Offense Leads No. 19 Troy to Series Victory at USC Upstate

Sunday, March 9

Spartanburg, S.C.

12 p.m.

Troy University

13-3

USC Upstate

7-7

Troy

USC Upstate

Offense Leads No. 19 Troy to Series Victory at USC Upstate

3/9/2025 5:20:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - An explosive performance from the Troy offense propelled the No. 19 Trojans to a 14-7 win over USC Upstate in Sunday's rubber match at Harley Park.

The Trojans set the tone early, putting four runs across the board in the top of the first inning and knocking USC Upstate starter Chris Torres for six earned runs in his 2.0 innings pitched. Blake Cavill and Brooks Bryan got things going with a pair of RBI singles, while Jimmy Janicki knocked in two runs on a single over the shortstop's head.

In the second, it was Bryan again with an RBI double, with Harrison Bowman following it up with a sacrifice fly. In total, the Trojans tallied 12 hits and put at least one run across the board in six different innings.

Drew Nelson gave the Trojans another quality start, holding the Spartans to just three hits across 6.0 innings pitched. Upstate scored four runs against the lefty, though Nelson surrendered just one earned run while striking out five. Nelson has held his opponent to one earned run in three of his four starts this season and lowered his season ERA to 2.08 on Sunday.

Steven Meier had a loud day at the plate for the Trojans, reaching in five of his six plate appearances, with his one miss being a productive out with a third-inning sacrifice fly. Meier crushed his third home run of the season in the seventh inning while adding a single, two stolen bases, two HBPs and a walk on the day.

The Trojans put up four runs in the top of the ninth, capitalizing on a pair of Spartan errors. Upstate trailed 14-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, and put up three runs against the Troy bullpen.

The Trojans sit at 13-3 on the season, and have won each of their first four weekend series for the first time since 2023.

Quick Hitters

Troy scored 14 runs. The Trojans are 7-0 when scoring 10+ runs this season.
Troy outhit USC Upstate 12-8. The Trojans are 10-2 when outhitting their opponent this season.
Troy scored four runs in the first inning. The Trojans are 7-0 when scoring in the first inning.
Troy won the rubber match against USC Upstate. The Trojans are now 7-8 in rubber matches under Skylar Meade.
Steven Meier went 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk, two HBPs and three RBIs, extending his on-base streak to 23 games dating back to last season.
Meier scored four runs, bringing his season total to 31. He entered the day as the Sun Belt leader with 27.
Meier stole two bases, bringing his season total to 11. He entered the day as the Sun Belt leader with nine.
Sean Darnell went 2-for-6 with three RBIs, extending his on-base streak to eight games.
Blake Cavill went 1-for-3 with three walks and two RBIs, extending his on-base streak to 23 games dating back to last season.
Cavill's three walks matched a career high. It's his third three-walk game this season and fifth of his career.
Brooks Bryan went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Bryan now has 28 RBIs on the season after entering the day as the Sun Belt leader with 25.
Mike Bello went 1-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 12 games.
Jimmy Janicki went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, extending his hitting streak to six games and his on-base streak to 10 games.
Jason Hawkins went 2-for-4. It's the first multi-hit game of his career.
Drew Nelson held USC Upstate to one earned run in 6.0 innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.08.
Nelson has held his opponent to one earned run in three of his four starts this season.
Nelson's five strikeouts were one shy of his season high.
Nelson allowed just three hits. Opposing hitters are batting just .213 against the lefty this season.
Jay Dill pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. He's been scoreless in three of his last four appearances.

Quotables

Head Coach Skylar Meade the win…

"We won. We dominated the way we needed to play. We felt good about Drew. We felt good about our gameplan. We knew the guys would rise up today."

Drew Nelson on his start…

"I felt really good. With my preparation this week, I was locked in and ready to go."

Next Up

The Trojans have a midweek tilt at in-state foe Jacksonville State on Tuesday before opening up Sun Belt play with a three-game series at Louisiana Friday-Sunday.