Troy Powers Past Harvard to Clinch Series

Saturday, February 24

Troy, Ala.

3:33 p.m.

Troy University

6-1

Harvard

0-2

Harvard

Troy

2/24/2024 7:21:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy hit three home runs and did all its damage in two innings, as the Trojans knocked off Harvard, 14-3, in seven innings on Saturday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field to clinch the series heading into Sunday's finale.

Troy (6-1), which won its fourth run-rule game of the season, got production from up and down its lineup as six players recorded hits and eight scored runs, paced by two-hit games from Will Butcher, Tremayne Cobb Jr., and Mikey Bello.

All three of Troy's home runs came in an 8-run second inning as Brooks Bryan went 401 feet over the wall in center field for a 3-run shot, Bello followed with a 2-run shot to right-center, and Butcher capped the frame with a 3-run homer to right, pushing his RBI total to 20 on the year (most in the country).

Logan Ross (2-0) was efficient on the mound for the Trojans, working five innings of five-hit baseball, allowing an unearned run while striking out one and not walking a batter. The same can't be said for his counterpart Tanner Smith (0-1), who allowed seven runs – six earned – on three hits in 1.1 innings; he walked four and did not strike out a batter.

Trojan pitchers have limited the Crimson to just 11 hits over the first two games of the series, holding Harvard to a .204 batting average and .637 OPS – Troy has issued just three walks in the series.

Harvard (0-2) took an early lead on an infield single by William Lybrook and added two more in the sixth on a double by Ben Rounds and a sac fly from Jake Berger.

Bello and Kole Myers led off the sixth with back-to-back singles, and Bello came around to score on the second wild pitch of the frame by Brian Dowling. Ethan Kavanagh delivered an RBI single before Cobb drew a bases loaded walk and Bryan was hit by a pitch to bring home a run.

Kyle Mock gave the Trojans a 10-run advantage with a sharp grounder to first to bring home a run, and freshman Peyton Watts plated the first run of his career with a sac fly to left.

Troy goes for the series sweep Sunday at noon, with Clete Hartzog (1-0, 0.00) on the bump for the Trojans.

Quotable – Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Brooks' swing opened up the floodgates a little bit early, and then Bello had the one. I love the double-steal with Kole and Kavanagh when they brought in the leftie. We had a great approach tonight, took what they gave us and grinded. I didn't think Ross was sharp with his repertoire, but on a day like this, when the wind was blowing out at 30 MPH, you need a guy to get the ball on the ground, and he did that, and we handled the baseball really well behind him."

Notable

• Troy has played four straight games without committing an error … the Trojans didn't go more than two straight games without an error last season. It marks the first time since the first four games of the 2022 season that Troy has played four straight games without making an error. Troy has not gone five straight games without an error since April 2014.

• Kole Myers extended his hitting streak to 16 games and his on-base streak to 25 games after recording a hit and a walk in the game.

• Troy scored 14 runs on just nine hits; it was the fourth time this season (in seven games) that Troy's run total has eclipsed its hit tally.

• Troy has hit multiple home runs in five straight games, including three home runs in three of those contests. The Trojans opened the 2023 season with multiple home runs in the first seven games of the season.

• Troy pitchers have allowed two or fewer extra-base hits in five straight games; in contrast, Troy hitters have collected three or more extra-base hits in all seven games and have four or more in five games.

• Kole Myers scored twice and drew a walk; he entered the game sixth nationally (one behind the leaders) with eight walks and led the country with 12 runs scored. This weekend, he has scored four runs and drawn three walks.

• Troy drew eight walks in the game after entering the weekend ranked 14^th nationally with 36 walks on the season (7.2 per game). The Trojans have drawn 19 walks in the series.

• Mikey Bello and Brooks Bryan became the eighth and ninth different Trojans to hit a home run this season. Troy has hit 15 home runs as a team, paced by five from Kole Myers and two from Will Butcher and Kyle Mock.

• Troy has scored 6-plus runs in an inning four times this season after doing so twice on Saturday.

• The seven-inning victory was Troy's fourth run-shortened win of the season … Troy has four wins in seven innings, one in 10 and just one in nine innings.

• Troy improved to 23-7 in the middle games of series under head coach Skylar Meade.

• Ethan Kavanagh extended his reached base streak to 19 games after drawing a pair of walks and notching a base hit.