Trojans Take 2-1 Nail-Biter From Red Wolves

Saturday, April 2

State University, AR

3:00 pm

Troy University

Arkansas State University

Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer

Trojans Take 2-1 Nail-Biter From Red Wolves

4/2/2011 8:03:34 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Ricky Hazel

FINAL BOX SCORE: PDF | HTML POST-GAME AUDIO

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Troy Trojans kept their remarkable unbeaten streak at Tomlinson Stadium alive on Saturday afternoon, but it took some quality pitches in tough situations to secure the 2-1 win over Arkansas State.

Troy improved to 21-5 overall with the win and to 7-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Trojans are all alone in first place in the league standings thanks to UALR's 8-2 victory over Western Kentucky. The Trojans also clinched their seventh consecutive weekend series to start the 2011 season.

Arkansas State, which fell to 0-11 on its home field against Troy, is now 12-17 overall on the season and 2-6 in league play.

Troy coasted into the eighth inning behind senior right-hander Drew Hull (4-0), despite the fact that the Trojans had managed just two runs off Arkansas State starter Jacob Lee (2-3).

“We knew who was on the mound today with Drew and Lee and we knew if both guys were throwing well, which they were, that we would have this type of game,” Troy coach Bobby Pierce said. “It came down to one pitch here or there.”

Hull did not allow a hit until there were two out in the sixth inning and allowed just two in his 7.1 innings of work. He struck out seven in the outing and the only issue he had was in trying to get called third strikes against the left-handed hitters for the Red Wolves.

“I give Drew a lot of credit,” Pierce said. “His maturity has done a lot for him. He made some great pitches, some really great pitches, that were robbed from him. According to our catcher they should have been called strikes. A guy without as much experience might have wilted there, but he just kept coming back and making better pitches. I thought he pitched a great game.”

Hull, who made his school-record tying 74th career appearance in the game, primarily uses a back-door slider against left-handers to get strikeouts. Against right-handed hitters, the pitches were strikes, but with a left-hander at the plate, he rarely got the call, which could have been cause for frustration.

“I felt that the zone was really tight today, but I also knew that I had to trust my stuff and try to get their guys to chase pitches out of the zone” Hull said. “I knew I had to command my fast ball better, and I did that.”

After getting a strikeout to start the eighth, Hull surrendered his fifth walk of the day and, with three consecutive left-handed hitters due up, the Trojans turned to junior reliever Garrett McHenry.

Things turned sour quickly for the Trojans when McHenry threw eight consecutive pitches out of the strike zone, loading the bases with only one out on the board. Troy turned to the pen again, bringing in closer Tyson Workman, who hit the first batter he faced, forcing in a run.

With the bases still loaded in a 2-1 game, Workman got a strikeout of Jordan Castaldo and a ground out by Zach Maggio to end the threat.

Workman, who earned his second save of the year, appeared set to cruise through the ninth inning with strikeouts of the first two ASU hitters. But the Red Wolves refused to go down without a fight. A pair of infield singles were sandwiched around a walk, loading the bases again.

ASU leadoff hitter Michael Faulkner, the reigning Sun Belt Conference player of the week, came up with a chance to be the hero for the Red Wolves, but Workman struck him out to end the game.

“The bull pen let us down a little by not throwing strikes at the end, but Tyson did gut it out to get the last strikeout with the bases loaded,” Pierce said. “It was a nail-biter, a 2-1 win, and I'll take it every time. When you have two competitive teams battling it out, it often comes down to the last pitch, and that is certainly what happened today.”

Troy scored single runs in the third and eighth innings in a second straight showdown between some of the best starting pitchers in the league.

Todd McRae got Troy on the board in the third when he led off with a single, moved up on a wild pitch and then to third on a passed ball before scoring on a sinking liner to left off the bat of Ali Knowles. The sacrifice fly RBI gave Hull a 1-0 lead.

The Trojans added what turned out to be an important insurance run in the eighth when Knowles led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a single by T.J. Rivera. The hit was the fourth of the game for Rivera, who came into the day with just three hits in his last five games.

“T.J. was 4-for-4 and he battled for those because he is not feeling well at the plate,” Pierce said. “It was great for him to get the four hits, especially the big one to drive in the run with two strikes. He didn't look great on that swing either, but he shortened up enough to get the ball into right field and drive in the winning run.”

McRae had a pair of hits in the game and Adam Bryant added a fifth inning single that kept his hitting streak alive at 14 games, and moved him past Jorge Soto into second place on the Troy career list for total bases.

ASU had just four hits in the game after getting just six in the series opener on Friday.

The Trojans will go for the series sweep on Sunday when freshman left-hander Jimmy Hodgskin (2-1, 3.07) takes the mound against Arkansas State's senior right-hander Brad Allen (2-2, 4.76). The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.