Denison’s Clutch Single Lifts Troy Over No. 17 Coastal Carolina

Friday, April 13

Troy, Ala.

6:00 PM

Troy University

23-10, 8-5

#17 Coastal Carolina

24-12, 10-3

Coastal Carolina

Troy

Denison’s Clutch Single Lifts Troy Over No. 17 Coastal Carolina

4/13/2018 10:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

TROY, Alabama – With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Joey Denison ripped a two-RBI single to push Troy past No. 17 Coastal Carolina, 4-2, Friday night in front of a rowdy crowd at Riddle-Pace Field.

Despite being hit the pitch before, the senior was held in the batter's box for allegedly not attempting to move out of the way and made the most of his opportunity – the two RBIs were Denison's 42^nd and 43^rd of the season.

The Trojans (23-10, 8-5) answered with the game-winning runs just a frame after the 17^th-ranked Chanticleers (24-12, 10-3) knotted the game with two runs of their own.

Troy scored one in the bottom of the first on a Brandon Lockridge RBI double, but the two talented squads were locked in a pitchers' battle for the following six innings. Coastal's Jason Bilous allowed just two runs – one earned – on three hits in five innings and Troy's Andrew Crane worked 5.2 scoreless frames with four strikeouts and four hits.

Sidewinder CJ Carter (4-3) took over for Crane and fanned five batters around two runs on two hits in the final 3.1 innings to earn the win.

Coastal Carolina's only two runs came on one swing of the bat, when Matt Beaird laced a two-strike, two-out, two-RBI double in the top of the eighth inning. Davie Inman (0-2) took the loss for the Chants, giving up two runs on three hits in three innings.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"It was a great game. Credit both teams because the competition level was excellent. They found a way to tie it, then we answered with the winning runs right after that. As a baseball fan, that was a great game to watch."

Sound "Smartt" with your Friends
Friday's win was Troy's fifth victory over a ranked team in the Mark Smartt era – three of those wins were against Sun Belt Conference opponents.

Noteworthy
• Brandon Lockridge drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double in the first inning. It was 10^th double and 19^th RBI of the season.

• Redshirt freshman Rigsby Mosley's seventh-inning triple was Troy's 15^th of the 2018 season – tying for the third-most triples in a single season in school history.

• The two game-winning RBIs from Joey Denison were his 42^nd and 43^rd this year. Entering the weekend, the senior was ranked sixth nationally and was tied for the conference-lead in the category.

On Deck
The Trojans and Chanticleers will meet for parts two and three Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Righties Daren Osby and Rush Hixon will answer the bell for Troy in the twin bill, respectively.