Costly mistakes: Troy falls to rival Jacksonville State 9-7
Published 9:50 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2019
- The Troy Trojans took on rival Jacksonville State on Wednesday night. Above: Bay Witcher delivers a pitch for Troy.
The Troy Trojans fell to rival Jacksonville State 9-7 on Wednesday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
The loss for the Trojans drops them to 4-4 on the year.
The Trojans committed four errors in the game, none bigger than the one in the eighth inning that gave the Gamecocks the lead.
With the game tied at six, the Gamecocks had runners on second and first with nobody out. The Gamecocks laid down a sacrifice bunt. A charging Drew Frederic made an errant throw, allowing the leading run to score. By inning’s end, pitcher Rush Hixon and the Troy Trojans allowed three runs on five hits.
Bay Witcher got the start for the Trojans. The sophomore pitched two innings and gave up three runs on two hits and three walks. Hixon took the loss for the Trojans after his one inning of work.
The Trojans scored three early runs in the opening inning. Reed Smith led off the inning with a triple to center field and came around to score on a single to right center by Drew Frederic. Sadler Goodwin then smashed a two-run home run over the wall in left center to put Troy up 3-0.
Catcher Chase Smartt, after hitting a double, was forced to leave the game with what looked like a leg injury.
The Gamecocks sent seven batters to the plate in the second inning and tied the score at three after Taylor Craven and Alex Strachan both hit home runs that cleared the left field fence.
The Gamecocks scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take their first lead of the game at 6-3. The Gamecocks scored their three runs on two hits and two walks off Witcher and the Trojans.
The Trojans got back to work in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sadler Goodwin launched his second home run of the game, this time to right center to bring the Trojans back to within two at 6-4. Dalton Sinquefield smacked a two-run double down the left field line, driving in both Austin Garofalo and Hunter Mercer to tie the game at 6.
The Trojans had hopes of taking a lead in the bottom of the seventh inning when they had runners at the corner with two outs. Sinquefield drove Gamecock left fielder Taylor Craven all the back to the wall before he reached up to make the catch to end the threat and the inning.
Downs three in the eighth inning, the Trojans crept closer with a home run by Smith, bringing the score to 9-7.
The Trojans finished with 12 hits led by Smith who went 3-5 with one RBI and two runs scored.
The Trojans will return to action on Friday when they open up a three-game series against Southeastern Louisiana beginning at 6 p.m.