Troy University Athletics
Friday, February 14
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
1-0
18
vs
6
Northern Kentucky
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Northern Kentucky
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
1
6
8
2
Troy
6
0
6
4
0
0
1
1
X
18
17
0
Thomas, Newcomers Propel Troy to Opening Night Win
2/14/2020 11:02:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – Levi Thomas and a hot-hitting lineup propelled Troy to an 18-6 victory over Northern Kentucky on Opening Night at Riddle-Pace Field. Thomas fanned a career-high 14 batters in five innings, including seven straight to begin the game.
Troy's bats were hot from the start as the Trojans pushed six runs across the plate in the bottom of the first. The newcomers shined bright early as Easton Kirk hit a three-RBI double off the wall in right-center field in his first swing as a Trojan. Kyle Mock then hit a two-run, opposite field home run in the first at-bat of his career.
The bats came alive again in the third inning as the Trojans scored six more runs. Freshman William Sullivan cracked a two-RBI double to left field to score Logan Cerny and Kyle Mock. The next at-bat, Reed Smith singled to center to bring Sullivan home. Senior Drew Frederic got in on the action with a double of his own, bringing home the final two runs of the inning.
The Trojans tacked on four more runs in the fourth, aided by a flurry of wild pitches and a Logan Cerny single to score Caleb Bartolero. Mock finished his night 3-4 after he hit a double to right center in the seventh inning, scoring Kirk. A single in the eighth from senior Dalton Sinquefield scored Frederic and put Troy's 18th, and final, run on the board.
Northern Kentucky finally got on the board in the seventh inning with two runs, followed by three in the eighth and one run in the ninth. Bryson Lonsbury was tagged with the loss for the Norse on the mound.
Quotable – Head Coach Mark Smartt
"I'm really proud of a lot of things tonight, we saw a lot of encouraging things. It was a great way to kick off the 2020 season. Levi is special, he was great tonight with 14 strikeouts."
On Easton Kirk
"Kirk can hit, I knew that the day he walked on this campus. His first at-bat in the fall he hit it off the wall just like he did tonight. He's going to be a run producer. His at-bats improve with people on base."
Junior Easton Kirk
"It felt really good to put the barrel on some balls tonight. It's a bunch of brothers in that locker room playing together, trying to make a run and do something special this season."
Sound Smartt With Your Friends
Every Trojan starter recorded an RBI against the Norse. Troy's 18 runs are the most on Opening Night since 2010 (18 vs. Hofstra).
Trojan pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts on the night, the most since Troy combined for a school-record 24 strikeouts against Auburn in 2007.
Notable
Up Next
The Opening Weekend series between the Trojans and the Norse will continue with doubleheader action Saturday, starting at noon. Troy will send newcomer Orlando Ortiz and senior southpaw Max Newton to the mound for the start in each game, respectively.
Troy's bats were hot from the start as the Trojans pushed six runs across the plate in the bottom of the first. The newcomers shined bright early as Easton Kirk hit a three-RBI double off the wall in right-center field in his first swing as a Trojan. Kyle Mock then hit a two-run, opposite field home run in the first at-bat of his career.
The bats came alive again in the third inning as the Trojans scored six more runs. Freshman William Sullivan cracked a two-RBI double to left field to score Logan Cerny and Kyle Mock. The next at-bat, Reed Smith singled to center to bring Sullivan home. Senior Drew Frederic got in on the action with a double of his own, bringing home the final two runs of the inning.
The Trojans tacked on four more runs in the fourth, aided by a flurry of wild pitches and a Logan Cerny single to score Caleb Bartolero. Mock finished his night 3-4 after he hit a double to right center in the seventh inning, scoring Kirk. A single in the eighth from senior Dalton Sinquefield scored Frederic and put Troy's 18th, and final, run on the board.
Northern Kentucky finally got on the board in the seventh inning with two runs, followed by three in the eighth and one run in the ninth. Bryson Lonsbury was tagged with the loss for the Norse on the mound.
Quotable – Head Coach Mark Smartt
"I'm really proud of a lot of things tonight, we saw a lot of encouraging things. It was a great way to kick off the 2020 season. Levi is special, he was great tonight with 14 strikeouts."
On Easton Kirk
"Kirk can hit, I knew that the day he walked on this campus. His first at-bat in the fall he hit it off the wall just like he did tonight. He's going to be a run producer. His at-bats improve with people on base."
Junior Easton Kirk
"It felt really good to put the barrel on some balls tonight. It's a bunch of brothers in that locker room playing together, trying to make a run and do something special this season."
Sound Smartt With Your Friends
Every Trojan starter recorded an RBI against the Norse. Troy's 18 runs are the most on Opening Night since 2010 (18 vs. Hofstra).
Trojan pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts on the night, the most since Troy combined for a school-record 24 strikeouts against Auburn in 2007.
Notable
- Levi Thomas' 14 strikeouts are the most by a Trojan since Austin Crook did the same against Louisiana in 2017. The junior improves to 6-1 at home and 11-2 in his career.
- Thomas opened the night with seven consecutive strikeouts, the most since Shane McCain fanned six straight against Louisiana in 2011.
- Troy is now 4-1 in season openers under Mark Smartt.
- Drew Frederic recorded his first multi-hit game of the season after having 22 last year. He now has 52 in his career.
- Trojan pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts on the night, the most since Troy combined for a school-record 24 strikeouts against Auburn in 2007.
Up Next
The Opening Weekend series between the Trojans and the Norse will continue with doubleheader action Saturday, starting at noon. Troy will send newcomer Orlando Ortiz and senior southpaw Max Newton to the mound for the start in each game, respectively.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Thomas, Levi (1-0)
L: LONSBURY, Bryson (0-1)
Batting:
HR: HAAS, Jackson 1
RBI: HAAS, Jackson 1 ; GICK, Brennan 1 ; WAGNER, Tyler 2 ; HOHMAN, Collin 2
SF: GICK, Brennan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HAAS, Jackson 2 ; MCGEE, John 1 ; FISHER, Noah 1 ; ODOM, John 1 ; GICK, Brennan 1
SB: MCGEE, John 1 ; ODOM, John 1
HBP: ODOM, John 1
Batting:
2B: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Sinquefield, Dalton 1 ; Kirk, Easton 2 ; Bartolero, Caleb 1 ; Mock, Kyle 1 ; Sullivan, William 1
HR: Mock, Kyle 1
RBI: Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Frederic, Drew 2 ; Sinquefield, Dalton 2 ; Kirk, Easton 3 ; Bartolero, Caleb 1 ; Mock, Kyle 3 ; Cerny, Logan 1 ; Sullivan, William 2 ; Smith, Reed 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mosley, Rigsby 2 ; Frederic, Drew 3 ; Sinquefield, Dalton 1 ; Kirk, Easton 3 ; Bartolero, Caleb 2 ; Mock, Kyle 2 ; Cerny, Logan 2 ; Sullivan, William 2 ; Smith, Reed 1
HBP: Mosley, Rigsby 1 ; Sullivan, William 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
6
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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RHP
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OF/IF
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RHP
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