Troy University Athletics
Tuesday, March 20
Troy, Ala.
6:00 PM
Troy University
14-7
14
vs
2
Samford
10-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Samford
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
1
2
Troy
6
1
2
0
5
0
0
0
X
14
9
1
Troy One-Hits Samford; Dominates in Midweek Tilt
3/20/2018 10:01:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Alabama – Six Troy pitchers combined to hold Samford to one hit as the Trojans blew past the Bulldogs, 14-2, on a breezy Tuesday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
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Troy (14-7) completed a season sweep of both in-state rivals from Birmingham – UAB and Samford – for the first time in school history. The Trojans have not swept the Bulldogs (10-12) since the 2013 season.
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In yet another stellar pitching performance, the Trojan staff allowed just one hit and one earned run on the night. In the past nine games, Troy has given up just 16 earned runs for a 1.77 team ERA.
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Freshman Levi Thomas (1-0) earned his first career win in his first career start with four strikeouts over three innings of hitless work. Zack Lightsey came in for two innings after Thomas and struck out three batters without allowing a base runner.
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Meanwhile at the plate, the Trojans finally ended their offensive woes, posting 14 runs – tied for the season-high – on nine hits.
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The ball got rolling early as Manning Early emptied the bases on a three-RBI triple as a part of a six-run first inning – before tonight, Troy had scored just nine runs in the opening frame all season. Early finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and the three RBIs to lead the Trojan bats.
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Troy added a run in the second and two in the third before exploding for another big inning in the fifth; scratching across five runs in the frame. This time, the base-clearing, three-RBI triple came from the bat of Mason Rogers – the first three-base knock of the senior's career.
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Overall, 10 different Trojans drove in a run and three turned in multi-hit games – Early, Matt Sanders and Drew Frederic. Sanders ended an 0-for-19 skid that followed a 22-game hitting streak with a single to lead off the game and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
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Connor Radcliff (0-1) was handed the loss after allowing three runs on one hit in 0.1 innings of work to start the game. Austin Edens recorded the only hit for Samford – he went 1-for-4 in the matchup.
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Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"It was good to see our guys relax. It was a huge relief in the dugout to see them do that. I thought we allowed the game to come to us. Early came up big with that three-RBI triple and that was huge for us. It really got us going and we didn't slow down from there."
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Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
With Tuesday's win Troy completed a season sweep of both UAB and Samford for the first time in school history – the Trojans have not swept the Bulldogs since the 2013 season.
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Noteworthy
• Samford pitchers pegged Troy batters six times in the game – one hit-by-pitch shy of tying the school record set when Alabama A&M hit seven batters in 2005. The Trojans were granted a season-high 14 free passes in the game – eight walks and six hit batsmen.
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• The Trojan pitching staff was on pace for the first team no-hitter in the school's recorded history until a single by Austin Edens led off the eighth inning. Troy still has not seen a no-hitter since Dean Cordova threw two in the 1996 season.
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• Matt Sanders added two more runs scored to take his team-leading total to 28 this season – he entered Tuesday tied for 12th in the country.
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• Joey Denison drove in his 28th run of 2018 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third – he ranked 15th nationally and second in the Sun Belt in that category coming into the matchup. The senior has now driven in runs in 12 of the last 14 games.
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On Deck
The Trojans will jump back into conference play with a trip to face off with Louisiana this weekend. First pitch from Russo Field in Lafayette is set for 6 p.m. Friday.
Â
Troy (14-7) completed a season sweep of both in-state rivals from Birmingham – UAB and Samford – for the first time in school history. The Trojans have not swept the Bulldogs (10-12) since the 2013 season.
Â
In yet another stellar pitching performance, the Trojan staff allowed just one hit and one earned run on the night. In the past nine games, Troy has given up just 16 earned runs for a 1.77 team ERA.
Â
Freshman Levi Thomas (1-0) earned his first career win in his first career start with four strikeouts over three innings of hitless work. Zack Lightsey came in for two innings after Thomas and struck out three batters without allowing a base runner.
Â
Meanwhile at the plate, the Trojans finally ended their offensive woes, posting 14 runs – tied for the season-high – on nine hits.
Â
The ball got rolling early as Manning Early emptied the bases on a three-RBI triple as a part of a six-run first inning – before tonight, Troy had scored just nine runs in the opening frame all season. Early finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and the three RBIs to lead the Trojan bats.
Â
Troy added a run in the second and two in the third before exploding for another big inning in the fifth; scratching across five runs in the frame. This time, the base-clearing, three-RBI triple came from the bat of Mason Rogers – the first three-base knock of the senior's career.
Â
Overall, 10 different Trojans drove in a run and three turned in multi-hit games – Early, Matt Sanders and Drew Frederic. Sanders ended an 0-for-19 skid that followed a 22-game hitting streak with a single to lead off the game and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Â
Connor Radcliff (0-1) was handed the loss after allowing three runs on one hit in 0.1 innings of work to start the game. Austin Edens recorded the only hit for Samford – he went 1-for-4 in the matchup.
Â
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"It was good to see our guys relax. It was a huge relief in the dugout to see them do that. I thought we allowed the game to come to us. Early came up big with that three-RBI triple and that was huge for us. It really got us going and we didn't slow down from there."
         Â
Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
With Tuesday's win Troy completed a season sweep of both UAB and Samford for the first time in school history – the Trojans have not swept the Bulldogs since the 2013 season.
Â
Noteworthy
• Samford pitchers pegged Troy batters six times in the game – one hit-by-pitch shy of tying the school record set when Alabama A&M hit seven batters in 2005. The Trojans were granted a season-high 14 free passes in the game – eight walks and six hit batsmen.
Â
• The Trojan pitching staff was on pace for the first team no-hitter in the school's recorded history until a single by Austin Edens led off the eighth inning. Troy still has not seen a no-hitter since Dean Cordova threw two in the 1996 season.
Â
• Matt Sanders added two more runs scored to take his team-leading total to 28 this season – he entered Tuesday tied for 12th in the country.
Â
• Joey Denison drove in his 28th run of 2018 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third – he ranked 15th nationally and second in the Sun Belt in that category coming into the matchup. The senior has now driven in runs in 12 of the last 14 games.
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On Deck
The Trojans will jump back into conference play with a trip to face off with Louisiana this weekend. First pitch from Russo Field in Lafayette is set for 6 p.m. Friday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Thomas, Levi (1-0)
L: Connor Radcliff (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Troy Dixon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Greg Mula 1 ; Connor Burns 1
HBP: Greg Mula 1 ; Anthony Mulrine 1 ; Taylor Garris 1
Batting:
2B: Denison, Joey 1
3B: Rogers, Mason 1 ; Early, Manning 1
RBI: Sanders, Matt 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Rogers, Mason 3 ; Frederic, Drew 2 ; Cofer, Jackson 1 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1 ; Early, Manning 3
SF: Denison, Joey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanders, Matt 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Denison, Joey 3 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Rogers, Mason 1 ; Cofer, Jackson 1 ; Smartt, Chase 2 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1 ; Early, Manning 2
HBP: Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Cofer, Jackson 1 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1 ; Early, Manning 1 ; Tatum, John 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
3b/ss
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
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