Troy in Winners’ Bracket After Opening-Round Victory

Wednesday, May 23

Lafayette, La.

4:00 PM

Troy University

39-18

Texas State

28-27-1

Texas State

Troy

Troy in Winners’ Bracket After Opening-Round Victory

5/23/2018 9:50:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – Troy won its first Sun Belt Tournament game in four years with a 5-1 victory over Texas State at Russo Park Wednesday night.

The Trojans (39-18) had lost seven straight and nine of their last 10 tournament games prior to the win – it was the first postseason win in the Mark Smartt era.

Freshman Levi Thomas got the opening-round start for Troy and allowed just one run around seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. CJ Carter (8-4) took over with the bases loaded in the sixth and did not allow a hit in the final 3.1 innings of the game to earn the win – he fanned four batters over that stretch.

After Texas State (28-27-1) struck for its lone run in the second inning, the Trojans weren't able to respond until in the bottom of the fifth – when Drew Frederic laced a double off the left field wall to score Matt Sanders from first.

Troy then took its first lead of the game on a Cole Prestegard solo home run to the opposite field in the bottom of the seventh. It was Prestegard's fifth of the season and his first since March 13 against UAB.

A three-run eighth drove the nail into the coffin and all but secured the win – it started when Sun Belt Player of the Year Joey Denison singled up the middle with one out. Denison and Sanders both finished with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.

Two batters and stolen base later, Freshman of the Year Rigsby Mosley drove in Denison on a single. To cap it all, Sadler Goodwin drove a pinch-hit, two-RBI triple into the gap to add yet another three-bagger to Troy's record-breaking total.

Bobcat starter Nicholas Fraze held the Trojans in check for the first six innings of the ball game – allowing just one run on five hits around six strikeouts. However, reliever Brayden Theriot (1-4) wasn't so lucky as he allowed four runs on four hits to suffer the loss in the matchup.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"First of all, I'm very proud of the win. You have to start 1-0 to have a chance to get deep in the tournament. I thought our kids, especially Levi (Thomas) was terrific early in the game. Their starter held us in check, our offense took a while to get going. Cole Prestegard had the big homer to wake us up in the seventh inning and we tacked on those three more in the eighth."

Freshman Levi Thomas
"It was a whirlwind of emotions. Normally, you would see Crane in this role but I was thrilled to get to start and it was an honor to have the opportunity. I definitely think it was the most fun I have had pitching all season."

Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
Troy won its first Sun Belt Tournament game since May 21, 2014, when the Trojans defeated Arkansas State, 4-3. Since then, Troy had been outscored 77-35 in the following seven tournament games.

Notable
• Conference Player of the Year Joey Denison extended his hitting streak to 14 games on the season with a 2-for-4 afternoon at the plate. It was his 29^th multi-hit game of the year.

• Senior shortstop Matt Sanders added another run to take his single-season record to 79 runs this year. His 179 career runs are second on the school record list and rank eighth among all active Division I players.

• Troy has won its opening game of the tournament in eight of the 13 seasons it has been in the Sun Belt. However, the Trojans have won the tournament just once – in their inaugural season in the league in 2006.

On Deck
The Trojans will face the winner of the Louisiana vs. Little Rock game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Senior righty Andrew Crane (6-4, 2.98) will start the game on the mound for Troy.