Harrison Bowman breaks out at the plate against Coastal Carolina

Taylor Fraze photo

Harrison Bowman swings at a pitch against Coastal Carolina.

While students enjoyed their spring break, the Troy baseball team was hard at work defending Riddle-Pace Field. Not only was it a top 20 matchup for the Trojans, but their home opener in conference play.

In game two of the series, Troy struck back after losing the series opener -- topping the Chanticleers 9-8 – with a spark from Harrison Bowman. Bowman went 2-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs. Bowman’s first hit was a single to start an eighth inning rally.

“One swing’s not going to win the game,” senior first baseman Blake Cavill said to Troy Athletics.. “Harry [Bowman] starts off with a hit, and after that the boys just rolled.”

Bowman’s bat remained hot in the rubber match of the series. The sophomore went 2-for-4 on the day, driving in five runs – his second multi-RBI game this season. The first RBI came in the sixth inning when the Kentucky native roped a two-out single to score Brooks Bryan.

His production didn’t stop there. In the seventh inning, things took a grand turn for the Trojans. After intentionally walking Bryan to load the bases, Bowman turned on a 2-1 slider and sent the ball deep to left field – 386 feet deep. This energized four of eight unanswered runs Troy would plate to dispatch the Chanticleers 9-5.

“I’m grateful that Brooks is such a great hitter and so feared in the league that it got to me,” Bowman said. “I took it a little bit personally, but I just stuck to my approach just trying to get my head on the ball.”

His grand slam was his first while being in college. It’s the second home run that he’s belted in his collegiate career. During the series, the righty extended his hitting and on-base streak to five games – his fourth multi-hit game of the season.

The sophomore is looking to do big things donning the Power T. Last season while playing at Iowa Central Community College, he earned NJCAA Division II National Player of the Month honors in March in route to being named a NJCAA Division II First Team All-American.

Bowman will have several chances to build on his performance from the plate in midweek action this week. Troy will play midweek games against Wofford and Florida A&M before playing host to Marshall for a weekend series.