Troy University Athletics
Tuesday, May 7
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
34-16
6
vs
7
Alabama
30-18
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Alabama
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Troy
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No. 21 Troy Falls Short in Heartbreaker Against No. 22 Alabama, Single Game Attendance Record at RPF Broken
5/7/2024 10:29:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – A record-breaking crowd of 3,872 in a sold-out Riddle-Pace Field witnessed two top-25 teams battle until the final out on Tuesday night, with No. 22 Alabama ending on top, 7-6, over No. 21 Troy.
Both sides held firm throughout the opening two innings as Logan Ross opened with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to Aidan Gilroy in the first. Troy's (34-16) defense hit its stride in the next inning when Alabama (30-18) grounded into a Gilroy – Peyton Watts – Will Butcher double play and grounded out to Watts.
Gage Miller opened with a 4-1 walk, and Justin Lebron got HBP before Will Hodo brought the scoreless trend to an end, 1-0, in the third with a single and fielding error by the Trojans. A change at the mound didn't faze the Crimson Tide as Kade Snell hit a 1-1 single to second to score, 2-0. Two pitches later, TJ McCants put one in play to Gilroy for the fielder's choice – scored Hodo, 3-0.
A solo shot, down 0-2 in the count for William Hamiter, pushed the advantage to four, 4-0, in the fourth before Bryce Eblin doubled to right center and Ian Petrutz grounded out to Watts, but scored No. 13, 5-0. However, back-to-back walks for Ethan Kavanagh and Butcher and a wild pitch put runners on second and third for Troy. Tremayne Cobb Jr. tallied Troy's first run, 5-1, on a 3-2 shot to the shortstop – scored Kavanagh.
The rally began in the fifth when Gilroy, Ben Arnett and Kole Myers earned walks to load the bases with Kavanagh up to bat. Down 0-2 in the count, Kavanagh sent a 2-RBI single to left center to score Watts and Gilroy, 5-3. Butcher followed suit with a 1-2 RBI ground-rule double to center field to trim the deficit to one, 5-4, allowing the 33rd sac fly for Troy – ranks seventh nationally – by Brooks Bryan to tie the game, 5-5, and tie him for the most RBIs in a single season (81) at Troy.
Hamiter continued his night for Alabama with his second solo shot to right field on his first pitch to retake the 6-5 lead in the sixth. The Tide pushed the margin to two, 7-5, in the top of the eighth after Hamiter earned the full count walk – a sac bunt and single by Miller pushed him to third. A walk for Lebron loaded the bases, and after battling with Brady Fuller to a full count, he earned a walk to score Hamiter.
Mikey Bello seized his moment in back-to-back at-bats in his last two appearances after Troy found itself with two outs on the board early in the bottom of the eighth. However, Gilroy took his first pitch down the first base line for a double before No. 31 shined with an RBI single to the gap in right-center to push Troy's deficit to one, 7-6.
Bello's RBI turned the tide towards Troy as Michael Osmond put down three straight with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to Arnett to bring the top of the order up in the bottom of the ninth. Kavanagh cooked his third hit of the game with a 0-0 single through the left side, and Parker Sessions entered as the pinch runner. With the count at 2-2, Butcher drilled the pitch out deep to center field, but it didn't have enough, and in his attempt to advance early, Sessions got caught coming back to first to end the ballgame, 7-6.
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Heck of a game and a heck of a crowd. That's multiple times that we've been so close to beating Bama. The baseball Gods don't reward you when you play the way we did in the first half. We just weren't attacking the strike zone and weren't disciplined enough to be rewarded. Alabama is an incredibly great team and when healthy, they are some of the best. They earned it. They were rewarded. We're going to make every game a fight. This isn't an anomaly. If you've watched 50 Troy baseball games, you know that's what we do."
Up Next
Troy hits the road to reenter its Sun Belt Conference schedule at Bobcat Stadium for a three-game series against Texas State, starting on Friday.
Ranked Numbers
• Troy extended its lead over the Sun Belt Conference in sac flies with its 33rd in the fifth off Bryan – ranked seventh in the nation.
• Myers earned a walk (57) in tonight's showing to become one shy of the second most in a single season (58).
• Troy broke its single-game attendance record set on May 5, 2018, against South Alabama (3,649) with a crowd of 3,872.
• Despite the loss, Troy remains above .500 against ranked opponents in 2024, sitting at 5-4.
• Bryan tied the single-season RBI record at Troy (81) with his sac fly in the fifth inning.
• Kavanagh had the perfect day, going 3-for-3 with a team-high two RBIs – also earned an HBP.
Both sides held firm throughout the opening two innings as Logan Ross opened with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to Aidan Gilroy in the first. Troy's (34-16) defense hit its stride in the next inning when Alabama (30-18) grounded into a Gilroy – Peyton Watts – Will Butcher double play and grounded out to Watts.
