Troy Drops One-Run Contest at Alabama

Tuesday, April 24

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:00 PM

Troy University

28-13

Alabama

23-20

Troy

Alabama

4/24/2018 9:38:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

TUSCALOOSA – Alabama jumped out with four runs in the first inning and that was all it need to down Troy, 4-3, Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The Trojans (28-13) rallied late but fell short for just the second time in midweek action this season – Troy is 8-2 overall in those games.

The four-run first was sparked by a three-run homer from Troy-native Chandler Avant off Sadler Goodwin (3-3) – Avant led all batters with a 2-for-4 night at the plate.

After the rocky first, the Trojan bullpen – featuring Max Newton, Jackson Cofer, Levi Thomas and CJ Carter – took over and gave up just three hits on top of eight combined strikeouts in the final seven innings to give Troy a late chance.

That late chance came in the top of the eighth, when Troy scratched across two runs with just one hit – a Drew Frederic single – to close the deficit to just one run. Brandon Lockridge picked up an RBI in the frame to finish 1-for-2 with a run scored and a run driven in.

On a full-staff night for the Tide (23-20), starter Brock Love (2-0) earned the win with a perfect first with two strikeouts in the frame.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"Really proud of the guys out of the bullpen – they held the score at four and gave us a chance to win the game. We showed courage like we always do. It was their night; baseball is a game where sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Give them credit, they made more plays than we did."

Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
Troy's eight-game midweek winning streak came to an end Tuesday – the longest of the sorts since 2013. The Trojans' only other loss came in the first midweek of the season at Auburn.

Noteworthy
• Senior Joey Denison's career-long 16-game hitting streak saw its end in the game. Drew Frederic – who leads the team with a 24-game reached base streak – now has the longest hitting streak on the squad, as well, with a hit in six in a row.

• Troy dropped to just 4-12 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Meanwhile the two clubs have split all meetings in Troy or at a neutral site 7-7.

• The Trojan pitching staff – who led the conference with a 3.78 ERA coming in – struck out 10 batters in the game. It marked the 11^th time this season and just the third time in a loss.

On Deck
Troy will turn its focus back to conference play as it plays host to UT Arlington in a three-game series at Riddle-Pace Field starting Friday at 6 p.m.