Troy University Athletics
Troy University
ULM
Baseball Opens Sun Belt Play With 7-1 Victory Over ULM
3/15/2024 10:30:00 PM | Baseball
MONROE, La. – Luke Lyon kept ULM silent through the first six innings while the Troy offense, led by four RBIs from Brooks Bryan, slowly tacked on runs to seize a 7-1 victory Friday night at the Lou St. Amant Field.
Lyon remained undefeated as a Trojan, pushing his record to 3-0 and boosting the Trojans to 13-6, 1-0 SBC with a Sun Belt Conference series-opening victory, while the Warhawks drop to 11-7, 0-1 SBC. Friday night's win marks the third victory to open SBC play in the last decade for the Trojans and the second in head coach Skylar Meade's tenure.
Both sides stayed silent through the first before Kyle Mock tacked Troy's first run at the top of the second to center field after a Tremayne Cobb Jr. double, 1-0. Aidan Gilroy followed suit, 2-0, with another single to center, pushing Mock home with his seventh RBI.
The fifth inning saw Bryan begin his stellar night on a single to left field to earn his first of four RBIs via Kole Myers, 3-0, who earned an eight-pitch walk three batters earlier.
ULM was knocking at the door in the bottom of the fifth when Bryce Blaser and Shawn Weatherbee singled, followed by a walk for Matt Abshire. With one out, Hasani Johnson hit straight to Gilroy, who stepped on third before completing the double-play at first to end the inning.
The Warhawks eventually found their way onto the board, 3-1, in the bottom of the seventh after a single for Blaser and a fielder's choice for Kade Dupont allowed Abshire to hit a 3-2 single and score one. Lyon finished the inning two pitches later, keeping the two-run advantage with a flyout before turning the mound over to Michael Osmond.
Innings eight and nine saw Troy finish off the Warhawks when it responded to ULM's run with back-to-back doubles from Will Butcher and Bryan to etch out the lead, 4-1. Immediately after, Cobb drilled a 1-1 offering to left center, 5-1.
The ninth saw Bryan put the finishing touches on his 4-for-5, four RBI game. With two outs on the board, Myers earned a walk before Ethan Kavanagh singled to the mound. A throwing error by ULM and a 4-0 walk by Butcher set up No. 17 at the plate, and he delivered straight up the middle to secure the 7-1 win.
ULM went through four pitchers in nine innings, with Daniel Gonzalez (1-1) taking his first loss of the season. Those four gave up 12 hits, four walks and seven earned runs.
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"A great Friday night game played in less than two and a half hours, so there is some warm food for the road team. It was just a really good job by us defensively. Luke Lyon did a fantastic job, and Michael Osmond came in to button it up at the end. The additional runs we got at the end proved pivotal and was reminiscent of the Indiana game last Saturday. The guys did excellent things across the board, and it doesn't hurt to have some big bats from key guys. Luke has something when he's on the mound, and the guys play at their highest level when he's out there. He was tremendous. This is the best time of the year because it's so heightened, and you get to go to all these different places. We set a good tone tonight and need to come prepared tomorrow.
Up Next
Tomorrow's doubleheader kicks off at noon as the Trojans look to sweep the Warhawks for the third straight series.
Monroe Numbers
• Lyon pitched seven innings, limiting ULM to one run through 86 pitches while striking out two batters for a 0.62 ERA.
• The victory over ULM extends Troy's win streak to eight and its eighth on the road against the Warhawks.
• Friday's victory marks just the third game the Trojans failed to hit a homer but improved their record to 2-1 when they don't.
• The Trojans continue to finish games, improving their record when leading after the sixth to 10-0.
• Bryan's four RBIs push his season totals 27 and his four hits marked the first 4-plus hit game in his career.
