Troy Falls to No. 3 Florida State in Finale

Sunday, February 25

Tallahassee, Fla.

12:00 PM

Troy University

4-4

#3 Florida State

7-0

Troy

Florida State

Troy Falls to No. 3 Florida State in Finale

2/25/2018 5:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jace Sanders

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Third-ranked Florida State utilized a five-run second and a three-run seventh to push past Troy, 9-4, in the finale of the three-game set Sunday at Dick Howser Stadium.

Troy (4-4) struck first on a Cole Prestegard solo shot in the second inning – the homer marked the second of the season and he finished the game 3-for-4.

That would prove to be the Trojans' only lead, as the Seminoles (7-0) stormed back to score five runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back on their way to the series sweep.

After the second inning, the game was put on halt for an hour and 18 minutes due to a rain delay. CJ Carter entered after the delay and went to work on the mound – only allowing one run and scattering three hits around two strikeouts in four innings.

Troy was able to cut it to three in both the sixth and seventh innings, partly because of Matt Sanders' perfect day at the plate. The senior finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and two runs scored. Joey Denison also turned in a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5 with a run driven in.

FSU was led offensively by Drew Mendoza, who was able to go 2-for-2 with a triple, two walks and two runs scored. Freshman starter Austin Pollock (1-0) picked up his first career win after going six innings, allowing only two runs – one earned – on five hits.

Rush Hixon (1-1) suffered the loss on the mound for Troy after giving up five runs on five hits in two innings – he struck out two.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
We got off to a great start but then bottomed out. We had chances to get back in it but we couldn't get that next good hit. I thought our competition grade yesterday was A+. I wasn't disappointed with our effort today, it just didn't live up to that par. We'll lick our wounds tomorrow then come back and regroup before hosting UAB Wednesday night.

Noteworthy
• Matt Sanders led off the game with a first-pitch double to extend his career-long hitting streak to 16 games. Sanders led off all three games of the series with a base hit – single, double, double.

• Cole Prestegard hit a solo homer in the second inning to record his second career home run. He is tied for the team-lead with eight runs driven in this season.

• With a perfect 3-for-3 afternoon, Matt Sanders recorded his 55^th career multi-hit game and fourth of the early season – it was his 20^th career game with three or more hits. Cole Prestegard posted his second career multi-hit game and Joey Denison collected his 29^th game of the likes.

• Troy was swept in a series for the first time since March 2016 – the Trojans dropped a three-game set at Little Rock.