Troy University Athletics
Saturday, April 4
Troy, Ala.
12 p.m.
Troy University
15-17, 6-6
6
vs
4
Arkansas State
19-12, 6-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| Troy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 6 | 10 | 1 |
Troy Rallies Past Arkansas State to Claim Series
4/4/2026 5:29:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. - Troy erased a 4-0 Arkansas State lead to top the Red Wolves 6-4 in Saturday's series-deciding victory at Riddle-Pace Field.
The Trojans' (15-17, 6-6 SBC) rally started with a four-run fifth inning, kick-started by a two-run blast by Blake Cavill off of Jelle van der Lelie after Josh Pyne's leadoff walk knocked A-State (19-12, 6-6 SBC) starter Dylan Farley out of the game. The Trojans then strung together three singles by Steven Meier, Drew Nelson and Sean Darnell to even up the ballgame
The Red Wolves led early on despite a strong start by Trojan righty Tommy Egan, who pitched 4.2 innings with a career best 11 strikeouts. Egan allowed a solo homer to Derek Martinez while striking out the side in the first, while a walk, a single, and a sac bunt scored one in the third. The next two runs Egan allowed were unearned as a one-out error led to a two-out, two-run double by Evan Griffis in the fifth.
Troy's success against the Arkansas State bullpen continued against Tyler Weimer in the seventh. Meier singled and reached second on a wild pitch, setting up a go-ahead RBI single for Nolan Book. The throw to the plate allowed Book to reach second, and he tagged to third on a Darnell flyout before scoring on an infield single by Houston Markham.
The Troy bullpen, on the other hand, was dominant as the trio of Zach Crotchfelt, Cooper Ellingworth and Dylan Alonso held the Red Wolves scoreless across the final 4.1 innings while Alonso earned his fifth save of the season.
Alonso entered with one on and one out in the eighth, and immediately induced an inning-ending double play to Lane Walton. The Red Wolves picked up two one-out singles in the ninth, but a hard Martinez line drive to Pyne at third base turned into a game-ending double play as Pyne dove to beat Ashton Quiller back to the bag.
Notables
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"I thought the pitching staff was tremendous. 16 strikeouts, two walks. The strikeouts are fine, but the walks mean they had to earn what they got. Turned two double plays there in the eighth and ninth with Dylan Alonso doing his job, not getting sped up, which was huge. And to be quite frank, Blake's homer allowed us a little bit of physical freedom. We piggybacked off that."
Centerfielder Steven Meier
"My job in these scenarios was to get on base. That's all I wanted to do. I was able to flip a switch yesterday, see it better, and swing it better, and today my job was to get on base, and I did. It's all we needed, knowing that if I did too much, we'd have less success."
Shortstop Nolan Book
"It was huge for the team. All it is is confidence. You've just got to enjoy the game, have fun, and trust yourself up there.
Next Up
Troy hosts Florida A&M at 11 a.m. on Wednesday before hitting the road for a three-game series at Texas State next weekend.
The Trojans' (15-17, 6-6 SBC) rally started with a four-run fifth inning, kick-started by a two-run blast by Blake Cavill off of Jelle van der Lelie after Josh Pyne's leadoff walk knocked A-State (19-12, 6-6 SBC) starter Dylan Farley out of the game. The Trojans then strung together three singles by Steven Meier, Drew Nelson and Sean Darnell to even up the ballgame
The Red Wolves led early on despite a strong start by Trojan righty Tommy Egan, who pitched 4.2 innings with a career best 11 strikeouts. Egan allowed a solo homer to Derek Martinez while striking out the side in the first, while a walk, a single, and a sac bunt scored one in the third. The next two runs Egan allowed were unearned as a one-out error led to a two-out, two-run double by Evan Griffis in the fifth.
Troy's success against the Arkansas State bullpen continued against Tyler Weimer in the seventh. Meier singled and reached second on a wild pitch, setting up a go-ahead RBI single for Nolan Book. The throw to the plate allowed Book to reach second, and he tagged to third on a Darnell flyout before scoring on an infield single by Houston Markham.
The Troy bullpen, on the other hand, was dominant as the trio of Zach Crotchfelt, Cooper Ellingworth and Dylan Alonso held the Red Wolves scoreless across the final 4.1 innings while Alonso earned his fifth save of the season.
Alonso entered with one on and one out in the eighth, and immediately induced an inning-ending double play to Lane Walton. The Red Wolves picked up two one-out singles in the ninth, but a hard Martinez line drive to Pyne at third base turned into a game-ending double play as Pyne dove to beat Ashton Quiller back to the bag.
Notables
- Troy has one each of its last four series against Arkansas State. The Trojans are 44-18 all-time against the Red Wolves.
- All three games of the series ended with a 6-4 final score, with Troy winning games one and three and Arkansas State taking game two.
- Troy trailed 4-0 and came back to win 6-4. It was Troy's largest comeback win of the season.
- Troy is 5-3 in series finales this season and 3-2 in rubber matches.
- Troy's pitching staff struck out 16 hitters, its most since striking out 17 in a 12-inning win over Arkansas State on May 9, 2025. It was the most strikeouts Trojan pitchers have recorded in a 9-inning game since striking out 18 against South Alabama on March 22, 2024.
- Tommy Egan struck out a career best 11 hitters.
- Egan's 55 strikeouts on the season are the third-most in the Sun Belt.
- Dylan Alonso earned his second save of the series and team-best fifth save of the season.
- Josh Pyne extended his hitting streak to a team-high five games.
- Blake Cavill extended his reached base streak to a team-high 21 games.
- Cavill's two-run home run in the fifth inning was his third homer of the season. It traveled 377 feet with an exit velocity of 103 MPH.
Head Coach Skylar Meade
"I thought the pitching staff was tremendous. 16 strikeouts, two walks. The strikeouts are fine, but the walks mean they had to earn what they got. Turned two double plays there in the eighth and ninth with Dylan Alonso doing his job, not getting sped up, which was huge. And to be quite frank, Blake's homer allowed us a little bit of physical freedom. We piggybacked off that."
Centerfielder Steven Meier
"My job in these scenarios was to get on base. That's all I wanted to do. I was able to flip a switch yesterday, see it better, and swing it better, and today my job was to get on base, and I did. It's all we needed, knowing that if I did too much, we'd have less success."
Shortstop Nolan Book
"It was huge for the team. All it is is confidence. You've just got to enjoy the game, have fun, and trust yourself up there.
Next Up
Troy hosts Florida A&M at 11 a.m. on Wednesday before hitting the road for a three-game series at Texas State next weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ellingworth, Cooper (1-3)
L: Weimer, Tyler (3-1)
S: Alonso, Dylan (5)
Batting:
2B: Griffis, Evan 1
HR: Martinez, Derek 1
RBI: Campbell, Cason 1 ; Griffis, Evan 2 ; Martinez, Derek 1
SH: Campbell, Cason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McLaughlin III, Joey 1 ; Campbell, Cason 1 ; Martinez, Derek 2
HBP: Houseworth, Aidan 1
Batting:
HR: Cavill, Blake 1
RBI: Darnell, Sean 1 ; Markham, Houston 1 ; Cavill, Blake 2 ; Book, Nolan 1
SH: Cavill, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nelson, Drew 1 ; Meier, Steven 2 ; Cavill, Blake 1 ; Book, Nolan 1 ; Pyne, Josh 1
CS: Markham, Houston 1
HBP: Darnell, Sean 1 ; Piasecki, Aaron 1
Players Mentioned
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