Troy holds off Alabama State for 5-4 Victory

Tuesday, March 29

Montgomery, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

17-7

Alabama State

12-13

Troy

Alabama State

Troy holds off Alabama State for 5-4 Victory

3/29/2022 9:54:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Trojans won their 12^th straight game over Alabama State Tuesday night, after a 5-4 victory from Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. The Trojans have now swept the season series from the Hornets and have a 12-3 record when playing Alabama State in the Alabama capital.

Clay Stearns and Seth Johnson each finished with two runs batted in, with Kyle Mock adding a sacrifice fly to bring in a run to give the Trojans (17-7, 4-2) their second straight victory and second victory in a week over Alabama State (12-13, 4-2)

It was another solid outing on the mound for Troy starter Rigsby Mosley who went two innings, allowing no runs on three hits while striking out three.

Troy struck early in the second inning off the bat of Stearns after sending a ball 420 feet to the train tracks in left field for a two-run home run to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead.

Back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the second didn't hurt Mosley as he produced a 4-6-3 double play and a strikeout to get out of the frame without giving up a run.

Mock continued to swing it well, making his second consecutive start, driving in the third Trojan run of the ball game with a sacrifice fly.

The Hornets responded in the third to cut the deficit to 3-2 after stringing together a single and a double-off relief pitcher Noah Janney.

Janney responded by striking out the next three batters to maintain the Trojan's one-run advantage.

A wild pitch from Janney allowed the tying run to score in the bottom of the fourth for Alabama State, but another strikeout quickly shut down the rally.

The deadlock wouldn't last long as Johnson nearly hit the Trojan's second home run of the night but came up just short after banging a ball off the wall for a double off Hornet reliever Luis Rodriguez (1-2), driving in William Sullivan and Jesse Hall to give Troy a 5-3 lead.

Following Janney and Troy with the lead, Ryan Pettys (2-0) came into the game and kept the Hornet batters off-balance, finishing with five strikeouts, two walks, and a hit in two innings of work to earn the win.

Alabama State threatened to tie the ball game again in the bottom of the seventh after getting two runners on first and third and nobody out. However, head coach Skylar Meade made a call to the bullpen and called in Marquez Oates to get out of the jam.

Oates was up to the task as he struck out the side stranding the runners at second and third to keep the Trojan's lead at 5-3, heading into the eighth inning.

A run would be added in the eighth inning to make it a 5-4 ball game, and the Hornets looked to tie it in the ninth, getting a runner all the way to third, but Oates got a ground ball to end the game and pick up his sixth save of the season.