Baseball Rallies to Walk-Off Kent State

Wednesday, February 28

Troy, Ala.

4 p.m.

Troy University

9-1

Kent State

1-7

Kent State

Troy

2/28/2024 9:05:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Ethan Kavanagh drove a two-out single back up the middle to cap a four-run ninth inning – all with two outs – as Troy rallied from a 6-run deficit to defeat Kent State, 12-11, Wednesday and sweep the two-game mid-week series at Riddle-Pace Field.

Kent State led 10-4 after six innings of play, but Troy (9-1), which won for the seventh straight time, scored two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to set up the dramatics in the ninth.

The first two batters of the Troy ninth struck out before Kyle Mock singled and Shane Lewis doubled, forcing Kent State to go to the bullpen for Jordan Kolenda (0-1), who walked Aidan Gilroy on five pitches to load the bases.

Blake Sutton drove the first pitch he saw to the gap in right-center for a 2-run double, and Kole Myers was hit with the very next pitch to reload the bases. Kavanagh fell behind in the count 1-2 before lacing his third hit of the game past a diving Michael McNamara at short to plate the tying and game-winning runs.

Kavanagh and Brooks Bryan hit solo home runs in the bottom of the seventh to start the Troy comeback, while Sutton had an RBI double and Kavanagh an RBI single in the eighth. The homer was the second of the season for Kavanagh, who hit one all of last year, and the third for Bryan.

Connor Burt and Dylan King (1-0) kept the Trojans in position for the walk-off with 3.1 strong innings out of the back of the bullpen, combining to strikeout seven with just one run and one hit allowed. Troy's staff struck out 18 in the game but issued eight free passes; a season-high.

Kavanagh finished 3-for-6 with a career-best four RBIs to lead the Trojans, while Sutton's four hits were a career-best and Gilroy's three hits (two of which were doubles) tied a career-best mark.

Troy, which entered the game fourth in the country in doubles, finished one off its season-high, with six two-baggers in the game to go along with a Kole Myers triple and the two home runs; the nine extra-base hits were a season-best. All six of Troy's doubles came from the 7-8-9 hitters in the lineup.

Kent State (1-7), which won 42 games a season ago, built its lead on the strength of a 5-run second inning. Tim Orr hit a pair of home runs for the Golden Flashes, while Dom Kibler hit a pair of hits and four RBIs.

Troy hits the road for its longest stretch of the season away from home as the Trojans play their next 12 games away from Riddle-Pace Field, beginning with a three-game series at Northwestern State this weekend.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Those who stayed until the end certainly had a fun ending to a heck of a ballgame. It certainly wasn't a masterpiece at times with some of the things that happened, but when you're connected as a team, great moments can happen, such as this. Really proud of the guys staying together amidst a weird game."

Notable
• Ethan Kavanagh's walk-off single was Troy's third walk-off victory of the season. The Trojans defeated SIU-Edwardsville on a Tremayne Cobb Jr. single in the season opener and won the series opener against Harvard on a walk-off wild pitch.

• Troy's come-from-behind victory was its third of the season and the largest of the year. The Trojans rallied from a 4-run deficit against SIUE in the sixth inning and a 2-run deficit against Harvard in the third inning.

• Kole Myers extended his on-base streak to 28 games and Ethan Kavanagh's streak reached 22 games as both had productive nights at the plate.

• Troy pitchers saw their streak of two or fewer extra-base hits allowed at seven straight games.

• Troy hitters have collected three or more extra-base hits in 9-of-10 games and have four or more in seven games.

• Troy saw its streak of six straight games without an error snapped in the first inning on a throwing error on a Kent State stolen base attempt.

• Troy was hit by two pitches in the game, the seventh time this season that the Trojans have been hit by multiple pitches.

• Troy's 18 strikeouts were its most since March 7, 2023, when the Trojans struck out Florida Gulf Coast hitters 18 times in a 10-5 loss.

• Troy recorded a season-high 31 total bases in the game; the previous high was 29 in its 24-13 victory over SIU-Edwardsville in game two of the season.