Baseball takes series victory on the road

Troy baseball began their two-week road trip to Virginia with a three-game series against conference opponent Old Dominion. The Trojans downed the Monarchs 2-1 to claim a series victory.

“Our energy was good, which sets a tone,” said head coach Skylar Meade in an interview with Troy Athletics. “Everyone is giving their very best effort and competing to their very best.

“Winning close games is what good teams do, and we executed to our best.”

The series was being played in a Triple-A Minor League stadium belonging to the Norfolk Tides due to stadium renovations on Old Dominion’s field. The players got a chance to play in a pristine park just off the river in Norfolk, Virginia, and they hopped on that opportunity very quickly.

Game one was dominated from start to finish by Troy in a 7-0 drubbing of the Monarchs.

Starting pitcher, senior Garrett Gainous, was stellar in the matchup -- he went seven innings with six punchouts. This set the tone for Noah Thigpen and Colby Frieda, who entered in relief and pitched two scoreless frames themselves.

“It was a meticulous effort across the board,” Meade said. “I loved Garrett’s energy throughout the game, and he set the tone for everyone else.”

The pitching wasn’t the only thing that showed up in game one, as the bats were hot as well. Sean Darnell got things started in the third inning with a fielder’s choice RBI before the offense opened in the fourth.

A couple errors by the Monarch’s defense extended the inning scoring Peryn Bland and Jakob Wax before a Harrison Bowman RBI single scored former Monarch Steven Meier to bring the lead to 4-0.

The offense was shut down until Blake Cavill raked one to center field over the batter’s eye, scoring Bland in the process. The Trojans would score again on a Jakob Wax RBI in the ninth before Frieda retired the side to secure the win.

The Trojans would secure the series on Saturday with a 4-3 win over the Monarchs, much closer than the first. The Monarchs score remained low, thanks to the efforts of Noah Edders through the first six innings. The junior right hander kept the Old Dominion batters guessing and fired eight strikeouts in the contest.

“I had a good mindset going in there,” said Edders in an interview with Troy Athletics. “I tried to get the leadoff hitters out every inning to make it easier on the defense.

“Those guys behind me are unbelievable, and I trust those guys so much.”

The Trojans jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through five innings thanks to a Brooks Bryan RBI single and a screamer off Jimmy Janicki’s bat to left field. Edders remained spotless through five, but in the sixth things started going array.

On the first pitch of the inning, catcher Jack Slater crushed a double down the right field line. Edders was able to mitigate the damage, getting two outs before throwing a wild pitch, which allowed Slater to score.

The Trojans got one run back in the seventh off a Darnell RBI single, but this would be the final run scored by the Trojans. Troy would have to rely on the defense from here on out.

The Monarchs bounced on the opportunity immediately, as Slater scored another in the bottom of the seventh to bring the game within two. Zach Leite brought the game within one run in the eighth inning, breathing life into a comeback chance.

Jay Dill would have nothing to do with a ninth inning rally. The senior shut down the opposition, retiring all three Monarch batters in the ninth to secure the save and series victory.

The Monarchs carried their momentum into Sunday and stole a game in the series.

Monarch batters were on fire to begin the game and starting pitcher Blake Morgan kept getting soft contact from Troy’s batters in the 9-5 ODU victory. Monarchs’ shortstop Kyle Edwards homered twice in the contest.

“We gave them a lot of freebies today,” Meade said. “Our execution was off today, giving them eight walks and four hit by pitches.

“You aren’t going to win games when you give the other team free opportunities.”

Trojan starting pitcher Adam Falinski was unable to find any sort of rhythm from the mound, allowing four runs through two innings. Old Dominion scored five more times after that, increasing the lead to 9-2 by the sixth.

The Trojans began a rally in the seventh scoring three runs to bring it within four with two innings to go, but stranding runs became the name of the game. In the top of the eighth inning, both Cavill and Bowman got on base, only to be stranded after Bryan hit directly into the shift. Following the series, Troy improved their record to 24-9 and 8-4 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Trojans were ranked in every national poll this week with the highest being No. 18 in Perfect Game’s top 25. Troy continues its road trip with a midweek visit to No. 25 Virginia Tech on Wednesday Apr. 9, before a series against James Madison starting on Apr. 11.