Troy University Athletics
Friday, May 9
Jonesboro, Ark.
6 p.m.
Troy University
36-15, 17-8
9
at
8
Arkansas State
23-25, 11-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
R
H
E
Troy
2
0
0
2
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
1
9
12
0
Arkansas State
0
1
0
6
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
12
2
Wax's Homer Delivers No. 14 Troy Extra-Inning Victory at Arkansas State
5/10/2025 12:12:00 AM | Baseball
JONESBORO, Ark. - A dominant performance from Jay Dill and a go-ahead home run by Jakob Wax delivered No. 14 Troy a 9-8 victory at Arkansas State in 12 innings on Friday night.
Arkansas State lefty Chase Richter had shut the Trojans down in his first 5.0 innings of work, but Wax hammered a 2-2 fastball the opposite way for a solo shot over the right field wall. When Jay Dill went back out for the bottom of the 12th, the right-hander struck out the Red Wolf side to end the ballgame.
It was the exclamation point of a career night for Dill, who struck out a career-high 11 Red Wolves in his 5.0 shutout innings in relief. The senior from Dayton, Tenn., was nails with the game on the line, stranding the tying runner on third with a strikeout in the tenth before Troy catcher Brooks Bryan gunned down A-State centerfielder Ashton Quiller on a stolen base attempt to end the 11th.
Each team recorded 12 hits in the ballgame, and it was the Trojans who struck first with a two-run single by Jimmy Janicki in the first inning. Troy added two more runs in the fourth with Steven Meier driving in a run on a fielder's choice and Houston Markham bringing one home on a sac bunt.
A six-run fourth inning propelled Arkansas State to a 7-4 lead, as the Red Wolves hit three home runs in the frame off Trojan starter Noah Thigpen, who had allowed just one run on a solo homer in his first three innings of work. The Red Wolves hit another solo home run off Chase Nelson in the fifth, but that was the only damage the lefty gave up in his 2.0 innings.
Troy battled its way back into the ballgame with a four-run seventh inning, getting an RBI double from Bryan and RBI singles from Dillon Kuehl and Markham before Kuehl scored on a wild pitch. Lefty Grady Gorgen struck out two in the bottom of the frame before turning it over to Dill in the eighth.
Game Two between Troy and Arkansas State at Tomlinson Field is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Quick Hitters
Quotables
Head Coach Skylar Meade on the bullpen…
"The bullpen was so good. Chase solidified there for a couple innings. Grady was nasty in his inning. We know what JD did. It was one of the better performances you'll see in a Trojan uniform. Five innings, 11 punchies. Obviously if you're the visiting team, it's over in the blink of an eye if don't do your job, and my goodness did we."
Jakob Wax on his home run…
"It felt good. I was sitting on a heater, just trying to compete for my team with two strikes and get on base."
Arkansas State lefty Chase Richter had shut the Trojans down in his first 5.0 innings of work, but Wax hammered a 2-2 fastball the opposite way for a solo shot over the right field wall. When Jay Dill went back out for the bottom of the 12th, the right-hander struck out the Red Wolf side to end the ballgame.
It was the exclamation point of a career night for Dill, who struck out a career-high 11 Red Wolves in his 5.0 shutout innings in relief. The senior from Dayton, Tenn., was nails with the game on the line, stranding the tying runner on third with a strikeout in the tenth before Troy catcher Brooks Bryan gunned down A-State centerfielder Ashton Quiller on a stolen base attempt to end the 11th.
Each team recorded 12 hits in the ballgame, and it was the Trojans who struck first with a two-run single by Jimmy Janicki in the first inning. Troy added two more runs in the fourth with Steven Meier driving in a run on a fielder's choice and Houston Markham bringing one home on a sac bunt.
A six-run fourth inning propelled Arkansas State to a 7-4 lead, as the Red Wolves hit three home runs in the frame off Trojan starter Noah Thigpen, who had allowed just one run on a solo homer in his first three innings of work. The Red Wolves hit another solo home run off Chase Nelson in the fifth, but that was the only damage the lefty gave up in his 2.0 innings.
Troy battled its way back into the ballgame with a four-run seventh inning, getting an RBI double from Bryan and RBI singles from Dillon Kuehl and Markham before Kuehl scored on a wild pitch. Lefty Grady Gorgen struck out two in the bottom of the frame before turning it over to Dill in the eighth.
Game Two between Troy and Arkansas State at Tomlinson Field is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Quick Hitters
- Troy is 11-2 in series openers.
