Wax's Homer Keeps Troy's Sun Belt Tournament Run Alive

Thursday, May 22

Montgomery, Ala.

9 a.m.

Troy University

38-20

Texas State

27-31

Texas State

Troy

Wax's Homer Keeps Troy's Sun Belt Tournament Run Alive

5/22/2025 2:00:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Jakob Wax's go-ahead home run in the seventh inning kept third-seeded Troy's Sun Belt Tournament run alive, lifting the Trojans to a 4-2 win in Thursday's elimination game against seventh-seeded Texas State.

Wax led off the seventh against Texas State reliever Matthew Tippie, who had just worked a 1-2-3 sixth to keep it a 2-2 ballgame. In a 1-1 count, the Trojan shortstop deposited a breaking ball 375 feet over the left field wall to break the tie, his third homer of the season.

Troy added some insurance in the frame as Steven Meier followed a Blake Cavill single by reaching on a fielder's choice. Meier stole second and advanced to third on an overthrow into center field. In a 3-2 count to Sean Darnell, Meier scored on a wild pitch to give the Trojan bullpen some breathing room.

The Troy bullpen was stellar, as Noah Thigpen cruised through the final two innings after he had recorded the final out of the seventh. The freshman right-hander tossed 2.1 hitless innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Before him, lefty Grady Gorgen pitched 1.1 hitless innings with a hit, a walk and a strikeout.

The Trojans wouldn't have been in position to win without Adam Falinski, who worked his deepest outing of the season, going 5.1 innings with a season high seven strikeouts. The Eastern Michigan transfer retired the first 11 Texas State hitters and held the Bobcats to three hits and two walks with the only damage coming on a pair of solo home runs.

Troy got to work early against Texas State starter Austin Eaton, who pitched 5.0 innings with six hits, two earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts, as second baseman Sean Darnell delivered an RBI double in the first inning. In the third, Gavin Schrader followed a two-out double by Jimmy Janicki with an RBI single into left field.

Troy is back in action at Riverwalk Stadium at 3 p.m. on Friday, as they await the loser of Thursday's matchup between second-seeded Southern Miss and sixth-seeded Old Dominion. The winner will advance to the semifinals at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Quick Hitters

Troy went 3-1 against Texas State this season. The Trojans are 6-4 against the Bobcats under head coach Skylar Meade.
Troy is 30-6 when hitting at least one home run.
Troy's win snapped a five-game losing streak, its longest of the season.
Troy is 27-12 against right-handed starting pitchers.
Troy is 16-8 in games decided by two-or-fewer runs.
Troy is 11-0 when holding its opponent to two-or-fewer runs.
Troy used its 47th different lineup of the season.
Blake Cavill batted in the leadoff spot for the fifth time this season.
Blake Cavill extended his on-base streak to 63 games dating back to last season, going 1-for-3 with a walk.
Cavill's walk was his 65th of the season, which ties the Troy single-season record set by Jorge Soto in 1999.
Steven Meier extended his on-base streak to ten games, going 1-for-4. He's reached base safely in 54-of-55 games played this season.
Meier stole bases, giving him 23 on the season which ranks third in the Sun Belt.
Brooks Bryan extended his hitting streak to nine games and his on-base streak to ten games, going 1-for-4.
Sean Darnell extended his hitting streak and on-base streak to six games, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI.
Darnell recorded his 15th double and 49th RBI of the season.
Jimmy Janicki hit his 12th double of the season.
Gavin Schrader went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Jakob Wax hit his third home run of the season.
Adam Falinski recorded season highs in innings pitched (5.1) and strikeouts (7).
Falinski's 5.1 innings snapped a nine-game streak of Trojan starters pitching fewer than 5.0 innings. The Trojans last five-plus inning start came in a 6-5 win over South Alabama on May 4 with 6.0 innings from Luke Lyon.
Grady Gorgen pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. Gorgen owns a 2.63 ERA in his last eight appearances (13.2 IP) dating back to April 27.
Noah Thigpen earned his third win of the season, pitching 2.1 hitless innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

Quotables
Head coach Skylar Meade…
"It was just a great college baseball game. Obviously, it was the same score in which we lost yesterday, so it's nice to be on the winning side of it. Texas State - we knew they were going to throw three big arms at us. Each guy ran the ball up to 94-plus. I thought we took some good swings. We did some things on the bases - some really good timing of some action, and we made pivotal pitches when we needed to."

Adam Falinski…
"I felt great. We've been working on some stuff for a few weeks now. I had hit some bumps midseason. Just trusting how my stuff plays - that's all I've got to do. Just fill it up, throw it hard and spin it and the results are going to show."

Jakob Wax…
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy because those guys are playing for their season too. I'm just glad that we came together and never gave up, bringing the energy for all nine innings."