Troy rallies late to overcome Samford
A late charge by the Troy Trojans baseball team led to an exciting 10-8 win over the Samford Bulldogs in Birmingham on Tuesday night.
Troy trailed 7-6 going into the ninth inning but Cameron Gray and Brady Moore both scored on the same error in the top of the ninth inning to put Troy ahead 8-7. With the bases loaded, William Sullivan was walked driving Ryan Pettys home and then Kyle Mock was walked on the very next at bat to drive Donovan Whibbs home and extend the lead to 10-7. Samford did manage one run in the bottom of the ninth inning but couldn’t chip away at the Trojan lead any further.
Mock went 2-for-5 at the plate with a home run, a double, three RBIs and two runs against Samford, while Caleb Bartolero and Gray both went 2-for-4 with a run. On the defensive end, Bartolero earned seven putouts and three assists at catcher, while Sullivan had 11 putouts at first base.
Marquez Oates earned the win on the mound, pitching two innings and striking out a batter, while giving up no hits or runs. Grayson Stewart also earned a save with two strikeouts in one inning. He also gave up a hit and an earned run. Bay Witcher pitched five innings with four strikeouts along with 10 hits and five earned runs given up.
Troy remains on the road this weekend for a big Sun Belt Conference series with Georgia Southern beginning Friday. Troy is currently sitting in fifth place of the Sun Belt, while Georgia Southern is comfortably in second place. With just three conference series left this season every one counts for the Trojans heading into the Sun Belt Tournament later this month.