Troy's Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short Against Samford

Tuesday, March 9

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

7-6

Samford

7-5

Samford

Troy

Troy's Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short Against Samford

3/9/2021 10:06:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy's comeback effort fell short Tuesday evening in an intense midweek contest at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans placed the winning run on first base with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't seal the deal as they dropped a heartbreaker to the Bulldogs, 6-5.

Samford took a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth on a sac-fly and a wild pitch. Logan Cerny led off in the bottom of the inning with a double that hit off the top of the scoreboard before a hard-hit ball by Kyle Mock ricocheted off of the shortstop to cut the deficit to 6-5.

Rigsby Mosley singled to left to place the tying run on second and the winning run aboard with just one out, but Bulldog pitcher Chase Isbell struck out the next two Trojans to seal the victory for Samford.

Cerny and Mosley got back on track after struggling on the weekend road trip. Cerny posted a 3-for-4 night at the plate with a home run and double along with two runs scored. Mosley struck out twice to begin the night, but finished with three consecutive singles to go 3-for-5 at the plate.

Samford (7-5) struck first after Kaden Dreier hit a double off the very top of the left-field wall and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. A sac-fly from Ayrton Schafer brought Dreier home before Ryan Crockett's solo home run gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Cerny tied the game in the bottom half of the second after crushing a 398-foot, two-run homer to left field. The next inning, Clay Stearns and Drew Frederic each singled before Easton Kirk brought them home with a single to left, giving the Trojans a 4-2 lead.

The Bulldogs tied the game after Garrett Howe ripped a two-out, bases-clearing triple down the right-field line with two outs in the fifth inning.

Lance Johnson entered the game in relief of DJ Wilkinson in the seventh, becoming the third Trojan pitcher in program history to make at least 100 appearances on the mound. The Bulldogs loaded the bases, but Johnson kept a run off the board by forcing a ground ball to get out of the inning.

Kyle Mock pinch hit in the seventh inning and reached on a walk before Mosley's second hit of the evening placed runners on second and third with one out. The Trojans, couldn't capitalize on the opportunity though as both runners were left stranded.

Mason Kenney (0-1) wore the loss on the mound for Troy (7-6) after surrendering two runs in the ninth. Wilkinson tossed 6.0 innings and struck out five while Johnson pitched two frames and fanned three batters.

Carson Cupo (3-0) was the winning pitcher for Samford after pitching 1.2 innings while Isbell earned his third save of the year after striking out three in the ninth.

Quotable – Head coach Mark Smartt
"We didn't execute late to win and [Samford] did. We missed opportunities in the seventh inning and again in the ninth. It was a really hard-fought game, I'm proud of our team's competition level. I thought we fought back in the ninth inning off a really good pitcher. We did some good things, we're just not doing enough to win games. Our team is getting better, we just have to find a way to get over that hump. The only way to do it is to keep working, keep competing and eventually we're going to find that next play to win that baseball game."

Sound Smartt With Your Friends

Lance Johnson made his 100^th career appearance, becoming the third pitcher in program history to appear at least 100 times on the mound. His 100 appearances are the third-most I among active Division I players.

Notable

Logan Cerny recorded his 17^th career multi-RBI game and fourth of the season. He now has a team-high four home runs on the year.
Drew Frederic has reached base in all 13 games this season and has a 22-game reached base streak dating back to last season. Frederic extended his hitting streak to six games.
With a 3-for-5 night at the plate, Rigsby Mosley tallied his fourth multi-hit game of the season and the 57^th of his career.

Up Next
Troy continues its homestand with a three-game series against Tulane at Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch in the series-opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m.