Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, March 28
Montgomery, Ala.
6:00 p.m.
Troy University
2
at
4
Alabama State
Five-Run Eighth Caps Improbable Troy Comeback
3/30/2012 11:29:00 PM | Baseball
BOX SCORE
TROY, Ala. – Troy scored seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to rally from a six-run deficit and defeat Arkansas State 7-6 in the Sun Belt Conference series opener Friday night at Riddle-Pace Field. Game two of the series is set for 7 p.m. Saturday and will be televised live by the Sun Belt Network (CSS/CST).
“We've been waiting on a win like this for a long time,” Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said. “We felt like we had capable people, but we didn't think we had performed at the rate we needed to perform. Tonight started that way with the runners left on base and not getting quality at-bats at key times. Towards the end we had some great at-bats that really capitalized on things that we built during the inning and came up with some big hits.
“A.J. Howard coming in I thought was a huge part of the momentum shift. They way he approached it, with that type of intensity and focus toward getting his inning done. I'm really proud of our team and hopefully this win will carry us along way, because we've been searching for this one for a long time.”
Logan Pierce was the hero both offensively and defensively for the Trojans. He put Troy (13-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) on the board with a two-run homer in the seventh and then tied the game in the eighth with a two-run double down the line in left field; the home run extended his hit streak to 15 games. Following an infield lead-off single in the Arkansas State (15-11, 5-2) half of the ninth, Pierce made a diving stop at first and threw out the lead runner at second from his knees.
Tyler Vaughn, who finished 2-for-3, led off the five-run eighth with a walk and pinch hitter Jake Harrell followed with a double off the wall in right field; all eight of Harrell's hits this season have gone for extra-bases (seven doubles and a home run). Jakob Nixon then walked and Tyler Hannah punched a single back up the middle to score Harrell and close the gap to 6-4 before Pierce stepped to the plate.
The junior first baseman fell behind in the count to Brandon Farley on a pair of called strikes before lining his game-tying double down the left-field line. Following a strikeout and a wild pitch to move Pierce to third, Boone Shear, who entered the week 14th in the NCAA in RBIs, drove home the game-winning run with a deep sacrifice fly to right field.
Nate Hill worked around the infield single in the ninth and struck out Michael Faulkner to end the game and pick up his second save of the season. Howard (1-0) ignited a fire in the Troy dugout after striking out the side in the eighth inning; the fifth-year season earned his fourth career win and first since March 7, 2008.
Danny Collins was 3-for-5 on the night as the Trojans belted out 11 hits in the ballgame. Ryan Roberts was the lone Red Wolf with multiple hits after going 2-for-2 with a walk.
Roberts put the Red Wolves on the board in the second inning with his first home run of the season after Anthony Hecht kept the frame alive with a two-out double to center field. Five straight Arkansas State batters reached with one out in the seventh inning with Dustin Jones and Collin Massanelli delivering back-to-back two-run base hits to give ASU the 6-0 lead.
The start of the game was delayed nearly two hours due to a heavy rain that pounded the Troy area. However, the artificial turf surface at Riddle-Pace Field allowed for the game to be played once the rain subsided.
Tyler Ray took a no-decision for the Trojans after he was charged with six runs on seven hits in seven innings; he struck out six and walked two. Ray had limited the Red Wolves to just four hits entering the four-run seventh inning.
Arkansas State starter Jacob Lee left the game with a six-run lead after holding Troy scoreless over six innings. Lee, who struck out a career-high 10 batters, was in trouble all night as the Trojans had base runners on in five of his six innings and multiple base runners on in four innings; Lee was pulled after throwing 107 pitches.
Farley (1-2) took the loss for Arkansas State after allowing two runs on two hits in one inning of work. Bradley Wallace, the first man out of the bullpen for Arkansas State, allowed five runs on three hits in an inning of action.
TROY, Ala. – Troy scored seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to rally from a six-run deficit and defeat Arkansas State 7-6 in the Sun Belt Conference series opener Friday night at Riddle-Pace Field. Game two of the series is set for 7 p.m. Saturday and will be televised live by the Sun Belt Network (CSS/CST).
“We've been waiting on a win like this for a long time,” Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said. “We felt like we had capable people, but we didn't think we had performed at the rate we needed to perform. Tonight started that way with the runners left on base and not getting quality at-bats at key times. Towards the end we had some great at-bats that really capitalized on things that we built during the inning and came up with some big hits.
“A.J. Howard coming in I thought was a huge part of the momentum shift. They way he approached it, with that type of intensity and focus toward getting his inning done. I'm really proud of our team and hopefully this win will carry us along way, because we've been searching for this one for a long time.”
Logan Pierce was the hero both offensively and defensively for the Trojans. He put Troy (13-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) on the board with a two-run homer in the seventh and then tied the game in the eighth with a two-run double down the line in left field; the home run extended his hit streak to 15 games. Following an infield lead-off single in the Arkansas State (15-11, 5-2) half of the ninth, Pierce made a diving stop at first and threw out the lead runner at second from his knees.
Tyler Vaughn, who finished 2-for-3, led off the five-run eighth with a walk and pinch hitter Jake Harrell followed with a double off the wall in right field; all eight of Harrell's hits this season have gone for extra-bases (seven doubles and a home run). Jakob Nixon then walked and Tyler Hannah punched a single back up the middle to score Harrell and close the gap to 6-4 before Pierce stepped to the plate.
The junior first baseman fell behind in the count to Brandon Farley on a pair of called strikes before lining his game-tying double down the left-field line. Following a strikeout and a wild pitch to move Pierce to third, Boone Shear, who entered the week 14th in the NCAA in RBIs, drove home the game-winning run with a deep sacrifice fly to right field.
Nate Hill worked around the infield single in the ninth and struck out Michael Faulkner to end the game and pick up his second save of the season. Howard (1-0) ignited a fire in the Troy dugout after striking out the side in the eighth inning; the fifth-year season earned his fourth career win and first since March 7, 2008.
Danny Collins was 3-for-5 on the night as the Trojans belted out 11 hits in the ballgame. Ryan Roberts was the lone Red Wolf with multiple hits after going 2-for-2 with a walk.
Roberts put the Red Wolves on the board in the second inning with his first home run of the season after Anthony Hecht kept the frame alive with a two-out double to center field. Five straight Arkansas State batters reached with one out in the seventh inning with Dustin Jones and Collin Massanelli delivering back-to-back two-run base hits to give ASU the 6-0 lead.
The start of the game was delayed nearly two hours due to a heavy rain that pounded the Troy area. However, the artificial turf surface at Riddle-Pace Field allowed for the game to be played once the rain subsided.
Tyler Ray took a no-decision for the Trojans after he was charged with six runs on seven hits in seven innings; he struck out six and walked two. Ray had limited the Red Wolves to just four hits entering the four-run seventh inning.
Arkansas State starter Jacob Lee left the game with a six-run lead after holding Troy scoreless over six innings. Lee, who struck out a career-high 10 batters, was in trouble all night as the Trojans had base runners on in five of his six innings and multiple base runners on in four innings; Lee was pulled after throwing 107 pitches.
Farley (1-2) took the loss for Arkansas State after allowing two runs on two hits in one inning of work. Bradley Wallace, the first man out of the bullpen for Arkansas State, allowed five runs on three hits in an inning of action.
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