Gainous Dominates as No. 20 Troy Run Rules Penn

Friday, February 28

Troy, Ala.

4 p.m.

Troy University

9-1

Penn

0-4

Penn

Troy

Gainous Dominates as No. 20 Troy Run Rules Penn

2/28/2025 8:24:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. - A dominant start from Garrett Gainous led No. 20 Troy to an 11-1 run rule victory over Penn in seven innings at Riddle-Pace Field.

Gainous gave up a solo homer to Penn leadoff hitter Connor Chavez on the first pitch of the ballgame, and that was the only damage that the senior right-hander gave up. Gainous cruised through 6.0 innings, striking out eight Quaker hitters while allowing five hits and two walks.

Gainous struck out the side in the top of the second, racking up his first three strikeouts of the game before working a 1-2-3 third inning. In the fourth, the Cairo, Ga., native stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout to Penn catcher Qwynn Ahearn. Gainous worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth before stranding two runners on base in the sixth.

Offensively, the Trojans tallied 13 hits and had each starter record a hit for the first time since a 22-5 against Texas State on April 22, 2023. Sean Darnell was the last Troy starter to record a hit when he sealed the run-rule victory with a base-hit into centerfield in the bottom of the seventh.

Mike Bello got Troy's offense going in the second with a solo shot to right, his first of the season. The Trojans put up a five-spot in the third behind an RBI single from Blake Cavill and a pair of two-run doubles from Brooks Bryan and Blake Cavill. Steven Meier ignited the huge third inning with a leadoff bunt single before swiping both second and third base.

Meier tacked on a pair of RBI singles in the sixth and seventh innings, while Cavill scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.

The Trojans will look to clinch the series win against the back-to-back Ivy League Champions on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 3:33 p.m.

Quick Hitters

Troy had all nine starters record a hit for the first time since a 22-5 win over Texas State on April 22, 2023.
The 11-1 victory was Troy's third run rule win of the season.
Troy hit its 12th home run of the season, all of which have come against a right-handed pitcher.
Steven Meier went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, extending his on-base streak to 17 games dating back to last season.
Meier stole four bases which is a new career high. He stole three bases in a game twice as a junior at Old Dominion last season.
Meier is the first Troy player with four stolen bases in a game since Kole Myers did so last season in a 18-10 win over Jacksonville State on April 3.
Meier's three hits tied a career high. It was his second three-hit game of the season.
Meier scored three runs, bringing his season total to 20. He entered the game leading the Sun Belt Conference with 17 runs scored.
Blake Cavill went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, extending his on-base streak to 17 games dating back to last season.
Brooks Bryan went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs, bringing his RBI total on the season to 16. He entered the day leading the Sun Belt Conference with 14 RBIs.
Dillon Kuehl went 1-for-2 with a walk. He's recorded a hit in four straight games since making his first start on Sunday against Northwestern State.
Houston Markham entered as a pinch runner for Kuehl in the fifth inning, recording his first career stolen base.
Mike Bello went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and an RBI, extending his hitting streak and on-base streak to six games.
Bello's solo home run in the second inning was his first of the season, second as a Trojan and third of his career.
Garrett Gainous recorded eight strikeouts, his most in a start since he struck out 12 at ULM on April 8, 2022.
Gainous is now tied for fifth in Troy history in strikeouts (224) with Erik Wikstrom.
Gainous' eight strikeouts were the most by a Troy pitcher this season.
Gainous went 6.0 innings, the deepest he's gone in a start since he pitched 6.1 innings at Arkansas State on April 22, 2022.

Quotables

Head Coach Skylar Meade on the win…

"I thought our preparation led to the game. Our batting practice was really, really good. Line drives, homers - what each guy was supposed to do. The defense, the guys were flying around, diving around, which is part of the way we ask them to go."

"If you prepare well we always feel as if you're going to play well. I think our guys really believe that too. It's not always going to work that way. We might get smacked on a day we prepare well, but I thought everyone was really engaged. Gary (Garrett Gainous), who pitched most of the game was attacking the zone. JD (Jay Dill) right after was heavy attack, great stuff. All in all, probably as good as you can play, but we'll have to rinse and repeat."

Blake Cavill on the offense…

"We just hit them today. That's what we've been doing all season, just hitting teams to death. Seven innings, 13 hits, 11 runs - that's what we do here at Troy. We hit."

Steven Meier on his four stolen bases after entering the game with just four all season…

"It's a big part of my game. I've been hitting a lot of doubles I guess. We've been hitting well, playing well against good teams. Obviously I had that one against Mississippi State the other night and that was pretty big in the moment because it could've gave us another opportunity to score a run. I'm going to keep going. I'm going to keep running when it makes sense, and we're going to score a lot more runs.