- Troy is 2-1 in extra-inning games.
- The 9-8 win was Troy's first 12-plus-inning game since a 3-2 loss to Georgia State in 12 innings on April 14, 2017.
- Troy is 28-4 when hitting at least one home run.
- Troy is 25-9 against right-handed starting pitchers.
- Troy is 10-3 in games decided by one run.
- Troy drew three HBPs, which gives the Trojans a program-record 105 HBPs on the season. It breaks the previous record of 104 set in 2023.
- Troy's pitching staff allowed five home runs for the second time this season. The Trojans are 2-0 in those games. Troy also allowed five home runs in an 11-9 win over USC Upstate on March 7.
- Chase Nelson pitched a career-high 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, allowing two hits and one run while recording one strikeout.
- Grady Gorgen struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning.
- Jay Dill set career highs in innings pitched (5.0) and strikeouts (11), holding Arkansas State to one hit, zero runs and three walks. They break his previous career highs of 4.0 innings (Twice) and six strikeouts (Three Times).
- Dill recorded his fourth win of the season, bringing his record to 4-1.
- Dill is the first Troy pitcher with 11 strikeouts in a game since Orlando Ortiz on February 19, 2021 against Youngstown State.
- Steven Meier recorded his 23rd HBP of the season, which is the third-most in a single season in Troy history.
- Meier recorded his 16th double of the season, which is tied for fourth in the Sun Belt.
- Houston Markham extended his on-base streak to 19 games, going 1-for-6 with two RBIs.
- Markham recorded his fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Blake Cavill extended his on-base streak to 56 games dating back to last season, goi.
- Cavill drew his 55th walk of the season. He entered the weekend ranked second nationally in walks.
- Cavill recorded his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
- Sean Darnell extended his on-base streak to seven games, going 1-for-6.
- Jimmy Janicki recorded his 13th multi-hit and eighth multi-RBI game of the season, going 2-for-6 with two RBIs.
- Brooks Bryan recorded his 53rd RBI of the season, which ranks third in the Sun Belt.
- Dillon Kuehl extended his on-base streak to six games, going 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI.
- Kuehl recorded his third multi-hit game of the season.
- Jakob Wax's go-ahead home run in the 12th inning was the second home run of his career.
Quotables
Head Coach Skylar Meade on the bullpen…
"The bullpen was so good. Chase solidified there for a couple innings. Grady was nasty in his inning. We know what JD did. It was one of the better performances you'll see in a Trojan uniform. Five innings, 11 punchies. Obviously if you're the visiting team, it's over in the blink of an eye if don't do your job, and my goodness did we."
Jakob Wax on his home run…
"It felt good. I was sitting on a heater, just trying to compete for my team with two strikes and get on base."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dill, Jay (4-1)
L: Richter, Chase (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Meier, Steven 1 ; Cavill, Blake 1 ; Bryan, Brooks 1
HR: Wax, Jakob 1
RBI: Meier, Steven 1 ; Markham, Houston 2 ; Janicki, Jimmy 2 ; Bryan, Brooks 1 ; Kuehl, Dillon 1 ; Wax, Jakob 1
SH: Markham, Houston 1 ; Watts, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Meier, Steven 1 ; Cavill, Blake 1 ; Janicki, Jimmy 1 ; Bryan, Brooks 1 ; Schrader, Gavin 2 ; Kuehl, Dillon 2 ; Wax, Jakob 1
HBP: Meier, Steven 1 ; Bryan, Brooks 1 ; Lewis, Shane 1
Batting:
2B: Amundson, Kaden 1
HR: Quiller, Ashton 1 ; Engskov, Patrick 2 ; Henry Williams, Jake 1 ; Tollett, Cason 1
RBI: Quiller, Ashton 2 ; Engskov, Patrick 2 ; Henry Williams, Jake 1 ; Tollett, Cason 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Quiller, Ashton 1 ; Engskov, Patrick 2 ; Campbell, Cason 1 ; Henry Williams, Jake 2 ; Tollett, Cason 1 ; Cail, Daedrick 1
CS: Quiller, Ashton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
6
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballC/INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Player Postgame Press Conference (Luke Hodge, Tray Taylor) - No. 8 Clemson
Sunday, September 07
Gerad Parker Postgame Press Conference - No. 8 Clemson
Sunday, September 07
Troy at No. 8 Clemson (Full Highlights)
Sunday, September 07
Josh Lauer Postgame Press Conference - Jackson State
Saturday, September 06