Troy University Athletics
Thursday, March 28
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Troy University
17-10, 3-4
4
at
14
Southern Miss
17-9, 5-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Troy
0
0
1
0
0
3
0
4
6
3
Southern Miss
4
1
4
0
1
0
4
14
20
2
Troy Baseball Falls to Southern Miss in Game One
3/28/2024 10:20:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After falling behind early, Troy baseball was unable to put together a comeback and was run-ruled by Southern Miss,14-4, in game one of the series on Thursday night at Pete Taylor Park.
Troy (17-10, 3-4 SBC) went down in order in the top of the first, and Southern Miss (17-9, 5-2 SBC) got off to a hot start with the bats, scoring four runs on six hits in the bottom half of the inning to jump out to a lead they would hold the remainder of the night.
The Golden Eagles scored one run in the second before Troy got on the scoreboard thanks to a sac fly by Will Butcher in the top of the third for his 39th RBI of the season to make it 5-1. Entering Thursday his 38 RBIs led the Sun Belt and was 10th nationally.
The Golden Eagles responded in the bottom of the third with four runs in the to take a 9-1 lead and force Troy starter Luke Lyon out of the game. Hit pitched 2.1 innings and gave up nine runs – eight earned – on 11 hits.
Michael Osmond entered the game following Lyon's departure and put together a good outing. He went 3.2 innings, allowed four runs – three earned – and struck out six.
Aidan Gilroy's three-run double in the sixth inning gave Troy some life and cut the deficit to 10-4.
Southern Miss answered back an inning later, as Matthew Russo walked it off in the bottom of the seventh on a double down the right field line. Southern Miss's 14 runs scored are the most the Trojans have allowed in a game this season.
Lyon (3-1) was credited with his first loss of the season. Niko Mazza (5-1) picked up the win. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed three runs – one earned – on five hits.
Quotable – Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Sometimes you'd rather have a team pound you than have your hearts ripped out. All credit goes to Southern Miss. They came out ready to go, and we didn't execute whatsoever. We have to have good starting pitching, and we didn't have that tonight. Luke's been really good all year, and we thought the break would have him dialed in and calibrated to go. It didn't work that way, and that's just the nature of baseball. Southern Miss just pounded it around."
Up Next
The two teams are back in action for game two on Friday night. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. Garrett Gainous (1-1, 3.97) is projected to start for Troy, while Southern Miss projects Billy Oldham (3-0, 2.62) to take the mound.
Notables
• Kyle Mock went 2-2 on Thursday, extending his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Luke Lyon picked up his first loss of the season on Thursday night. Going into the game, he was 3-0.
• Troy pitchers did not record a single walk on Thursday, the first time that's happened since Feb. 24, 2023, against Stony Brook.
• Will Butcher added his 39th RBI of the season. Going into Thursday, he was leading the Sun Belt with 38 RBIs, which also ranked 10th in the country.
• Troy moves to 13-23 all-time against Southern Miss.
Troy (17-10, 3-4 SBC) went down in order in the top of the first, and Southern Miss (17-9, 5-2 SBC) got off to a hot start with the bats, scoring four runs on six hits in the bottom half of the inning to jump out to a lead they would hold the remainder of the night.
The Golden Eagles scored one run in the second before Troy got on the scoreboard thanks to a sac fly by Will Butcher in the top of the third for his 39th RBI of the season to make it 5-1. Entering Thursday his 38 RBIs led the Sun Belt and was 10th nationally.
The Golden Eagles responded in the bottom of the third with four runs in the to take a 9-1 lead and force Troy starter Luke Lyon out of the game. Hit pitched 2.1 innings and gave up nine runs – eight earned – on 11 hits.
Michael Osmond entered the game following Lyon's departure and put together a good outing. He went 3.2 innings, allowed four runs – three earned – and struck out six.
Aidan Gilroy's three-run double in the sixth inning gave Troy some life and cut the deficit to 10-4.
Southern Miss answered back an inning later, as Matthew Russo walked it off in the bottom of the seventh on a double down the right field line. Southern Miss's 14 runs scored are the most the Trojans have allowed in a game this season.
Lyon (3-1) was credited with his first loss of the season. Niko Mazza (5-1) picked up the win. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed three runs – one earned – on five hits.
Quotable – Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Sometimes you'd rather have a team pound you than have your hearts ripped out. All credit goes to Southern Miss. They came out ready to go, and we didn't execute whatsoever. We have to have good starting pitching, and we didn't have that tonight. Luke's been really good all year, and we thought the break would have him dialed in and calibrated to go. It didn't work that way, and that's just the nature of baseball. Southern Miss just pounded it around."
Up Next
The two teams are back in action for game two on Friday night. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. Garrett Gainous (1-1, 3.97) is projected to start for Troy, while Southern Miss projects Billy Oldham (3-0, 2.62) to take the mound.
Notables
• Kyle Mock went 2-2 on Thursday, extending his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Luke Lyon picked up his first loss of the season on Thursday night. Going into the game, he was 3-0.
• Troy pitchers did not record a single walk on Thursday, the first time that's happened since Feb. 24, 2023, against Stony Brook.
• Will Butcher added his 39th RBI of the season. Going into Thursday, he was leading the Sun Belt with 38 RBIs, which also ranked 10th in the country.
• Troy moves to 13-23 all-time against Southern Miss.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mazza, Niko (5-1)
L: Lyon, Luke (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Gilroy, Aidan 1
RBI: Butcher, Will 1 ; Gilroy, Aidan 3
SF: Butcher, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cobb Jr., Tremayne 1 ; Mock, Kyle 1 ; Sutton, Blake 1 ; Bello, Mike 1
HBP: Sutton, Blake 1
Batting:
2B: Wilks, Slade 1 ; Butler, Billy 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Monistere, Nick 1 ; Odom, Lawson 1
RBI: McIntyre, Dalton 1 ; Pratt, Ozzie 2 ; Wilks, Slade 3 ; Butler, Billy 1 ; Russo, Matthew 1 ; Monistere, Nick 3 ; Broadus, Gabe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McIntyre, Dalton 4 ; Wilks, Slade 2 ; Butler, Billy 1 ; Paetow, Carson 1 ; Gillespie, Davis 1 ; Odom, Lawson 1 ; Collins, Eli 1 ; Broadus, Gabe 3
SB: Pratt, Ozzie 1
HBP: Butler, Billy 1 ; Odom, Lawson 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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LHP
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