Troy Earns Three Seed; Falls in Finale

Saturday, May 19

Troy, Ala.

6:00 PM

Troy University

38-18, 19-11

South Alabama

30-23, 18-11

South Alabama

Troy

5/19/2018 10:46:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Jace Sanders

TROY, Alabama – Troy and South Alabama battled back and forth into the 10^th inning before the Jags pulled away with an 8-5 win to close the 2018 regular season at Riddle-Pace Field Saturday night.

The Jaguars (30-23, 18-11) struck for three runs in the top of the 10^th to salvage the series finale after dropping the first two of the set. Wells Davis delivered the big blow on a two-RBI single – he was one of two USA players with multiple hits and he finished with three RBIs in the game.

On Senior Day and in front of a record 3,649 fans, the Trojans (38-18, 19-11) held the lead until the eighth inning when the Jags rallied for four runs. Troy responded with a two-run shot off the bat of senior Joey Denison – his third, two-run homer in the eighth inning this week.

Troy got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second on a Rigsby Mosley RBI single and later scored on a groundout. The freshman Mosley finished 3-for-5 for his ninth three-hit game of the season. Rounding out the multi-hit performances for the Trojans was senior Brody Binder who finished 3-for-5, as well.

Senior Daren Osby made the most of his last outing on the mound at home, going five innings and allowing just one run on five hits with three strikeouts. Lance Johnson (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season after giving up three unearned runs in the 10^th.

Chase Lambert (1-0) slammed the door on the Trojans with two hitless, scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory.

Due to Georgia State's win over Georgia Southern earlier in the day, Troy clinched the third overall seed in the Sun Belt Championships next week in Lafayette, La. The Trojans – who boast the second-best conference and overall records in the league – will face sixth-seeded Texas State at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
A lot of credit goes to those guys. We had a lead with our best guy on the mound and they found a way to come back. It showed what kind of team we have to come back and tie it up after that. I'm really proud of our team, we never give up. That's what postseason baseball is all about; you have to recover and bounce back and that's what we did tonight.

Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
Finishing his final three games in Troy in style, senior and Troy-native Joey Denison hit three home runs in his final four games in his hometown – all of which were two-run shots in the eighth inning.

Notable
• With yet another three-hit game, freshman Rigsby Mosley now has more three-hit performances this season than two-hits – nine and eight, respectively.

• After finishing with the second-best record in the league this season, Troy has finished third or better in the conference in nine of 13 seasons as a member of the Sun Belt.

• The school's all-time triple king Brandon Lockridge added another to his record total with 13^th three-bagger of his career. He is now tied for second on the single-season list with six and is one shy of tying Chad Watson for the lead.

• One of the most decorated players in Trojan baseball history was honored prior to this afternoon's game. Matt Sanders ranks second all-time in career hits, runs and at-bats while ranking third in triples and in games played.

• Troy closed the season at with a 23-8 record on its home turf – 317-146 since Mark Smartt joined the Trojan coaching staff in 2003. All-time, the Trojans are 891-354-1 in the confines of Riddle-Pace Field.