Crane’s Complete Game Lifts Troy Over Louisiana

Friday, March 23

Lafayette, La.

6:00 PM

Troy University

15-7, 2-2

Louisiana

9-12, 1-3

Troy

Louisiana

Crane’s Complete Game Lifts Troy Over Louisiana

3/23/2018 9:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

LAFAYETTE – Andrew Crane allowed just five hits and went the distance to lead Troy past the Ragin' Cajuns, 6-2, in the Sun Belt series opener Friday night at Russo Park.

Crane (3-2) gave up a run on a single in the second and another on a solo shot in the fourth, but retired the final 13 batters to record Troy's (15-7, 2-2) first complete game since Lucas Brown against the Cajuns in 2016. The senior struck out five and allowed two runs on five hits in his nine innings of work.

On the offensive side, Cole Prestegard drove in half of the Trojans' runs in a 2-for-4 game. Matt Sanders finished 4-for-4 to tie a career-high and came around to score three times.

Joey Denison drove in two runs to eclipse the 30-RBI mark in just 22 games this season – he entered the series ranked 15^th nationally in the category. He has driven in at least a run in 13 of the last 15 games for Troy.

Louisiana (9-12, 1-3) tied the game on a Kennon Fontenot homer in the fourth but failed to string anything together after that. Nick Lee (1-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs – three earned – on four hits in 4.1 innings on the mound.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"Crane was terrific. He threw maybe three bad pitches all night, he only allowed one base runner after the fourth inning. It was good to give him some run support thanks to Cole (Prestegard) driving in three. I'm just proud of our team for coming out and getting this win on Friday night in this environment."

Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
With the win, Troy was victorious on Friday night in Lafayette for the first time in school history. Overall, the Trojans had just one weekend-opening win over the Cajuns before tonight – Troy won 7-1 at Riddle-Pace Field in 2011.

Noteworthy
• Cole Prestegard drove in three runs for his fifth multi-RBI game this season and was just one shy of his career-high set in the second game of the season against UT Martin.

• Senior Matt Sanders finished 4-for-4 to tie a career-high for hits in a game. He scored three runs to move his season total to 31 – he entered ranked 12^th nationally.

• Speedster Brandon Lockridge swiped his 12^th base of the season (12-for-12 on attempts) – he leads the team and came into the weekend at 17^th in the country.

• Even more impressive than his 30 RBIs this season, Joey Denison has driven in at least one run in 13 of the last 15 games – 23 RBIs over that span.

On Deck
The Trojans will go for the series win over the Cajuns in game two at 2 p.m. tomorrow. RHP Daren Osby (2-0, 3.30) is scheduled to start on the mound for Troy.