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Troy Athletics

Freshman William Sullivan went 5-5 and blasted four doubles as the Trojan offense exploded for 11 extra-base hits in a 20-11 win over Northern Kentucky in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field. Troy bats drove in 67 runs, the most through the first four games in school history, during an opening weekend series sweep of the Norse.

“I can’t recall a season where we’ve started like this,” head coach Mark Smartt said. “Up and down the lineup, it’s been as good of a start as i can remember. Give them credit, they came out with a different mentality today. I’m proud of Lance for entering in a difficult situation and settling us down.”

DJ Wilkinson earned the start for Troy (4-0), but it was Marquez Oates that notched the win for the Trojans on the mound, striking out four batters in 2.1 innings. Lance Johnson entered the game in a tough spot in the top of the second but pitched three solid innings and was able to get the Trojans back on track after a shaky start.

Kurt Lange hung the loss for Northern Kentucky (0-4) despite the Norse’s best outing of the weekend. Northern Kentucky took its first lead of the series with four runs in the first, before the first five Trojans in the lineup all reached and scored in the bottom half of the inning. The Norse reclaimed the lead in the top of the second and held it until the Trojan offense went off for eight runs in the sixth inning, four in the seventh and one in the eighth.

For the second time this weekend, all nine Troy starters recorded at least one hit, and seven starters posted multi-hit games. Drew Frederic, Dalton Sinquefield, Logan Cerny and Sullivan accounted for 12 of the 20 runs that crossed the plate with three runs apiece.

Doubles Alley lived up to its name as Troy hit seven doubles on the day, bringing their weekend total to 21.��Jesse Hall, Easton Kirk, Sullivan and Frederic all hit doubles while Kyle Mock registered Troy’s first triple of the season in the bottom of the seventh.

Cerny, Austin Garofalo and Frederic each blasted a home run to left field with distances of 364, 362 and 381 ft., respectively. Hall recorded his first hit as a Trojan, a double to right field to score Frederic in the bottom of the eighth.