Trojans Drop Game One in Pensacola to Michigan State

Friday, March 6

Pensacola, Fla.

6 p.m.

Troy University

8-6

Michigan State

9-4

Michigan State

Troy

Trojans Drop Game One in Pensacola to Michigan State

3/6/2020 10:04:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Troy fell in a tight, one-run contest, 1-0, to Michigan State Friday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, Fla. Levi Thomas had a solid outing after striking out 11 Spartans but suffered his first loss of the season and just the third of his career.

Caleb Bartolero added to his career-long hitting streak of 14 games with a double in the seventh inning. Ryan Fultz and Matt Snell each struck out a batter and didn't allow a hit in their relief appearances.

Michigan State (9-4) scored its lone run in the third inning off a sac fly from Peter Ahn to score Bryce Kelley from third.

Troy (8-6) had opportunities to tie or take the lead late in the game, but left Bartolero stranded on third base in the seventh before leaving the bases loaded in the eighth.

Mason Erla earned the win for the Spartans while Caleb Sleeman got the save.

Quotable – Head Coach Mark Smartt
"I've been around Troy a long time and [Mason] Erla's outing is probably one of the top-five performances I've seen. We're still not executing the little things we need to do to win games against quality opponents. The good thing about baseball is that we have a quick turnaround and get to play tomorrow morning against a Samford team that's hitting the ball really well."

Sound Smartt With Your Friends
Entering the season, Levi Thomas' single-game career high for strikeouts was 11. He has struck out at least 11 batters in three of his four starts this season.

Notable

In 23 innings of work, Levi Thomas has 42 strikeouts compared to just six walks and has allowed just one run this season.
Caleb Bartolero has hit safely in every game this season and extended his career-long hit streak to 14 games.
With a double in the seventh inning, Bartolero now has nine doubles on the year, the most in the country this season.

Up Next
Troy is back in action in its second game of the Cox Diamond Invitational against 11-1 Samford Saturday at 11 a.m. Orlando Ortiz is expected to make the start for the Trojans.