No. 20 Troy Sweeps Penn Behind Dominance on the Mound

Sunday, March 2

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

Troy University

11-1

Penn

0-6

Penn

Troy

No. 20 Troy Sweeps Penn Behind Dominance on the Mound

3/2/2025 4:54:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. - A dominant performance from Troy's pitching staff led the No. 20 Trojans to a 6-1 win over Penn to seal the sweep at Riddle-Pace Field.

Troy pitchers Drew Nelson, Grayson Stewart and Jay Dill combined to hold the Quakers to six hits and one run while racking up 10 strikeouts with zero walks. The lefty Nelson went 6.0 innings, recording a season-high six strikeouts while allowing four hits.

Penn scored its only run against Nelson on an RBI single in the second inning. Nelson retired the side in order four times, putting the Quakers down 1-2-3 in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings.

Stewart allowed just one hit in the seventh, picking up a strikeout. Dill entered in a 4-1 ballgame in the eighth and recorded the save, striking out three while allowing one hit over the game's final two innings.

Offensively, the Trojans tallied seven hits and drew seven walks and three HBPs. Steven Meier evened the game at 1-1 in the third inning with his dynamic base running, leading off with an HBP, stealing second base, advancing to third on a flyout and scoring on a wild pitch.

Shane Lewis drew a bases loaded walk in the fifth to give the Trojans the lead before Brooks Bryan busted the game open with a two-run blast to right-center in the seventh. Blake Cavill gave the Trojans some insurance in the eighth, following a Meier double with a double of his own while Bryan added his third RBI of the game on a single into right field.

Quick Hitters

Sunday's attendance at Riddle-Pace Field was 2,583. It was the second-largest crowd this season and the 17th-largest in the Riddle-Pace Field's history.
Troy's 11-1 start to the season is tied for the best start to a season in its Division I history. The Trojans also started the 2023 season 11-1.
The Trojans are 10-0 at Riddle-Pace Field this season.
Troy has swept its first three series of the season. It most recently opened the season with three sweeps in 2023 against Evansville, Stony Brook and USC Upstate.
Penn scored the first run of the game in the second inning. Troy is 7-1 this season when the opponent scores first.
Troy hit it's 15th home run of the season. All 15 home runs have come against a right-handed pitcher.
Steven Meier went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an HBP, a stolen base and two runs scored, extending his on-base streak to 19 games dating back to last season.
Meier currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in batting average (.444), hits (20), doubles (8), runs scored (25) and stolen bases (9).
Blake Cavill went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, an HBP, an RBI and three runs scored, extending his on-base streak to 19 games dating back to last season.
Brooks Bryan went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, an HBP and three RBIs.
Bryan's seventh inning two-run homer was his third of the season.
Bryan currently leads the Sun Belt in RBIs (22).
Shane Lewis drew two walks, extending his on-base streak to seven games.
Drew Nelson went 6.0 innings, which ties his season-high for innings pitched.
Nelson's six strikeouts were a season-high and one shy of his career high.
Troy's pitching staff recorded 10 strikeouts with zero walks. It's their first game without issuing a walk since a 5-3 win over Texas State on May 11, 2024, and their most strikeouts without a walk since they recorded 11 strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Louisiana on March 18, 2022.
Drew Nelson walked zero hitters in his 6.0 innings. It's the deepest outing of his career where he didn't surrender a walk. As a freshman at Auburn, he allowed zero walks in 3.0 innings pitched against LSU on May 7, 2023.
Grayson Stewart pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He's been scoreless in 3-of-4 relief appearances this season.
Jay Dill recorded the save, the fifth of his career and the first this season. He led the Trojans with three saves last year.

Quotables

Head Coach Skylar Meade on the pitching…

"Drew's very competitive. You get six innings, and this time of year, you're not going to be at some crazy number of pitches. To go 85 pitches in the sixth - he does a good job of when he has a long at-bat, leveling it back out and getting someone out quickly. Just creating action. Sometimes they get a hit, but at least he gets back in that zone whenever he has a count go deeper."

"I thought Stew (Grayson Stewart) coming in after him was really good. First pitch, the guy gets a ball there in the gap, but to get groundball, punchout, soft flyout to left was really good. We're trying to keep him healthy as he comes back from just a little something, so we decide to pass the ball on to Jay. Jay couldn't have been any better. He was really tialed in, tremendous. Multiple strikeouts, and really just pitching for that matter."

Drew Nelson on going six innings deep…

"The more and more I'm out there, the more comfortable I feel. Being able to work ahead, mix all pitches and go from there really helps.

Jay Dill on closing it out…

"For guys in the bullpen this year, it's compete every pitch. Beat the guy in front of you and just come out throwing strikes."

Next Up
The Trojans begin a nine-game road swing with a midweek matchup at Alabama on Wednesday before a three-game series at USC Upstate next weekend.