Trojans Defeat Louisiana in Series-Opener

Thursday, May 20

Lafayette, La.

6 p.m.

Troy University

27-22, 13-9

Louisiana

28-22, 11-11

Troy

Louisiana

Photo by: Brad Kemp

5/20/2021 11:18:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

LAFAYETTE, LA. – Troy earned its ninth Sun Belt win in its last 10 tries as it inched past Louisiana in the series-opener Thursday night at Russo Park. Garrett Gainous secured his league-best ninth win of the season as the Trojans downed the Ragin' Cajuns, 6-5.

Gainous (9-4) didn't allow an earned run and limited the Cajuns to just four hits in his six innings of work. The Cairo, Ga., native's nine wins are the most by a freshman starting pitcher in the country this season

Max Newton and Marquez Oates were each solid in their roles out of the bullpen. Oates retired all five batters he saw to record his eighth save of the season, the second-most in the conference.

Caleb Bartolero paced Troy's (27-22, 13-9 SBC) offensive effort with a 3-for-4 outing that included two doubles and two RBIs. Drew Frederic posted his 20^th multi-hit game of the season with two hits on the night, a ground rule double and a home run.

Troy struck first with four runs on two hits in the opening frame to grab an early lead. Frederic led off with a ground rule double and Bartolero singled as part of an inning that also included a hit-by-pitch, two walks and Louisiana error.

The Trojans added two more runs in the fourth inning on Frederic's homer, his 10th of the season, and a Bartolero RBI double. Louisiana (28-22, 11-11 SBC) answered in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of unearned runs that stemmed from a Troy fielding error.

The Ragin' Cajuns added another unearned run in the sixth and pulled within 6-5 on a two-run homer in the eighth, but Oates slammed the door shut to preserve the win.

Spencer Arrighetti (7-5) wore the loss for the Cajuns after giving up six runs, four earned, in 4.0 innings.

Quotable – Head coach Mark Smartt
"It was a great Thursday night win, I'm really proud of our team. We got off to a great start in the game, scored early and put the pressure on them. It's hard to win here and it's hard to beat a good team on the road. I'm proud of the team for battling through all the things they had to deal with and for maintaining their composure when the game got tight. We did a lot of good things to get the win."

Sound Smartt With Your Friends
Garrett Gainous' nine wins are the most by a freshman starting pitcher in the country this season.

Notable

With a lead off ground rule double, Drew Frederic tied the school record for career doubles with 56.
Rigsby Mosley hit the 55^th double of his career, moving into a tie for second place on Troy's all-time doubles list.
Frederic homered for the 10^th time this season and the 29^th time of his career, to move into a tie with Joel Smith (1990-91) for eighth on Troy's all-time home runs list.
Marquez Oates' eight saves are the second-most in the Sun Belt this season.
The win marked Troy's first victory over the Cajuns in Lafayette since 2018. The Trojans are now 21-34 all-time against Louisiana.
Troy has won nine of its last 10 conference games to move into sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt East and is a game back from South Alabama for first. The Trojans need to sweep the Cajuns and have South Alabama get swept by App State to take the top spot.