Troy Sweeps Twin Bill at Texas State

Friday, April 5

San Marcos, Texas

3:30 PM

Troy University

15-14, 4-6

Texas State

19-11, 6-4

Troy

Texas State

4/5/2019 11:36:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (Game One)Box Score (Game Two)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

SAN MARCOS – Troy took both legs of a tough Sun Belt Conference doubleheader Friday at Bobcat Ballpark, downing Texas State, 7-3 and 7-6, in the two games to clinch the road series.

The Trojans (16-14, 5-6) pulled out two big wins in two completely different fashions to knock off a tough Bobcat (19-12, 6-5) ball club and win its first conference series away from home in 2019.

Game One: Troy 7, Texas State 3
The Trojans jumped out to a five-run lead after the first three innings and rode that lead to a four-run victory in game one of Friday's doubleheader.

Troy plated two in the first on a sac fly from Cole Prestegard and the first of two Logan Cerny RBI singles in the game – he finished the game 2-for-5 with a couple of RBI after another run-scoring single in the third.

Manning Early kicked off the second inning with a bang, lacing the ball off the scoreboard in right for a solo homer – his second of the season. Early drove in another run in the fourth on an RBI base hit to go 2-for-4 in the game. Rigsby Mosley and Sadler Goodwin both put up crooked numbers in the hit column, as well – both going 2-for-5.

Down five early, Texas State battled back to make things interesting with single runs in the third and the seventh – but really struggled to get anything going off Troy starter Cory Gill (3-1). Gill turned in a quality start on the mound, fanning five batters through seven innings and allowing just two runs on five hits.

Veteran arm Nicholas Fraze (4-3) took a while to settle in and gave up five runs on eight hits through six innings of work to take the loss.

After the Bobcats drew within three, freshman Tanner Jackson gave Troy a couple of big insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-RBI single. The drama wasn't finished, though, as Texas State cut the lead back to four and loaded the bases with just one out in the ninth before Rush Hixon (2) slammed the door on the rally to earn the save.

Game Two: Troy 7, Texas State 6
The Trojans once again shut down a late Bobcat rally to take the second game of the doubleheader and clinch the series. This time, however, Troy was forced to come from behind to pick up the win.

Texas State jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after scoring in the first and second innings. The Trojans got some good fortune in the top of the third, when Dalton Sinquefield hit a high fly ball that was lost in the lights and turned into a two-RBI double.

The Bobcats pulled ahead once again into the bottom of the fifth and had Troy with its backs against the ropes – bases loaded with a two-run lead and one out in the frame. Zack Lightsey (1-0) enticed a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam and completely flip the momentum in the opposite direction – Lightsey picked up the win after 2.1 innings of one-hit, one-run work.

Troy was able to tie things with two runs in the sixth, then took the lead with three in the top of the seventh – with three of those five runs coming in on a pair of Sadler Goodwin doubles. The Trojans then staved off a late push that saw the lead dwindle to just one run, before Rush Hixon (3) secured the win and earned his second save of the day.

Hunter McMahon (4-3) took the loss in the contest – striking out six batters but allowing six runs on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. At the plate, the Bobcats racked up 11 hits but stranded 14 runners on base in the contest.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"I'm really proud of our team. That was tough duty today. We played a tough ball team and our team played really hard. What I was really proud of was that we fought back after being down early. We weren't satisfied after we won the first game and we did enough to win both games."

Sound "Smartt" With Your Friends
Troy has now won seven straight over Texas State, dating back to the 2016 Sun Belt Tournament played in San Marcos. The Trojans have won 12 of the last 14 meetings after dropping the first three of the series.

Notable
• Sadler Goodwin had a huge day at the plate, going 4-for-9 with two doubles, two runs scored and three runs driven in.

• Junior Dalton Sinquefield has now hit safely in all 11 of Troy's Sun Belt Conference games to this point after recording one in game one and two in game two.

• The Trojan pitching staff tied a season-high with 11 walks issued in game two of the series. However, Troy lost the first two games it walked 11 – against Southeastern Louisiana and at Jacksonville state.

Up Next
Troy and Texas State are scheduled to play game three of the set Saturday at 6 p.m. barring any more changes in the weather forecast.