Troy Baseball Splits Doubleheader to Clinch No. 3 Seed for SBC Tournament, Celebrates Senior Day

Saturday, May 18

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

35-20, 17-12

James Madison

32-20, 17-12

James Madison

Troy

Troy Baseball Splits Doubleheader to Clinch No. 3 Seed for SBC Tournament, Celebrates Senior Day

5/18/2024 11:40:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – After inclement weather postponed Friday night's game, Troy and James Madison played a doubleheader on Saturday with each team picking up a win to close out the regular season at Riddle-Pace Field. A victory in game three of the series clinched the No. 3 seed for Troy in back-to-back seasons.

Prior to the start of the games on Saturday, the Trojans (36-20, 18-12 SBC) held a special graduation ceremony for the 18 seniors on the team (Ethan Kavanagh, Tremayne Cobb Jr., Lance Gardiner, Kole Myers, Kyle Mock, Aidan Gilroy, Logan Ross, Ryan Pettys, Ben Arnett, Jayden Sloan, Will Butcher, Blake Sutton, Michael Osmond, Clete Hartzog, Matt Mercer, Noah Manning, Kristian Asbury, Beau Fletcher).

Game 1 – JMU 9, Troy 4
The Dukes (32-21, 17-13 SBC) came out swinging top up the first game of the doubleheader as Jason Schiavone launched a two-run home run to center field to give James Madison a quick 2-0 lead. It was his 17th home run of the season. After being held scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, the Trojans got a run back in the bottom of the second as Cobb Jr. scored on a throwing error by James Madison after Mikey Bello hit a grounder to second base.

The third inning saw James Madison add to their lead with another pair of runs. Schiavone scored on a sac fly by Coleman Calabrese and Mason Dunaway had an RBI single to left field to make it 4-1 Dukes.

James Madison extended the lead with a run in the fifth and sixth innings. The Trojans started to itch back into the game after Gilroy knocked in Mock with his 13th double of the season. Peyton Watts knocked Gilroy in with a groundout to shortstop to make it 6-3.

After cutting into the deficit, JMU extended the lead back to five in the top of the seventh inning with two runs coming on a double and a bases-loaded walk. The Dukes made it 9-3 after an RBI single by Mike Mancini.

The Trojans weren't going to go down without a fight, though, as Mock cut into the JMU lead with a single that scored Ethan Kavanaugh for his 45th RBI this season. Unfortunately, Troy couldn't find any more runs and fell 9-4.

Luke Lyon (8-3) was credited with the loss after giving up four runs in three innings. T.R. Williams (3-1) was credited with the win for JMU.

Game 2 – Troy 11, JMU 3
Both teams came out firing from the mound as JMU's Donovan Burke and Troy's Fletcher each faced the minimum through three innings. The Dukes opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning as Mancini hit a three-run home run off Fletcher to make it 3-0, Dukes.

Myers hit his 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth to get Troy on the board and cut the deficit to two. The home run was a sign of things to come for Troy, who finished the night with three home runs.

After holding JMU scoreless in the fifth, the Trojan bats went back to work, and Watts smacked a two-run homer over the tall right field fence to put even things up at 3-3. Watts finished the regular season with five home runs and recorded three RBIs in the doubleheader.

The Trojans added a third run in the fifth after Shane Lewis – who pitch ran for Myers – scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3 and give Troy its first lead of the day. Lewis' impact on the game was far from over, as he demolished a two-run homer in the seventh inning for his fifth of the season and 32nd of his career. The ball left his bat at 104 miles per hour and went 401 feet over the right-center fence and extended the Troy lead to 6-3.

Troy wasn't done scoring in the seventh, as Cobb Jr. and Mock each knocked in a run with a base hit to make it 8-4. The Trojans' final run of the inning came on a JMU balk with the bases loaded, allowing Brooks Bryan to score. The final two runs of the night came on in the bottom of the eighth, as Cobb Jr. walked with the bases load to score Lewis, and Mock hit a sac-fly to center allowing Kavanagh to score and make it 11-5.

Grayson Stewart (3-2) is the winning pitcher for Troy after going 2.2 innings, no runs, one hit and striking out four. The loss was charged to Burke (5-2), who gave up four earned runs on five hits in 4.2 innings.

Quotable – Skylar Meade
"It was a great ending to make us third in the league for back-to-back years. That's not the overall goal but it's certainly impressive considering the battle that this league is. Just want to give credit to JMU because they prepared well and that's why they got the better hand in the series. When we play our brand of baseball, we are tough to beat. You're trying to manipulate and maneuver so many things, so it was great to get some seniors out there at the end. This group is full of amazing people. The seniors have done amazing statistically, but what is more valuable is what they bring to table as people and workers. Baseball rewards people and it certainly did in game three. These are 18 brothers, and we are fortunate to have them. It's an exciting time and I hope these guys take the positive vibes from tonight and carry it into Montgomery."

Up Next
The Trojans clinched the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament and are set to take on the No. 6 App State Mountaineers at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Notes
• Senior Sloan got the final out of game three for his first appearance since Alabama State on April 30.
• Lewis' 401-foot bomb marked his 32^nd in his Troy career and fifth of the season – first homer since Auburn on March 12.
• Fletcher got his first career start for game three, pitching 3.0 innings with three hits, three runs and a strikeouts through 45 pitches.
• Kavanagh earned three walks in game three for his 23^rd game of 2024 with reaching base on three-plus at-bats.
• Game three saw Lewis, Cobb Jr., Watts and Mock earned multi-RBI games, marking their third, eighth, eight and 13^th game, respectively.