Troy University Athletics
Troy University
30-14, 13-8
UT Arlington
21-23, 11-10
Troy Falls to UTA in Series Finale
4/29/2018 2:34:00 PM | Baseball
The Mavericks (21-23, 11-10) hit five home runs in the game but were not in control of the game until the big eighth at the plate. Heading into that frame, the Trojans had just tied the game at seven before UTA strung together seven hits and a costly error to pull away.
In the seventh, Troy (30-14, 13-8) loaded the bases on three consecutive free passes to begin the inning. Then, back-to-back doubles from Drew Frederic – who cleared the bases – and Joey Denison knotted the game up.
Frederic drove in a career-high five runs with a homer and a double in the game and was one of four Trojans to record multiple hits – Matt Sanders, Brody Binder and Denison were the other three. Earlier, Binder led off the second inning by launching his second round-tripper of the season over the tents in left.
The normally lights-out pitching staff from Troy was hit hard today, allowing 13 of the Mavs' 16 runs. Sadler Goodwin (3-4) wore the loss after giving up five runs – four earned – on four hits in 1.1 innings of relief.
All nine of the Mav starters contributed to the hit total in the finale, led by three-hit days from Will Olson, Noah Vaughan and Omar Salinas. Vaughan blasted two homers and recorded four RBIs, while Olson homered once and brought home three.
UTA's Jordon West (2-1) picked up an easy win despite giving up six runs on five hits in 2.1 innings around the strong, late-inning offensive performance.
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"I'm certainly pleased that we were able to win the series. Not very happy about today, but I am glad that we got this must-win series. I told our team, we still have work to do down the stretch. The teams that play in June are the teams that get better throughout the year, so we have to continue to improve and take advantage of what we've done to this point."
Noteworthy
• Sophomore Drew Frederic reached a career-high Sunday with five runs driven in on a double and his fifth home run of the season – tying him with Rigsby Mosley for the team lead. Frederic's previous high was four, which he did against Tennessee Tech and Georgia State.
• Brody Binder hit his first over-the-fence home run of the season in a three-RBI game – his other homer this season was an inside-the-parker in the season-opening series against UT Martin.
• Troy pitching allowed new season highs with 16 runs and 19 hits from the Mavs. The staff, which led the conference in ERA entering the series, gave up 13 runs at Jacksonville State and allowed 15 hits against Tennessee Tech.
On Deck
Troy will close the brief home stand with a visit from long-time rival Jacksonville State Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Miracle League Night at Riddle-Pace Field.
On Monday night, Troy's three Miracle League teams will play their weekly games alongside the Trojans at Riddle-Pace Field; admission is free for all fans to attend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: West, Jordon (2-1)
L: Goodwin, Sadler (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Olson, Will 1
HR: Minjarez, Josh 1 ; Olson, Will 1 ; Vaughan, Noah 2 ; Funk, Aaron 1
RBI: Cook, Zac 1 ; Minjarez, Josh 1 ; Olson, Will 3 ; Hollie, Christian 1 ; Vaughan, Noah 4 ; Salinas, Omar 1 ; Nunez, Jakob 1 ; Funk, Aaron 2 ; Johnson, Easton 1
SH: Johnson, Easton 1
SF: Hollie, Christian 1 ; Nunez, Jakob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cook, Zac 1 ; Minjarez, Josh 2 ; Olson, Will 2 ; Hollie, Christian 2 ; Vaughan, Noah 3 ; Salinas, Omar 2 ; Nunez, Jakob 1 ; Funk, Aaron 2 ; Johnson, Easton 1
HBP: Nunez, Jakob 1
Batting:
2B: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Denison, Joey 1
HR: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Binder, Brody 1
RBI: Frederic, Drew 5 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Binder, Brody 3 ; Smartt, Chase 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanders, Matt 2 ; Frederic, Drew 3 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Binder, Brody 1 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Early, Manning 1
SB: Sanders, Matt 2 ; Frederic, Drew 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1
HBP: Early, Manning 1
