

Troy University

Samford

Boone Shear

Photo by: Lisa Ray

2/28/2012 9:49:00 PM | Baseball

By: Adam Prendergast

BOX SCORE

TROY, Ala. – Boone Shear drove in a career-high six runs to lead Troy past Samford 13-6 in non-conference action Tuesday night at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojan right fielder finished the game 3-for-4 and also scored two times.

The Trojans (4-3) pushed three runs across in the first against Bulldog freshman Cole Limbaugh and then chased the right-hander with four more runs in the third. Danny Collins upped his Troy-leading batting average to .400 on the season after going 3-for-5 with three runs scored; the Trojans battered five Bulldog pitchers for 12 hits on the night.

Shear, who now has 14 RBIs through the first seven games of the season, put Troy on the board with a two-run single in the first to score Tyler Hannah and Danny Collins. Josh McDorman, who made a spectacular catch in left field in the top of the inning, lined a single to left-center field for the third run of the inning.

Hannah was hit by two pitches in the game and drew a walk; on the season, he has been plunked by four pitches and walked nine times and leads the team with a .576 on-base percentage.

Shear struck again in the third with a single to center to plate another run and stretch the Troy lead out to 4-0. McDorman drove in his second run of the game one batter later with a grounder to third that was misplayed by the Bulldogs and allowed an extra Trojan to score on the play. Chase Mathis later drove in his first run as a Trojan to stretch the lead out to 7-0 after just three innings.

Christiaan Durdaller took advantage of the short porch in right field to put Samford (6-3) on the board with a two-run homer – his first of the season – in the fourth. Saxon Butler was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth to close the gap to 7-3, which was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

Clay Holcomb led off the sixth with a single to center and eventually moved to third base with one out. The Bulldogs intentionally walked Logan Pierce to get to Shear who grounded into a fielder's choice to plate his fourth run of the game.

The Trojans iced the game with a five-run eighth inning that saw them tee off for three doubles. Hannah led off the frame with a walk and scored on Collins' third double of the season. After Pierce was hit by a pitch, Shear greeted new Samford pitcher Andres Gracia with a two-run double down the line in left field. Tyler Vaughn singled home Shear for his first career RBI and Tyson Workman capped the scoring with a double off the wall in right field.

Nate Hill (1-0) picked up the win out of the Troy bullpen with three innings of scoreless relief. The southpaw allowed just one hit and struck out five; he entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth and only allowed one of the inherited runners to score. Over seven innings this season, Hill has struck out 12 batters and allowed just two hits.

Chris Fisher took a no-decision for the Trojans after allowing three runs on four hits over four innings of work. Workman closed out the game as he tossed the final two innings.

Limbaugh (1-1) suffered his first collegiate loss as he was charged with seven runs – six earned – on six hits over just three innings of work. Phillip Ervin led the Bulldogs with a 3-for-5 night at the plate while Brandon Miller was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Samford tacked on three runs in the ninth inning with two coming after a two-out error kept the inning alive.

The Trojans hit the road again this weekend for a three-game series at Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats already have series victories over Florida Gulf Coast and South Florida this season. First pitch on Friday is set for 5 p.m.