Baseball wins first series of season over Campbell

Troy baseball took its weekend series against Campbell at Riddle-Pace Field, only falling in one game. 

The Trojans started with a dominant 13-3 win to run-rule the Camels in eight innings in their home opener on Friday.  

Tommy Egran fires a pitch during Friday's game. (Troy Athletics photo)

Tommy Egan laid the foundation on the mound, collecting a career-high nine strikeouts in five scoreless innings. Egan was perfect in his first three innings, which featured a 33-minute rain delay after the second frame. 

“Everybody says they’re tough and then you get put in tough moments, and it’s like ‘what are you going to do,” said head coach Skylar Meade. “Just because it ended up separated, that wasn't the reality of the game.  

“You look at the DNA of games - everyone leaves here and says that was easy - but there was nothing easy.” 

Jimmy Janicki showed his offensive power with a 433-foot birthday bomb to start the Trojans’ four-run inning, with Drew Nelson bringing in two runs on a single to right field.  

The Trojans secured their victory with a six-run eighth inning. Aaron Piasecki led off with his second double of the night and Janicki picked up another double. Steven Meier and Nelson also added RBI triples to seal off opening day with the run-rule.  

Game two was a two-day affair after a weather delay, which resumed at the top of the third on Sunday morning. Campbell took that game 13-1 after slamming four home runs and 13 hits. 

The Trojans turned it around for the series finale just 45 minutes after game two to defeat the Camels 8-4 and earn their first series victory of the season.  

"To answer back and play so excellently in the second game post-ugliness, I think, should tell our guys that there's a level that we maybe haven't gotten to yet, But you're seven games in, and it's not really indicative of what you are.” Meade said. “   

“Just a tremendous job by us offensively, throwing the first punch, and handling their punch even though we could have gotten out of that second [inning].” 

The pitching staff of Benjamin Stubbs, Zach Crotchfelt, and Dylan Alonso held Campbell scoreless after a four-run second inning. Crotchfelt earned the win with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings.  

On the offensive side, Blake Cavill smashed a three-run homer in the top of the first after a walk and hit-by-pitch from Piasecki and Janicki. The Trojan offense drew seven HBP’s in the finale to tie the program single-game record.  

The Trojans responded to the four-run second inning from the Camels with a home run from Jabe Boroff to break the tie, and Josh Pyne came in with a two-run homer to put Troy ahead 7-4. The Trojans put the last run up on the board with Janicki scoring on Meier’s fielder’s choice.   

The game finished with a ground out by Campbell’s Carlos Lucas in the top of the ninth to hand the Trojans the win.  

After a midweek contest against Georgia on Wednesday, Troy will head to the Keith LeClair Classic hosted by East Carolina in Greenville, North Carolina, where they will face West Carolina, East Carolina and Rutgers.