by Caleb Thomas
Despite the rough weather in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Troy baseball team took two out of three games from the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns over the weekend to inch closer to the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings.
The Trojans took Friday’s series opener against the 25-12 Ragin Cajuns, who started the series tied for first place in Sun Belt standings. In the 9-6 win, the offense exploded, with William Sullivan hitting homer No. 15 and Ethan Kavanagh collecting two RBIs.
On the pitching side, Brady Fuller was solid, striking out 10 batters and only giving up three runs on a night where he walked five batters. Coach Skylar Meade took advantage of the upcoming postponement on Saturday, bringing projected Saturday starter Zach Fruit out of the bullpen to close out the game.
Fruit struck out four in 3.1 innings, and although he surrendered three more runs, the offense backed him up as he earned the save. Meade’s unconventional move worked to perfection, saving the Trojan bullpen for Sunday’s doubleheader while getting Fruit valuable playing time.
After a rainy Saturday, the Trojans and the Ragin Cajuns split a doubleheader on Sunday. Troy took the first game of the doubleheader 6-2 before dropping the nightcap 2-1.
In the first game of the day, Caleb Bartolero provided all the offensive power the Trojans needed, and early. His two home runs in the second and fourth innings gave Troy a 3-0 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Grayson Stewart and Ben Thompson mowed down Louisiana hitters all day, with Stewart going six innings, striking out seven and giving up the only two runs of the game. Troy yet again used a starting pitcher out of the bullpen – Ben Thompson dominated, striking out seven in three innings, only allowing two hits and picking up the save.
While the Trojans lost a tight 2-1 game in the nightcap, the bullpen game worked out brilliantly, as three pitchers combined to give up a mere two runs and five hits. However, the offense couldn’t muster up the run support, with the only run of the day coming off Shane Lewis’ 16th homer, which leads the Sun Belt.
The Trojans will get back to work in Sun Belt play this weekend when Texas State visits Riddle-Pace field. The three-game series starts on Friday at 6 p.m. Troy lost two of the three games in the last series they played against the Bobcats, which was in 2021.
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