Darnell's Grand Slam Boosts No. 15 Troy to Series Victory at South Alabama

Sunday, May 4

Mobile, Ala.

1 p.m.

Troy University

34-14, 16-8

South Alabama

19-26, 8-16

Troy

South Alabama

Darnell's Grand Slam Boosts No. 15 Troy to Series Victory at South Alabama

5/4/2025 6:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

MOBILE, Ala. - Sean Darnell demolished a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to boost No. 15 Troy to a 6-5 win over South Alabama in Sunday's rubber match at Stanky Field.

The Trojans trailed 3-2 entering the frame as the Jaguars turned to their closer Andrew Floyd with the game on the line. Troy loaded the bases for Darnell on Houston Markham's third single of the day, Blake Cavill's second walk of the day and Jimmy Janicki's third single of the day. Darnell whiffed at the first pitch he saw against Floyd, but delivered a no doubter over the right field wall to put the Trojans ahead.

It was a piece of redemption for Darnell, who had struck out looking with the bases loaded in the seventh inning as the Trojans managed just one run in the frame on an RBI single by Janicki.

South Alabama didn't go down without a fight, as shortstop Ty Brooks clobbered a two-out, two-run home run off Jay Dill after the right-hander had shut them down the previous two innings. The Jaguars got the go-ahead run to the plate after Dill issued a walk and a single, but Colby Frieda shut things down with a three-pitch strikeout to third baseman Kyle Morrison, catching him looking on a 96 MPH fastball.

The Trojans had taken an early lead in the ballgame as Shane Lewis hit an opposite field solo home run off South Alabama starter Zach Willingham in the second inning, but that was all the Trojans managed against the lefty in his first 6.0 innings of work. The southpaw finished with five hits, two runs, two earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings, as he was responsible for the base runner that scored on Janicki's single in the seventh.

Troy got a quality start from senior right-hander Luke Lyon, who went a season-high 6.0 innings with five hits, three runs, three earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts in his second start of the year. The Jaguars scored all three runs against Lyon on the longball. Designated hitter John Smith hit a three-run home run in the fifth, however, he was credited with a two-RBI single as he passed Brennan Holt on the basepaths while first baseman Lucas Ismaili hit a solo home run in the sixth.

Troy is now the only team in college baseball to win all 12 of its weekend series this season after its 2-1 series win at South Alabama. The Trojans move to 34-14 on the season, and sit in third place in the Sun Belt standings at 16-8.

Quick Hitters

Troy is now the only team in college baseball to win all 12 of its weekend series this season. The Trojans entered the weekend as one of two teams, along with Texas, without a series loss, but the Longhorns were swept by Arkansas over the weekend.
Troy is 4-0 in rubber matches this season.
Troy is 7-5 in series finales this season.
Troy is 13-1 when hitting two-plus home runs.
Troy won its first series against South Alabama since 2019.
Houston Markham extended his on-base streak to 16 games, going 3-for-5.
Markham recorded his tenth multi-hit game and third three-plus hit game of the season.
Blake Cavill extended his on-base streak to 53 games dating back to last season, drawing two walks.
Cavill's two walks bring his season total to 53. He entered the day ranked third nationally in walks.
Cavill's 53 walks are the fourth-most in a single season in Troy history.
Jimmy Janicki extended his on-base streak to 17 games, going 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Janicki recorded his 12th multi-hit game and second three-hit game of the season.
Sean Darnell recorded his 13th multi-RBI game of the season, going 1-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs.
Darnell's grand slam in the ninth inning was his fifth home run and second grand slam of the season. It was Troy's fourth grand slam.
Steven Meier's on-base streak ended at 50 games dating back to last season.
Shane Lewis recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI.
Lewis hit his seventh home run of the season and 39th of his career. His 39 home runs rank fifth in Troy history.
Lewis' home run was the switch-hitter's first homer as a right-handed hitter this season.
Luke Lyon pitched a season high 6.0 innings, totaling five hits, three runs, three earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
Jay Dill earned his third win of the season, bringing his record to 3-1. In 2.2 innings, Dill totaled three hits, two runs, two earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
Colby Frieda earned his third save of the season, striking out Kyle Morrison on three pitches to end the ballgame.

Quotables
Head coach Skylar Meade on the comeback win…
"We just stayed really connected. Really good players need to make really good plays in big situations. We say it all the time, you can lead a horse to water but the horse has got to drink it. We've got some horses and they did what they needed to do. Obviously Markham started us off, Blake had a discipline at-bat and then Jimmy, we decided not to bunt because we believe in him and he got the base hit. And then Darnell got the top hand on one and hit it way out."

"Jay got us right to the finish line. Just had a couple of pitches that didn't get executed the way he wanted, and I think some of that is fatigue. He's grinded this weekend for us. I'll go down swinging with Jay Dill any day. We got Frieda in there and he was nasty. Three pitches and was able to close that thing out in style."

Sean Darnell on the grand slam…
"I was supposed to be pushing him down, and I swung at two pitches that were probably out of the strike zone. I guess I didn't really stick to the approach. I was going to get my hacks off. Sometimes in life you don't get second chances. Earlier in the game I had a big bases loaded at-bat and didn't come through, but my guys came through and put me in another position to succeed."

Next Up
The Trojans are back at Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday with a rematch against Alabama at 6 p.m., before a four-game road trip to Samford on Wednesday and Arkansas State Friday-Sunday.