Troy Takes Series from Old Dominion

Sunday, March 15

Troy, Ala.

1 p.m.

Troy University

8-11, 2-1

Old Dominion

9-9, 1-2

Old Dominion

Troy

3/15/2026 6:36:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. - Troy Baseball opened Sun Belt Conference play with a series victory after winning Sunday's rubber match with Old Dominion 9-4 at Riddle-Pace Field.

The Trojans (8-11, 2-1 SBC) got five strong innings from junior right-hander Dylan Alonso, who struck out a career-high seven while allowing two runs on three hits and one walk. Troy backed Alonso early, jumping out to a 6-1 lead through the first three innings.

Old Dominion (9-9, 1-2 SBC) starter JJ Gatti issued two HBPs and two walks in the second inning, allowing Troy to plate its first run, before the Trojans small-balled their way to five runs in the third. After Gatti exited following a pair of leadoff walks, a throwing error to third base on a Drew Nelson bunt allowed Zaid Diaz to score from second and opened the floodgates. Blake Cavill followed with an RBI single, Houston Markham added a sacrifice bunt for another run, and a Nolan Book double and Josh Pyne single tacked on two more.

Troy's bullpen kept the lead intact. Left-hander Zach Crotchfelt struck out two over two innings, allowing a pair of runs on three hits in the sixth, before right-hander Cooper Ellingworth shut the door with two scoreless frames, striking out three and allowing one hit.

The Trojans tacked on some insurance runs with a Steven Meier RBI single in the fifth, a sacrifice fly from Nelson in the sixth, and another RBI single from Cavill in the eighth.

Notables

Troy has opened Sun Belt Conference play with a series win each of the last three seasons.
Troy moves to 2-1 in rubber matches this season and 12-8 under head coach Skylar Meade.
Troy's pitching staff struck out 12 hitters, one shy of its season high.
Dylan Alonso's seven strikeouts were the most in his Division-I career. He had previously struck out six hitters against North Alabama while pitching for Middle Tennessee State in 2024.
In his first start as a Trojan, Alonso earned his third win of the season. He leads the team in both wins (3) and saves (3).
Troy's offense drew nine walks, its most this season.
Steven Meier's three walks tied his career high. He's now done so three times in his career.
Meier improved his reached base streak to a team-high ten games.
Josh Pyne improved his hit streak to six games with a 1-for-5 day at the plate.
Zaid Diaz drew four walks, the first Trojan to do so since Harrison Bowman at Alabama State last season.
Blake Cavill went 2-for-4 with an HBP and two RBIs. It was both his second multi-hit and second multi-RBI game of the season.

Quotables
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"You look at the last two games, if you want to dive into the pitching aspect, only three walks. No walks yesterday, three walks today. That's a recipe for success on Sundays. Of course, Dylan Alonso set a heck of a tone for what he did. That was great to see."

First Baseman Blake Cavill
"Today was an everybody game. It was a momentum game. An energy game. It's Sunday, the hardest day to win. I think we were loud from the first pitch to the last pitch, and that's what made us win today."

RHP Dylan Alonso
"I just took it one inning at a time. Coach Meade was talking before the game, just think about 1-and-0. I took that on the mound, just make every pitch count."

Next Up
Troy heads up to Montgomery, Ala., to face Alabama State on Tuesday.