Troy University Athletics
Troy Shakes Alabama State All Night Long
3/27/2018 9:39:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Alabama – Troy exploded for 19 hits and held Alabama State to just three as the Trojans rocked their in-state foe, 14-1, on 80's Night Tuesday at Riddle-Pace Field.
Troy (17-8) has won five straight midweek games and has outscored opponents 32-4 in the last three – 4-1, 14-2 and 14-1. The Trojans' 19 hits were a season-high and tied for the most in the last four seasons.
Senior first baseman Brody Binder led a charge of seven Troy batters with multiple hit games on a 4-for-5 night – tied a career-high set on April 12, 2016, against Jacksonville State. Meanwhile, Chase Smartt turned in a three-hit performance for the second time in the last three games.
Joining Binder and Smartt with multi-hit games were Drew Frederic, Joey Denison, Brandon Lockridge, Rigsby Mosley and Manning Early.
Sadler Goodwin (2-2) earned the win after allowing just one run on three hits in four innings of work. He was followed by lights-out performances from Zack Lightsey, Levi Thomas and Lance Johnson – who combined for five innings of hitless, shutout work.
As a team, Troy – the Sun Belt's team ERA leader – has posted a 2.01 earned run average over the last 13 games.
The Hornets (12-11) scratched across a run in the top of the third but failed to pick up another hit for the remainder of the game as they dropped their fifth straight to the Trojans. Freshman Channing Walker (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in just 1.1 innings of work.
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"We took control early. Zack Lightsey was excellent, probably the best he's ever thrown. We haven't had a 19-hit game all year long; I was proud of the way our offense performed. We're not hitting many homers but we're taking good approaches and having good at-bats."
Senior first baseman Brody Binder
"It's good to get a multi-hit game under my belt. Getting experience and seeing more pitches allows me to be more comfortable at the plate and it felt good to get four hits tonight. If we pick up runs on the offensive side of the ball, we know our pitching is going to carry us the rest of the way."
Noteworthy
• Joey Denison drove in two on a one-out single in the second inning to take his season RBI total to 33. Denison ranked 17th nationally in RBIs entering Tuesday's matchup.
• Junior Brandon Lockridge put one in the gap in the sixth inning for his 10th career triple – just one shy of Troy's all-time record held by Adam Bryant.
• Brody Binder tied a career-high with four hits tonight. The senior went 4-for-7 in Troy's 16-inning loss against Jacksonville State on April 12, 2016.
• Troy recorded 19 hits in the game, setting a new season-high and tying for the most in the last four seasons. The Trojans racked up 24 hits against Florida A&M in 2013.
• Shortstop Matt Sanders scored three more times Tuesday night and now has 36 runs scored in 2018 – was ranked sixth in the country before tonight.
On Deck
Troy will host Georgia State in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch for the series opener is set for 6 p.m.
Troy (17-8) has won five straight midweek games and has outscored opponents 32-4 in the last three – 4-1, 14-2 and 14-1. The Trojans' 19 hits were a season-high and tied for the most in the last four seasons.
Senior first baseman Brody Binder led a charge of seven Troy batters with multiple hit games on a 4-for-5 night – tied a career-high set on April 12, 2016, against Jacksonville State. Meanwhile, Chase Smartt turned in a three-hit performance for the second time in the last three games.
Joining Binder and Smartt with multi-hit games were Drew Frederic, Joey Denison, Brandon Lockridge, Rigsby Mosley and Manning Early.
Sadler Goodwin (2-2) earned the win after allowing just one run on three hits in four innings of work. He was followed by lights-out performances from Zack Lightsey, Levi Thomas and Lance Johnson – who combined for five innings of hitless, shutout work.
As a team, Troy – the Sun Belt's team ERA leader – has posted a 2.01 earned run average over the last 13 games.
The Hornets (12-11) scratched across a run in the top of the third but failed to pick up another hit for the remainder of the game as they dropped their fifth straight to the Trojans. Freshman Channing Walker (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in just 1.1 innings of work.
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"We took control early. Zack Lightsey was excellent, probably the best he's ever thrown. We haven't had a 19-hit game all year long; I was proud of the way our offense performed. We're not hitting many homers but we're taking good approaches and having good at-bats."
Senior first baseman Brody Binder
"It's good to get a multi-hit game under my belt. Getting experience and seeing more pitches allows me to be more comfortable at the plate and it felt good to get four hits tonight. If we pick up runs on the offensive side of the ball, we know our pitching is going to carry us the rest of the way."
Noteworthy
• Joey Denison drove in two on a one-out single in the second inning to take his season RBI total to 33. Denison ranked 17th nationally in RBIs entering Tuesday's matchup.
• Junior Brandon Lockridge put one in the gap in the sixth inning for his 10th career triple – just one shy of Troy's all-time record held by Adam Bryant.
• Brody Binder tied a career-high with four hits tonight. The senior went 4-for-7 in Troy's 16-inning loss against Jacksonville State on April 12, 2016.
• Troy recorded 19 hits in the game, setting a new season-high and tying for the most in the last four seasons. The Trojans racked up 24 hits against Florida A&M in 2013.
• Shortstop Matt Sanders scored three more times Tuesday night and now has 36 runs scored in 2018 – was ranked sixth in the country before tonight.
On Deck
Troy will host Georgia State in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch for the series opener is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Goodwin, Sadler (2-2)
L: Walker, Channing (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Hernandez, Ray 1
SF: Hernandez, Ray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DeGuzman, Chris 1

Batting:
2B: Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Smartt, Chase 1
3B: Lockridge, Brandon 1
RBI: Frederic, Drew 2 ; Denison, Joey 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Prestegard, Cole 3 ; Cofer, Jackson 2 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Binder, Brody 1 ; Early, Manning 2
SF: Prestegard, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanders, Matt 3 ; Frederic, Drew 3 ; Denison, Joey 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 2 ; Cofer, Jackson 1 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Early, Manning 2
SB: Sanders, Matt 1 ; Early, Manning 1
HBP: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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