Troy University Athletics
Troy University
20-9
Jacksonville State
16-10
Troy's 10-Run Seventh Seals Wild Win at Jax State
4/4/2018 10:41:00 PM | Baseball
The Trojans (20-9) scored the most runs in an inning in eight seasons in response to a six-run inning by the Gamecocks (16-10) in the frame before.
Nine consecutive batters reached base safely with one out in the seventh before a two-base error and a monster two-run homer from Rigsby Mosley capped off the scoring and effectively sealed the game for Troy. Mosley led the Trojans at the plate with a 3-for-5 game with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Jax State took a 9-4 lead with a six-run bottom of the sixth on five hits and with the benefit of two errors by the normally stingy Trojan defense. Troy had not committed five errors since 2016 and ranked second in the Sun Belt in fielding percentage prior to Wednesday night.
Not going down without a fight, the Gamecocks cut back into the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning when Hayden White blasted a grand slam. White paced all batters offensively, going 4-for-4 with two homers, six RBIs and three runs scored.
Reliever Zack Lightsey (1-0) picked up the second win of his career after working 0.2 innings of one hit work. Levi Thomas followed Lightsey and delivered two big shutdown innings with four strikeouts.
Overall, eight different Trojans drove in at least one run and recorded at least one hit; while nine scored at least one run in the game.
Austin Brewster (2-1) was burdened with the loss after giving up six runs – two earned – on two hits in 1.2 innings on the mound.
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"It was a tough game defensively. We held on and got the win, which is the most important part. Probably the biggest sequence of that whole big seventh inning was Cole Prestegard's at-bat. He scorched one to right for that triple and that turned it around for us. I'd rather learn from a win than a loss, and I know we'll learn from this. Hopefully, the momentum will carry us to Boone this weekend."
Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
In the last three midweek games, Troy has scored 44 runs – an average of 14.7 runs per game – outscoring Samford, Alabama State and Jacksonville State 44-18 over that stretch.
Noteworthy
• Brody Binder ripped a two-RBI single in the first inning to record his 11th hit in his last 18 at-bats dating back to last Tuesday's game against Alabama State. Over that period, he raised his batting average from .222 to .305.
• Freshman Rigsby Mosley launched a two-run homer in Troy's 10-run seventh inning for his third homer of the season – he finished with three hits to record his fourth multi-hit game of his young career.
• Troy scored 10 runs in an inning for the first time since April 24, 2010, at New Orleans – Troy won that Sun Belt conference game 15-0.
• Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Drew Frederic ranked second in the league in stolen bases before swiping three Wednesday. He is the first Trojan to steal three in one game since Josh McDorman in 2013.
• Wednesday's 16-run scoring total was the most by a Troy team since a 16-9 win over Hofstra last season. The previous season-high of 14 had been achieved four different times this year.
On Deck
Troy will continue its road trip with a trek to meet Appalachian State in Sun Belt action. First pitch from Boone, N.C., in Friday's opener is set for 5 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lightsey, Zack (1-0)
L: Austin Brewster (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Smartt, Chase 1
3B: Prestegard, Cole 1
HR: Mosley, Rigsby 1
RBI: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Denison, Joey 2 ; Lockridge, Brandon 2 ; Binder, Brody 2 ; Mosley, Rigsby 3 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Prestegard, Cole 2 ; Early, Manning 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanders, Matt 1 ; Frederic, Drew 3 ; Denison, Joey 3 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1 ; Binder, Brody 2 ; Mosley, Rigsby 3 ; Smartt, Chase 1 ; Prestegard, Cole 1 ; Early, Manning 1
SB: Frederic, Drew 3 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1
HBP: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Binder, Brody 2 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Mercer, Hunter 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor Hawthorne 1 ; Isaac Alexander 1
HR: Hayden White 2
RBI: Nic Gaddis 1 ; Trent Simpson 1 ; Hayden White 6 ; Cole Frederick 1 ; Nolan Greckel 2
SF: Nic Gaddis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clayton Daniel 1 ; Taylor Hawthorne 1 ; Nic Gaddis 1 ; Andrew Naismith 2 ; Isaac Alexander 3 ; Hayden White 3 ; Cole Frederick 1 ; Nolan Greckel 1
CS: Nic Gaddis 1
HBP: Nic Gaddis 1
