Grand slam highlights Darnell's strong week

As part of Troy’s 14-2 win over Alabama State on Mar. 31, Sean Darnell swatted a grand slam to deliver a fatal blow to the Hornets.  

“I’m sure this is what people will remember from the evening, Sean Darnell’s grand slam,” said head coach Skylar Meade.   

Darnell’s blast was the first grand slam of the season for the Troy baseball team, and the first since May 4, 2025.   

Sean Darnell is a true product of the Wiregrass, going to high school in Elmore County in Wetumpka, Alabama, and excelling in two years of baseball at Wallace Community College in Dothan, Alabama, before his time at Troy. Darnell batted over .360 with 30-plus RBIs in both seasons at the JUCO level. 

Last season, Darnell shined for the Trojans as he started all 60 games at second base, while earning a Sun Belt Player of the Week honor in week two. Darnell led the team in multi-hit and multi-RBI games with 19 and 14, respectively, and was top 10 in the Sun Belt in hits, doubles and RBIs for the season. 

On May 4, 2025, Troy went into the top of the ninth inning in the series-deciding game against rival South Alabama trailing by one run.  Darnell changed this with one swing, as he cleared the bases on a go-ahead grand slam to right field to make the score 6-3.  

Troy ended up needing all four of the runs scored in the top of the ninth to secure the win against South, as the Jaguars scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to bring the final to 6-5. 

The Trojan bats wasted no time warming up after the rain delay on Mar. 31 against Alabama State. They scored nine runs in the top of the first, with four coming on a Sean Darnell homer that sailed over the right field wall for a total of 394 feet.  

This marked his second home run of the season, as well as his second in two games, with his first homer being a three-run shot in the ninth inning of the previous game. 

The Hornets could not get the second baseman out at the plate on Tuesday, as he walked in his other three plate appearances. Darnell tied the team high for runs scored in a single game for the 2026 season with three. He scored in the fourth inning off a Josh Pyne single and in the sixth of a bases-loaded Jimmy Janicki walk. 

During the conference series over the weekend, Darnell modeled consistency, reaching base in all three games. In the two Troy wins, the lefty bat totaled three hits, two RBIs and a run scored.   

In his first at-bat against Arkansas State, Darnell singled and showed off the speed to score from first base on an Aaron Piasecki two-out double to right field to tie the game. Only an inning later in the fourth, Darnell knocked in another run via a sacrifice fly to center field. 

In the rubber match against the Red Wolves, the senior showed poise as he singled to center field with two outs to score Drew Nelson from second base and tie the ball game at 4-4. 

Darnell has been surging as of late, with a .308 batting average in conference play versus his .255 average on the season. After having a rough patch earlier in the season, Sean Darnell seems to be finding his old self in time to positively impact conference play and spark a turnaround for the Troy Trojans.