Unearned Runs Doom Troy in Loss to Georgia

Sunday, June 3

Athens, Ga.

11 a.m.

Troy University

42-20

Georgia

39-19

Georgia Bulldogs

Troy

Unearned Runs Doom Troy in Loss to Georgia

6/3/2018 2:42:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Adam Prendergast

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia scored four unearned runs as the Bulldogs rallied past Troy, 11-7, in the winner's bracket of the Athens Regional on Sunday afternoon at Foley Field.

The game was originally scheduled to be played Saturday evening, but due to the NCAA curfew the game was moved to Sunday. Troy must now return at 6 p.m. (ET) to play a rested Duke squad in an elimination game. The Trojans defeated the Blue Devils, 6-0, in the Regional opener on Friday.

Troy (42-20), who was the home team in the game, took a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on Brandon Lockridge's second home run of the game. He entered the day with just two homers on the season and became the first Trojan to hit multiple homers in a game this season.

However, Georgia (39-19) responded with back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth to pull within one, 6-5, before scoring three unearned runs in the seventh inning after a two-out error by the Trojans kept the inning alive.

Troy pulled back within one, 8-7, with a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh, but Georgia answered with two more in the eighth – one unearned – and one in the ninth to ice the game.

The Bulldogs hit four home runs in the game led by Michael Curry's two in a 3-for-5, 4-RBI afternoon. Lockridge finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored for the Trojans, while Drew Frederic and Joey Denison added a pair of hits; Frederic homered in a four-run Troy third inning.

CJ Carter (8-6) was saddled with the hard-luck loss for Troy after allowing five runs – one earned – in two innings of work. Freshman Levi Thomas struck out seven over 5.2 innings but fell victim to the small ballpark as he allowed all four Georgia homers.

Zac Kristofak (4-2) earned the win out of the Georgia bullpen allowing two runs on three hits in three innings after starter Kevin Smith was ineffective over 3.2 innings of work. Ryan Webb tossed 2.1 scoreless innings for his fourth save.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Mark Smartt
"I'm disappointed in the way we played. We didn't play very well, and to beat a team like Georgia on their home field you have to play your best game, and we didn't do that. We didn't pitch well enough or field well enough down the stretch. This team is always going to fight, and we did that, you just have to execute at this stage of the season, and we didn't do that."

Sound "Smartt with Your Friends"
• Brandon Lockridge hit his third home run of the season to put Troy on the board in the second inning. Lockridge added his second homer of the game in the fifth inning for Troy's first multi-homer game of the season. After hitting just one home run in Troy's first 54 games of the season Lockridge now has three in the last eight games.

Notable
• Joey Denison extended his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games with a two-out single in the first inning. Denison finished the game 2-for-3 for his second multi-hit game of the Regional and 32^nd of the season.

• Brandon Lockridge finished 3-for-4 for his 21^st multi-hit game of the season and sixth three-hit game of the year, he has 63 and 14 in his career, respectively.

• Matt Sanders extended his hitting streak to a season-high 16 games with a one-out single in the bottom of the third inning; his fourth hit of the NCAA Athens Regional. He is now just eight hits shy of tying Adam Bryant for the Troy career record of 276.

• Drew Frederic blasted his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to tie the game at 3-all in the third inning. It was his first home run since April 29 against UT Arlington.

• Levi Thomas tied a career and season high with his seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work; it marked the fourth time this season he struck out seven batters in a game.