Trojans Earn Series Victory; Beat UCF 5-4

Sunday, March 12

Orlando, Fla.

12 p.m.

Troy University

13-3

UCF

10-5

Troy

UCF

3/12/2023 4:29:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

ORLANDO, Fla. – Trojans made sure to take advantage of five UCF errors, including three in the top of the seventh, to come from behind and hold off the Knights 5-4 Sunday afternoon to take two out of three games and win the series.

This is the second consecutive series the Trojans (13-3) have taken from UCF (10-5).

Down 4-3 in the top of the seventh and with two outs, Kole Myers scorched a double to the center field gap bringing in Hudson Hartsfield, who had reached base due to a fielding and throwing error.

With Myers on second, Ethan Kavanagh hit a ground ball deep in the hole at short, and a bad throw had taken the first baseman off the bag; Myers never stopped running; the tag had beaten him home, but the catcher could not hang on to the ball and Myers was called safe scoring what would become the winning run.

The Knights had the bases loaded on three different occasions and scored a total of one run coming in the first. Trojan pitching stifled the UCF batters all afternoon. With one out in the ninth and two men on, the Trojans turned a double play to end the threat and the game.

Trojan starter Grayson Stewart went five innings striking out a season-high eight batters while giving up three earned runs on six hits.

Logan Ross (1-0) came on in relief and earned the win, pitching in two innings of no-run baseball striking out two, and giving up three hits. In the seventh, with one out, the Knights loaded the bases but failed to score as Ross got a strikeout and a fielder's choice to keep it a one-run ball game.

Noah Manning earned his fourth save of the year after coming in to pitch the eighth and came back out for the ninth, allowing two hits and striking out two in his two innings of work.

Offensively for Troy, William Sullivan and Shane Lewis hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth to tie the game at four. Both Sullivan and Lewis have reached base safely in 16 straight games. Kavanagh Finished the day with two hits and an RBI, and Myers scored two runs while knocking in one.

Najer Victor (1-1) picks up the loss after coming in for UCF starter Cameron Leiter who went four innings and struck out seven with three walks but gave up three runs.

After the Trojans put up 10 runs in the first in yesterday's game, UCF looked for a big inning of their own. The Knights had loaded the bases with nobody out after an error. A sacrifice fly brought in the first run, but Stewart got out of the jam with two strikeouts.

The home run continued to plague the Trojans as the Knights added a second run after a John Rhys Plumlee home run for his second of the series. It was the first time this season that Stewart had given up an extra-base hit.

All weekend long, Kavanagh was swinging a hot bat, and that continued Sunday as his second hit of the afternoon brought in the Trojans' first run with an RBI single, scoring Myers, who had walked and stole second prior.

The Trojans brought out the home run ball themselves, with Sullivan and Lewis going back-to-back in the top of the fourth. Sullivan took a first-pitch fastball for a ride off the scoreboard to tie the game, and Lewis followed to give Troy the first lead of the afternoon.

The lead didn't last long as a wild pitch, and an error by the Trojans allowed two runs to score quickly, giving the lead back to UCF. The Trojans showed no quit, just as they have done all year, and battled back to overcome the mistake and win the 13th game of the season.

The Trojans will return to Troy on Tuesday, March 14, for a mid-week matchup with Columbia out of the Ivy League. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Riddle-Pace Field.