Ethan Kavanagh Two-RBI Single Lifts Troy Over Samford Late

Tuesday, April 16

Birmingham, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

26-12

Samford

24-12

Troy

Samford

Ethan Kavanagh Two-RBI Single Lifts Troy Over Samford Late

4/16/2024 11:10:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Ethan Kavanagh sent a single inches over the shortstop's glove to score the game-winning runs in the top of the ninth, lifting Troy baseball 10-8 over Samford Tuesday night at the Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The game was tied 8-8 after a single by Aaron Walton allowed Josh Rodriguez's double to left center to trim the deficit, 8-7, and Garrett Howe hit the sac fly, bringing in Garrett Staton, who was HBP for the Bulldogs (24-12, 8-1 SOCON).

Troy (26-12, 9-6 SBC) remained poised behind a single by Aidan Gilroy to the pitcher and a Kole Myers single through the right side – Myers stole second to put runners on second and third with two outs. Kavanagh found one he liked down 0-2 in the count and dotted it mere inches over the shortstop's glove at full extension to bring runs nine and 10 in at the top of the ninth, 10-8.

From there, 'The Ringer' Noah Manning (6-0) finished the job to secure Troy's 13^th win on the road, forcing back-to-back groundouts before striking out Walton swinging. Manning finished 1.2 IP, allowing zero earned runs and two strikeouts – hasn't allowed an earned run in 19 of his last 24 appearances.

Myers extended his lead over the Sun Belt Conference in walks and stolen bases, earning his 44^th walk and stealing his 20^th bag to open the game. The walk/steal allowed a Kavanagh single to push runners to first and third, and Brooks Bryan finished by singling through the right side, 1-0. With runners still on first and second, Tremayne Cobb Jr. went to the same spot to score Kavanagh, 2-0. Troy's second walk via Kyle Mock loaded the bases, and an HBP on Gilroy pushed the advantage to four, 4-0.

The bottom of the first and the proceeding two innings were all Samford when Staton led the team off with a single to the shortstop and stole second. Despite two strikeouts for Connor Burt, Andrew Bennett singled through first base to score Staton, 4-1.

In the second, Lucas Steele found his way to third after a walk, balk and steal. Another pair of walks and a wild pitch loaded the bases, and Howe scored three with a triple down the left field line to tie the game, 4-4. With Howe still on third, John Anderson claimed the 5-4 lead as he singled up the middle. Samford's string of runs continued in the third when Angelo Prieto singled up the middle, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, allowing Walton to sac fly in Prieto, 6-4.

Bryan's 12^th homer of 2024 tied the game, 6-6, when Myers reached second on a fielding error by Samford and stole third. It didn't matter where Myers was because Bryan rocketed the ball 373 feet over the right field wall to bring both in.

The sixth and seventh innings saw Troy expand its advantage, 8-6. In the sixth, Myers took one to left center for his second hit, and a foul out pushed him to second. Will Butcher secured his 12^th multi-hit game with a double to left center, bringing Myers around to score, 7-6. The freshman Peyton Watts gave Troy needed insurance, 8-6, in the seventh after Gilroy earned the walk, and Ben Arnett continued his hitting streak with a single to third base. From there, Watts found the gap in right field to score Gilroy and set the stage for the final two innings.

Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Samford has one heck of a ball club. It was a back-and-forth battle throughout, and thankfully, we were tough enough. Kavanagh executed well enough, and 'The Ringer' had excellent pitches in the eighth and ninth to close the game. I think it's undervalued how important it was to see Howe pop up. It might have brought the tying run in, but that guy is dangerous, and we limited him. It allowed us to have that rally late, and the juice was good. We battled travel, traffic and had multiple long road trips. But we did what we needed to do to get the win against a quality team."

Up Next
Troy returns home for a quick turnaround against Jacksonville State at Riddle-Pace Field tomorrow at 6 p.m.

In-State Stats
• Watts extends his career-high hitting streak to six with an RBI single in the seventh inning.
• With Bryan's homer in the fourth, Troy's hit a home run in six straight games for the first time since Feb. 16-25 with eight – totaled 13 from April 6-16.
• Myers extended his lead over the Sun Belt Conference in walks and stolen bases, earning his 44^th walk and stealing his 20^th bag to open the game – finished with three stolen bases (22).
• Manning finished 1.2 IP, allowing zero earned runs and two strikeouts – hasn't allowed an earned run in 19 of his last 24 appearances.
• Arnett went 1-for-4 on the day to go 2-for-2 in his first two starts, reaching base safely and securing a hit.
• Bryan tied Butcher for the most home runs on the Troy roster with his 12^th home run of the season in the fourth – marked his 15^th career homer and fourth 2-RBI home run.