Troy University Athletics
Baseball Concludes Fall Ball Season
11/17/2023 11:10:00 AM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – After an intense three-month battle amongst itself and a pair of JUCO programs, Troy baseball wrapped up its 2023 fall schedule and set its sights on the spring.
"This fall was a very intense three months for our players in a multitude of ways," head coach Skylar Meade said. "With lots of returning successful players, a large amount of new talented players, it was paramount that we learn to blend into a unit as quickly as possible. Fortunately, it seems like our team's comradery and brotherhood has been rounding into shape and will continue to grow over the next three months before we open on Feb. 16 here at RPF."
Scout Day
Tuesday, Sept. 26, marked the beginning of a three-month journey, opening with the pro-styled Scout Day. Each team member got a chance to demonstrate speed, strength, baseball IQ, hitting, fielding and pitching abilities in front of 27 official scouts.
Following the event, Michael Bello led the Trojans with the top velocity on the day, topping off at 108.9 MPH. Shane Lewis, Cooper Smith, Matt Mercer and Ty Denton followed him with 108.8, 108.7, 107.9 and 107.1 MPH. Meanwhile, Dylan King recorded a 96.2 on the mound to top the charts. Meanwhile, Jay Dill (95.1), Brady Fuller (95.1), Clete Hartzog (95.0) and Matt Mercer (93.0) rounded out the top five.
Game Days + Trojan Bowl
The subsequent two events saw Troy invite JUCO program Pensacola State and Northwest Florida for two seven-inning doubleheaders on Oct. 15 and 20, respectively.
The Trojans went undefeated at 4-0 through the battles, experiencing blowout victories and dramatic come-from-behind wins.
On Nov. 9, the Fall Ball festivities peaked with the third annual Trojan Bowl, where the ultimate battle occurred between the Cardinal and White teams. The 11-inning game came down to the wire, with the Cardinal team, led by team captain Garrett Gainous, claiming the victory. Lance Gardiner was awarded the Trojan Bowl Most Valuable Player with two homers.
Through the three events, 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year Lewis led the Trojans in stolen bases and homers with eight and five, respectively. Will Butcher wasn't far behind with four, followed by Kyle Mock, Gardiner and Peyton Watts with three. Watts also managed the third most doubles at five, while Blake Sutton was second with seven. Meanwhile, Parker Sessions (6) and Aidan Gilroy (5) were in second and third for stolen bases behind Lewis.
After posting a 95.0 MPH velocity at the mound during scout day, Hartzog continued his dominance by leading Troy in strikeouts with 27 and sitting third in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 27-5. Dill and King also impressed, striking out 23 and 21 batters, respectively. Noah Manning took advantage of his opportunities, posting the best strikeout-to-walk ratio through the three events at 14-1 – Connor Burt (12-2) finished second and Mercer fourth (15-4).
