No. 24 Troy Hangs on to Defeat Northwestern State 14-12

Saturday, February 22

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

Troy University

5-1

Northwestern State

2-3

Northwestern State

Troy

No. 24 Troy Hangs on to Defeat Northwestern State 14-12

2/22/2025 5:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. - The No. 24 Troy Trojans survived an eighth-inning rally by Northwestern State to top the Demons 14-12 and earn the series victory.

The Trojans entered the eighth inning up 11-4, but a six-run inning by Northwestern State made it a one-run ballgame.

Jay Dill had allowed one run with four strikeouts in his first two innings of relief but walked the first two Demon batters of the eighth before freshman Chase Cartron relieved him. Cartron recorded outs in his first two batters faced, but a two-out error allowed the inning to continue and brought in the first run.

NSU capitalized on the Troy error, bringing in one run on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch before hitting a grand slam off Trojan reliever Colby Frieda.

The Troy offense was unphased by the Demons' rally, as an RBI single by Sean Darnell and a 2-RBI single by Blake Cavill provided the Trojans some insurance heading into the ninth. Northwestern State hit a 2-run home run before Grady Gorgen entered to record the final two outs and earn the save.

The Trojans knocked out Northwestern State starter Tyler Bryan after just 2.0 innings, putting five runs across on five hits with five walks.

The Troy bats were hot in the Saturday afternoon slugfest, matching a season-high with 17 hits. Cavill, Peyton Watts and Steven Meier each had three hits, while Darnell had five. Cavill and Darnell each drove in four runs, while Meier and Mike Bello had two apiece.

On the mound, Noah Edders went five innings and struck out a season-high of seven hitters. Edders allowed four hits, three runs and two earned runs while picking up his second win of the season.
The Trojans look to go for the sweep on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Quick Hitters

Troy's 17 hits were tied for its most this season. The Trojans also did so in the season opener against Bellarmine last Friday. They had three games with 17 or more hits last season.
The Troy offense drew seven walks while striking out five times. They've had more walks than strikeouts in 4-of-6 games this season.
Troy allowed 12 runs in the game. It was the most runs they've allowed in a win since a 24-13 win over SIU-Edwardsville on February 17, 2024.
Seven of Northwestern State's runs came unearned by the Troy pitchers. It was the most unearned runs allowed in a game since a 17-7 loss to Arkansas State on April 8, 2023 (7).
Steven Meier went 3-for-5, extending his hit streak to nine games and on-base streak to 13 games dating back to last season.
Meier's three hits match his career high. He recorded three hits against Coastal Carolina (4/6/24) last season.
Meier tripled in the fifth inning, which was the first triple of his career.
Sean Darnell went 5-for-6. Hit five hits are a career-high.
Darnell is the first Troy player with a five-hit game since Tremayne Cobb Jr. against Georgia Southern on May 6, 2023. He is the only player in the Sun Belt Conference with a five-hit game this season.
Blake Cavill went 3-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 13 games dating back to last season.
Cavill had four RBIs, which matches his season high.
Cavill now leads the Sun Belt Conference in hits (13) and RBIs (12).
Brooks Bryan went 1-for-4 with a walk and a hit by pitch, extending his hitting streak and on-base streak to six games.
Shane Lewis drew a hit-by-pitch in the sixth inning, which is the 26th of his career. Lewis is now tied with Tyler Hannah, Drew Frederic and Clint Robinson for the third-most HBPs in Troy history.
Mike Bello went 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs. It was his third multi-RBI game of the season.
Peyton Watts went 3-for-5. It was the fourth three-hit game of his career.
Noah Edders improved to 2-0 on the season after pitching 5.0 innings with four hits, three runs, two earned runs, seven strikeouts and three walks.
Grady Gorgen recorded the second save of his career and first since 2023. He is hitless in his two appearances this season.

Quotables
Head Coach Skylar Meade on the wild finish...
"When you self-impose issues like that in a game, I think there can be a real gut check. Certainly, the answer in the eighth inning was tremendous from our guys. We need to make sure we take that punch and resilience to handling of the baseball. It's always funny as a coach, do you talk about it, or do you not talk about it? I just want us to make simple plays. We practice it all the time. I felt for Chase Cartron today getting his first taste, he did a great job. Jam job should've been a double play and then a routine ball and we just don't get him out of the inning. The game should've been 11-4 or 11-3, but it wasn't. The thing about Northwestern State that I commend so much is that they're not going to stop competing."

Sean Darnell on his five-hit day...
"I was just trying to do my job and stick to the approach. Today, they fell for me. Just put good swings on the ball and they fell."

Blake Cavill on the team's resilience...
"That's what we do. We pick our teammates up. That one bad error, a few walks that let the runs in. We came back into the dugout and made that game exciting, which made the boys fired up in the dugout. We came back in and retaliated straight away. Leadoff gets on. Bing, bang, boom and Darnell's up to bat again, and what a surprise, another base hit."

Fourth Annual Skylar Meade Golf Classic Set for November 21 at Troy Country Club

Thursday, September 18

#PROjans: Troy Alumni in Professional Baseball Roundup

Monday, September 15

Troy Baseball Inks Top 20 Transfer Class

Tuesday, August 12

Colby Frieda Signs Free Agent Deal with New York Mets

Thursday, July 24

Next Event

Northwestern State

W, 14-4

Feb 23 (Sun)

12 p.m.

Box Score Recap Box Score (PDF)Watch Listen Preview Live stats Tickets History

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Edders, Noah (2-0)

L: Bryan, Tyler (0-1)

S: Gorgen, Grady (1)

Northwestern State

Batting:

2B: Stephenson, Samuel 1 ; Gump, Rocco 1

HR: Gump, Rocco 1 ; Burroway, Daniel 1 ; Buzard, Lathen 1

RBI: Gump, Rocco 3 ; Jung, Clay 1 ; Burroway, Daniel 4 ; Buzard, Lathen 2

SH: Stephenson, Samuel 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Lipoma, Reese 2 ; Stephenson, Samuel 2 ; Gump, Rocco 2 ; Jung, Clay 1 ; Burroway, Daniel 1 ; Johnson, Bryce 1 ; Rains, Colin 2 ; Buzard, Lathen 1