No. 3 Florida State Walks Off Troy in Game Two

Saturday, February 24

Tallahassee, Fla.

12:00 PM

Troy University

4-3

#3 Florida State

6-0

Troy

Florida State

No. 3 Florida State Walks Off Troy in Game Two

2/24/2018 4:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Drew Mendoza drove in the game-winning run on a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to give No. 3 Florida State the 6-5 win over Troy Saturday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.

Troy (4-3) fell despite a fierce comeback – the Trojans saw themselves in a 3-0 hole after the first inning and clawed back to even the game at five in the seventh inning before dropping the game in walk-off fashion.

The third-ranked Seminoles (6-0) loaded the bases with only one out in the ninth before Mendoza claimed hero status – he finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs driven in.

The Trojans were able to take advantage of a loss of control on the mound to knot the game up with two runs in both the sixth and the seventh.

The first Troy run of the game came on a deep blast off the scoreboard by Matt Sanders in the third inning. It was Sanders' fourth homer of the early season and he is currently in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, dating back to 2017.

Sanders and Brandon Lockridge led the Trojan bats – Sanders went 2-for-5 with a double and the homer, while Lockridge finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Sadler Goodwin (0-1) suffered the hard-luck loss after scattering just two hits and allowing the one run in 2.1 innings of relief work. Goodwin was aided by several strong defensive plays in those innings, including a top-play worthy, warning track grab by Dylan Crutcher before crashing into the wall – the play saved extra bases in the bottom of the eighth.

??Check out this Dylan Crutcher (@Call_Me_Crutch) snag on the warning track in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth! @NCAACWS @SportsCenter #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/BRX7ZKpijn
— Troy Baseball ?x4 (@TroyTrojansBSB) February 24, 2018

Florida State's Gage Hutchinson (1-0) struck out the side in the top of the ninth to set the Noles up for the walk-off win in the bottom of the inning.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"That's a terrible way to lose a game…but, if I have a player that hangs his head after today, I'll have my bait with him. I couldn't be prouder of my team and how we represented Troy today. All I can ask as a coach is if my team will leave it all out there for us and that's what our guys did today I can't wait to get back out here tomorrow."

Noteworthy
• Matt Sanders doubled and homered in the game to extend his hitting streak to a career-long and team-best 15 games – his home run was the fourth of the 2018 campaign.

• Brandon Lockridge and Matt Sanders both turned in multi-hit games – the third of the season for both. It marked Sanders' 55^th career game of the sorts and Lockridge's 47^th.

• Troy fell to 7-9 in the Mark Smartt era when tied after eight innings – it was the 11^th last at-bat loss. The Trojans are also 15-16 in one-run games over the course of Smartt's head coaching career.