Baseball Captures Two Thrilling Wins in Doubleheader Against Samford

Saturday, October 17

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

Troy University

Samford

Baseball Captures Two Thrilling Wins in Doubleheader Against Samford

10/17/2026 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Skylar Meade Press Conference

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. — Troy baseball capped off an action-packed doubleheader against Samford with a sweep on Saturday, delivering a pair of thrillers in front of the home crowd at Riddle-Pace Field.

The Trojan offense put on a masterclass in the opener, answering an early 2–0 deficit with 20 unanswered runs to secure a dominant victory.

Troy's power output was on full display with six home runs on the day

. Layne Akers got the scoring started in the second inning with a three-run shot—the first of two three-run homers in the frame

. Cooper Williams followed suit shortly after, picking up right where he left off in Nashville with a three-run bomb of his own to push the lead to 6–2.

In the middle innings, first-year duo Hudson Reed and Kam Jenkins made a loud first impression in front of the Trojan faithful, launching back-to-back solo home runs

. Caden Reeves headlined the offensive outburst with a 3-for-4, six-RBI performance, anchored by a late grand slam — his second home run of the contest.

Troy finished the first game with 20 hits and 19 RBIs

. On the mound, nine Trojan pitchers combined to hold Samford, with each tossing a complete inning

. The staff collected 10 strikeouts overall, highlighted by 1-2-3 frames and two strikeouts apiece from Matteo Pare and RJ Anglin

.

The second game started strong for the Trojans as Hudson Reed stayed hot and roped an RBI-double down the line to give Troy a first inning edge. Shortly after, Caden Reeves singled, bringing Reed home and giving Troy a 2-0 cushion.

After Troy's bats slowed down through the middle frames, Samford capitalized with a pair of big innings to build an 8–2 cushion heading into the bottom of the fifth

. The Trojans answered with patient plate appearances, loading the bases to set up an RBI walk from Adam Leininger

. Cole Garner then lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 8–4 and get the momentum shifting back toward Troy.

In the sixth inning, Troy capitalized on a Samford miscue, plating two runs to cut the deficit to two

. Adam Leininger then delivered in the clutch, launching a game-tying two-run blast to send the contest into the final frame knotted at 8–8

.

After the Troy defense turned a key double play and recorded a strikeout to close the top half, the offense completed the comeback

. The Trojans drew consecutive walks to put two runners aboard with nobody out before Kam Jenkins beat out a sacrifice bunt for an infield single to load the bases

. Zaid Diaz then provided the heroics, dropping a walk-off single into shallow left-center field to seal the victory.

Over the two games of the doubleheader, the Troy arms combined for 18 strikeouts to just three walks. The bats picked up 28 hits, 28 RBIs, 11 walks, and seven homers.

The Trojans return to fall exhibition action next Saturday, Oct. 27, as they travel to Pensacola, Fla. for an afternoon matchup with the Florida Gators beginning at 1 p.m. CT. Tickets for those interested in attending are available here.