Troy Eases Past Florida A&M in First Road Test of Season

Tuesday, February 20

Tallahassee, Fla.

3 p.m.

Troy University

4-1

Florida A&M

2-2

Troy

Florida A&M

Troy Eases Past Florida A&M in First Road Test of Season

2/20/2024 6:51:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Ethan Kavanagh and Kyle Mock belted home runs, and Troy got strong pitching up and down its staff in a 13-2 victory at Florida A&M in seven innings Tuesday afternoon.

The Trojans (4-1) broke open the game with a 6-run third inning thanks to three walks and three hit batters by the Florida A&M (2-2) pitching staff. Brooks Bryan delivered a 2-run double – his third two-bagger of the season – while Aidan Gilroy and Kole Myers had RBI singles in addition to a pair of free bags with the bases loaded with Will Butcher and Shane Lewis at the plate.

Kavanagh, who entered the game with just one home run in his Troy career, went deep over the wall in left field in the fifth and Mock followed with his second of the season in the sixth.

Garrett Gainous (1-0), the 2021 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American, made his first appearance on the mound since May 2022 after missing 2023 with an injury. He struck out one and allowed an unearned run to pick up the victory.

Connor Burt made his Troy debut and struck out five in his two innings of work, Ryan Pettys struck out the side in the sixth, Brady Fuller navigated a pair of innings, yielding just one run on one hit, and Noah Manning closed out the seventh.

Kavanagh, Mock, Gilroy and Myers all had a pair of hits for the Trojans, while Bryan and Kavanagh drove in three runs apiece. Butcher entered the game leading the country in RBIs and added two more to push his season total to 17.

Florida A&M used nine pitchers in the seven-inning game, with Raylan Wagner (0-1) taking the loss after allowing three runs on two hits in 1.1 innings. Troy worked seven walks and was hit by six pitches in the game.

Up Next
Troy returns to Riddle-Pace Field this weekend for a three-game set with Harvard, which is making its 2024 season debut. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3:33 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Notable
• Garrett Gainous took the mound for the first time since May 28, 2022, after missing the 2023 season with an arm injury. He faced five batters, gave up a pair of weak hits, a walk and an unearned run in one inning.

• Kole Myers entered the game second nationally in walks and added to that total with his eighth of the season as he led off the game with a free pass. He would also later score in the game, his 12^th of the season, after entering the week leading the country in the category.

• Brooks Bryan recorded his third double of the season with a 2-run gapper in the third inning; Troy entered the week leading the country with 17 doubles following the opening weekend of play.

• Connor Burt made his Troy debut on the mound, pitching a pair of innings, striking out the side in his first frame on the bump and finishing with five strikeouts and just one hit on his ledger in two innings.

• Troy entered the day ranked 37^th nationally, having been hit by seven pitches so far this season; the Trojans were hit by six pitches on Tuesday.

• Jayden Sloan, Colton Walls and Cooper Smith got their first at-bats as Trojans as they appeared as pinch hitters in the seventh inning. Walls lined a single back up the middle for his first career hit.

• Ethan Kavanagh tied a career-high with three RBIs against the Rattlers; it was his fifth career games with thre RBIs.

• Troy has recorded double-digit hits in four of its five games this season.