Troy Downs No. 22 Auburn with Late-Inning Push

Tuesday, May 15

Troy, Ala.

6:00 PM

Troy University

36-17

Auburn

35-18

Auburn

Troy

Troy Downs No. 22 Auburn with Late-Inning Push

5/15/2018 11:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

TROY, Alabama – Troy rattled off eight runs in its final three at-bats to down No. 22 Auburn, 9-5, and to close out the 2018 non-conference slate in front of 3,189 strong at Riddle-Pace Field Tuesday night.

The Trojans (36-17) struck for four in the sixth, two in the seventh and two more in the eighth in front of the third-largest crowd in stadium history.

Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Troy began to claw back into the game with a run on an RBI groundout from Brody Binder. With the bases empty and two outs, Chase Smartt ripped a double off the wall in right and was followed by consecutive walks to load the bases – Smartt finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.

Drew Frederic stepped to the plate next and delivered the hit that flipped the game in the Trojans' favor, lashing a bases-clearing double to the right center gap to put his team up a run headed to the seventh.

No. 22 Auburn (35-18) responded with a run in the top of the seventh, sandwiched between a 33-minute rain delay and a 57-minute lightning delay. Jay Estes had the best day offensively for the Tigers, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Coach Mark Smartt called on CJ Carter (7-4) after the lightning delay to come into a bases-loaded jam in a tie game. Carter forced a pop up and pitched the remainder of the game – 2.1 perfect innings with three strikeouts.

Troy broke the tie when Cole Prestegard made the most of a pinch-hitting opportunity by driving in two runs on a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh. The final blow came on a Joey Denison two-run homer in the eighth, which effectively sealed the victory for the club.

Calvin Coker (3-2) was handed his second loss of the season after allowing two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of relief.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
I'm really proud of the win. We withstood that wild seventh inning; CJ came in after that long rain delay to get us out of that jam. How about Prestegard? Cole pinch hit and drove that double in the gap to put us up in the bottom of that seventh. This win was important for a few reasons but the biggest is that we're on a four-game winning streak headed into our last weekend of the season and hopefully we can carry that momentum with us."

Sound "Smartt" with your Friends
3,189 fans packed Riddle-Pace Field making Tuesday's game the third-highest attended game in the history of the 87-year old stadium. It was just the third 3000+ fan game ever and the most of any game not against Alabama.

Notable
• With two runs scored in the game, Matt Sanders became Troy's single-season run champion with 76 in 2018. Sanders broke a 12-year old record, set by Tom King in 2006.

• Joey Denison extended his hitting streak to double digits with a two-run homer in the eighth – just his fourth round-tripper despite driving in 66 runs this season.

• Redshirt freshman Rigsby Mosley continued his tear at the plate with yet another three-hit performance – he finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He now has 15 hits in the last seven games with 11 RBIs in that span.

• Troy completed its midweek slate with an impressive 10-3 record – the best since going 11-1 in the 2006 season.

• The game was delayed for exactly 1:30 – a 33-minute rain delay ended and two batters later, a 57-minute lightning delay began.

On Deck
Troy will close out the regular season with a visit from rival South Alabama Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field; all three games are set for 6 p.m.