TROY, Ala. — Troy used a fifth-inning outburst to break free from a one-run game and claim a 9-1 victory against visiting Appalachian State on Friday night.
The series finale is scheduled to begin Saturday at 2 p.m. ET with App State's
Brandon Boone and Troy's Sadler Goodwin taking the mound.
Luke Drumheller,
Dalton Williams and
Hayden Cross — all freshmen who bat left-handed — led the Mountaineers (15-21, 7-9) with two hits apiece in Game 2. A walk meant that Drumheller reached base three times from the leadoff spot in the order, and Williams scored on an RBI double from
Robbie Young in the sixth inning.
Troy (21-18, 9-8) had built a 5-0 lead on just three hits by that point. App State starter
Tyler Tuthill lasted 4.1 innings and gave up just one hit while issuing five walks and striking out six batters on 99 pitches.
Two walks and an error contributed to an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning, and the Trojans broke the game open with their four-run fifth. A walk, flyout, steal of second on an unsuccessful pickoff attempt and steal of third prompted a pitching change, and Goodwin singled off
Kaleb Bowman to give Troy a 2-0 lead.
Bowman struck out the next batter, but Goodwin stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and, after a two-out walk, scored on a balk. Hunter Mercer's RBI double produced a 4-0 lead, and another run scored when a popup near the mound was misplayed.
Jack Hartman pitched the next two innings and totaled four strikeouts while allowing one run for App State.
Will Herman and
Bobby Hampton pitched the eighth inning.
Troy starter Cory Gill struck out 11 batters and allowed one run on five hits in 5.2 innings. Lance Johnson recorded four strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief, and Ryan Fultz had one strikeout in a scoreless ninth.
App State Baseball would like to thank AutoStar Nissan of Boone for serving as the presenting sponsor of the 2019 season.