Gage Miller opened with a 4-1 walk, and Justin Lebron got HBP before Will Hodo brought the scoreless trend to an end, 1-0, in the third with a single and fielding error by the Trojans. A change at the mound didn't faze the Crimson Tide as Kade Snell hit a 1-1 single to second to score, 2-0. Two pitches later, TJ McCants put one in play to Gilroy for the fielder's choice – scored Hodo, 3-0.
A solo shot, down 0-2 in the count for William Hamiter, pushed the advantage to four, 4-0, in the fourth before Bryce Eblin doubled to right center and Ian Petrutz grounded out to Watts, but scored No. 13, 5-0. However, back-to-back walks for Ethan Kavanagh and Butcher and a wild pitch put runners on second and third for Troy. Tremayne Cobb Jr. tallied Troy's first run, 5-1, on a 3-2 shot to the shortstop – scored Kavanagh.
The rally began in the fifth when Gilroy, Ben Arnett and Kole Myers earned walks to load the bases with Kavanagh up to bat. Down 0-2 in the count, Kavanagh sent a 2-RBI single to left center to score Watts and Gilroy, 5-3. Butcher followed suit with a 1-2 RBI ground-rule double to center field to trim the deficit to one, 5-4, allowing the 33rd sac fly for Troy – ranks seventh nationally – by Brooks Bryan to tie the game, 5-5, and tie him for the most RBIs in a single season (81) at Troy.
Hamiter continued his night for Alabama with his second solo shot to right field on his first pitch to retake the 6-5 lead in the sixth. The Tide pushed the margin to two, 7-5, in the top of the eighth after Hamiter earned the full count walk – a sac bunt and single by Miller pushed him to third. A walk for Lebron loaded the bases, and after battling with Brady Fuller to a full count, he earned a walk to score Hamiter.
Mikey Bello seized his moment in back-to-back at-bats in his last two appearances after Troy found itself with two outs on the board early in the bottom of the eighth. However, Gilroy took his first pitch down the first base line for a double before No. 31 shined with an RBI single to the gap in right-center to push Troy's deficit to one, 7-6.
Bello's RBI turned the tide towards Troy as Michael Osmond put down three straight with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to Arnett to bring the top of the order up in the bottom of the ninth. Kavanagh cooked his third hit of the game with a 0-0 single through the left side, and Parker Sessions entered as the pinch runner. With the count at 2-2, Butcher drilled the pitch out deep to center field, but it didn't have enough, and in his attempt to advance early, Sessions got caught coming back to first to end the ballgame, 7-6.
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"Heck of a game and a heck of a crowd. That's multiple times that we've been so close to beating Bama. The baseball Gods don't reward you when you play the way we did in the first half. We just weren't attacking the strike zone and weren't disciplined enough to be rewarded. Alabama is an incredibly great team and when healthy, they are some of the best. They earned it. They were rewarded. We're going to make every game a fight. This isn't an anomaly. If you've watched 50 Troy baseball games, you know that's what we do."
Up Next
Troy hits the road to reenter its Sun Belt Conference schedule at Bobcat Stadium for a three-game series against Texas State, starting on Friday.
Ranked Numbers
• Troy extended its lead over the Sun Belt Conference in sac flies with its 33rd in the fifth off Bryan – ranked seventh in the nation.
• Myers earned a walk (57) in tonight's showing to become one shy of the second most in a single season (58).
• Troy broke its single-game attendance record set on May 5, 2018, against South Alabama (3,649) with a crowd of 3,872.
• Despite the loss, Troy remains above .500 against ranked opponents in 2024, sitting at 5-4.
• Bryan tied the single-season RBI record at Troy (81) with his sac fly in the fifth inning.
• Kavanagh had the perfect day, going 3-for-3 with a team-high two RBIs – also earned an HBP.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moza,Aidan (3-2)
L: Burt, Connor (0-1)
S: Myers,Braylon (2)
Batting:
2B: Eblin,Bryce 1
HR: Hamiter,William 2
RBI: Petrutz,Ian 1 ; Hodo,Will 2 ; Snell,Kade 1 ; McCants,TJ 1 ; Hamiter,William 2
SH: Eblin,Bryce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller,Gage 1 ; Lebron,Justin 1 ; Hodo,Will 1 ; Hamiter,William 3 ; Eblin,Bryce 1
SB: Petrutz,Ian 1 ; Lebron,Justin 1 ; McCants,TJ 1
HBP: Lebron,Justin 1 ; Hodo,Will 1 ; Eblin,Bryce 1
Batting:
2B: Butcher, Will 1 ; Gilroy, Aidan 1
RBI: Kavanagh, Ethan 2 ; Butcher, Will 1 ; Bryan, Brooks 1 ; Cobb Jr., Tremayne 1 ; Bello, Mike 1
SF: Bryan, Brooks 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Myers, Kole 1 ; Kavanagh, Ethan 2 ; Gilroy, Aidan 2 ; Watts, Peyton 1
HBP: Kavanagh, Ethan 1 ; Cobb Jr., Tremayne 1 ; Mock, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
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ph/lf
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0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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