Troy Evens Series With Gritty Win Over UCF

Saturday, March 27

Troy, Ala.

3 p.m.

Troy University

12-10

UCF

10-12

UCF

Troy

Troy Evens Series With Gritty Win Over UCF

3/27/2021 6:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Caleb Bartolero's two-RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning proved to be the difference in Troy's win over UCF Saturday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field. Runs were at a premium in the Trojans' 2-1 victory over the Knights, which evened the series at one game apiece.

Drew Frederic was hit by a pitch before Rigsby Mosley singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw to set the Trojans up with runners in scoring position with one out in the fifth. Bartolero sent a chopper down the third-base line to score Frederic while great base running from Mosley plated the second run.

Garrett Gainous (4-1) tossed six strong innings and allowed just one earned run in his sixth start of the season. The freshman fanned five batters in the outing, increasing his season total to 35. Mason Kenney impressed in relief, allowing just one hit in three scoreless frames to earn his second save of the season.

It was a pitcher's duel early as both starters began with three scoreless frames. Troy scattered six hits through three innings, but a pair of double plays by the Knights kept the Trojans off the board.

Gainous retired eight Knights in a row until UCF's Ben McCabe broke the scoreless tie with a two-out solo shot in the fourth inning. Troy took the lead in the fifth on what turned out to be the game-winning hit by Bartolero.

UCF threatened in the eighth inning with two runners aboard and one out, but a timely 4-6-3 double play ended the trouble. The Knights placed the tying run on third with two outs in the ninth, but Mosley tracked down a hard-hit ball to seal the victory for the Trojans.

Jack Sinclair (1-2) was tagged with the loss for UCF after giving up two runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings.

Quotable – Head Coach Mark Smartt
"I'm really proud of our team. That was a really gutty win against a good ball club. We did some great things in the game. The energy level for both teams was a bit low in my opinion, not competition level, probably because of the late night last night. What an effort on the mound today from Garrett Gainous and Mason Kenney today. We made some really good defensive plays when we had to. It was a really good, all-around win today."

Sound Smartt With Your Friends
Troy improves to 6-1 on Saturdays this season with the 2-1 win over the Knights.

Notable

Logan Cerny logged his fifth consecutive, and eighth total, multi-hit game of the year.
Drew Frederic's 14-game hit streak was snapped this afternoon, but the senior extended his career-long reached base streak to 31 games.
Caleb Bartolero recorded the 10^th multi-RBI game of his career.
Kyle Mock and Rigsby Mosley tallied their second and eighth multi-hit games of the season, respectively.
True freshman Garrett Gainous improves to 4-1 on the season while Mason Kenney, a Furman transfer, earned his second save.
Troy improves to 12-10 on the year while UCF falls to 10-12.