Senior Heavy Trojans Look For GWOC Title
Troy Tribune Written by Jim Dabbelt
Ty Welker begins his 11th season at the helm of the Troy Trojans baseball program, and he knows what lies in front of him. The Trojans lost several seniors off of last year’s squad, but also feels that with the talent they have coming back, they can make a successful run at the top teams in the area.
“We have had some nice success here the past few years, so I think the mentality is in the right place as we start the new season,” he said. “They understand what it takes to be successful and I think their work ethic is in place.”
“We did lose six or seven starters off of last years’ team, including two of our league pitchers, so inexperience as far as starting guys could be a key for us this year.”
“Our goal is to always win the league and go far into the tournament, but we do that not by looking at the big picture, but working on the little things. We go day by day, and we feel we can be successful and compete against the best teams.”
Despite losing the talent from last year, the Trojans have 12 seniors on the roster this year, many moving up to the varsity team this year.
Leading the way is three-year varsity letterwinner Jared Bair, as the senior will play first base and will be the only left-handed pitcher on the roster this year. Bair is also going to attend the Air Force Academy to play football.
“He is a great kid and outstanding student,” Welker said. “He will do a lot for us this year, not just as a player but as a leader of the program.”
Senior Jordan Peck returns as a third baseman, and pitched some complete games on non-league nights last year.
“Jordan will jump in there and throw for us this year on league nights,” Welker said. “His fastball has picked up speed. He can be real effective for us.”
Also making his varsity debut will be Austin Barney, who will do some pitching for the Trojans and play right field. Jacob Curcio is also a first-year letterwinner and will play in the outfield.
Returning behind the plate after catching 28 games last season is Tyler Lambert, another senior for the Trojans.
“He stepped in last year when my starting catcher got hurt, and he went through some growing pains,” Welker said. “With that behind him, we expect him to take off this year and control the game.”
Another senior, Drake McDonagh looks to contribute in the outfield and will cover a lot of ground for the Trojans. Another returning player will be senior Joe McGillivary, as he returns from injury.
After a two-year hiatus, Troy Moore will be playing for the Trojans this year, who took time off to focus on golf.
Alex Riedel moves up from the JV squad, as the senior will compete for time at third base according to Welker. Another senior to watch is Justin O’Neill, who will see time in the outfield and possibly pitcher on non-league nights for the Trojans.
Senior Noah Roswell is also back after suffering an ACL injury last year.
The lone juniors on the roster will be Hayden Kotwica and Chaz Copas. Kotwica returns after a big sophomore year and is expected to pitch and compete near the top of the order. Copas will challenge for time in the outfield.
Sophomores who will look to compete will be Brandon Emery, Keiran Williams and Jake Daniel, while freshman Jacob Adams has landed a rare spot on the varsity squad.
“This is the first freshman I have had in ten years and he will push the kids,” Welker said.
The Trojans coach feels that the GWOC runs through Vandalia.
“They were strong last year and returns a lot of players, but we don’t feel like we are overmatched,” Welker said. “We expect competition from everyone in the league.”
One way or another
Troy sweeps Oakwood, 1-0 and 11-8
March 26th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — A pitcher’s duel, complete with a stellar defensive play to end it.
Rallying from a five-run deficit to win late.
Whichever way is necessary to win, the Troy baseball team showed that it was capable of doing it.
The Trojans (2-0) opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Oakwood Saturday at Market Street Field, with Jordan Peck pitching a complete-game shutout — and getting help from a game-ending double play on an outfield assist from Hayden Kotwica — in a 1-0 victory in the opener. And in the second game, Troy fell behind 4-0 after the top of the first and trailed by as many as five before a three-run triple by Brandon Emery tied the score in the fifth and a homer by Austin Barney gave them lead in the sixth in an 11-8 come-from-behind win.
“We won two games two completely different ways today,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Jordan Peck threw a really nice game to start us off, and we played pretty good defense behind him. And in the second game, we showed that we can get behind and still win. I’d rather not be in that situation, but we did get behind, and the guys didn’t hang their heads. They just kept chugging away, fought the whole game and came through in the end.”
Peck, a senior, only allowed three hits and a walk in the opener, striking out seven. He got all the run support he’d end up needing in the second inning as Alex Riedel — who had two of the Trojans’ five hits — scored on an RBI groundout by Tyler Lambert.
Oakwood (0-2) got the leadoff batter on in the top of the seventh, and he stole second on a strikeout to get into scoring position. But the next batter flew out to Kotwica in center — who fired it to Reidel at third. The Lumberjacks’ runner had gotten a late start attempting to tag up, and the throw beat him to the base for a game-ending double play.
“That was a nice way to end the first game,” Welker said. “In a close game like that, every single play matters. And that was a great play, a great throw by Kotwica. Something like that lets our pitchers know that they can trust the defense.”
One problem that carried over from the first game to the second, though, was leaving runners on base in run-scoring situations.
“We left a lot of guys in scoring position,” Welker said. “Sometimes even a ground ball somewhere can score you a run — like Lambert’s. No one got the big hit in that game, though, and we ended up leaving guys in scoring position a lot in both games.”
The Jacks jumped on top to start the second game, plating four runs in the top of the first against Troy starter Kotwica. After a leadoff hit-by-pitch, Alex Neff and Brock Gorman hit back-to-back RBI doubles, Jackson Jennings drove in another run with a two-out single and a fourth run came in on a passed ball.
The Trojans answered with two in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI single by Jared Bair and an RBI double off the base of the fence in left by Barney to cut the lead in half. But Troy stranded runners on second and third in the next inning and a runner on third in the third, and the Jacks held onto their 4-2 lead.
Oakwood made it a 6-2 game with a pair in the fourth as Neff and Gorman again brought in runs on back-to-back hits, but the Jacks gave one right back in the bottom of the inning on a two-out run-scoring error. A run-scoring error by Troy and an RBI double by Brian Erbe in the top of the fifth, though, gave the Jacks their biggest lead of the game at 8-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Trojans changed everything.
Riedel led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches, but Oakwood starter Nolan Hamilton recorded two straight outs and looked ready to get out of the inning. An RBI infield single by Kieran Williams kept the rally alive, though, then Jacob Adams reached on an error and Drake McDonagh drove in a run with a single up the middle to cut the lead to 8-5 and force a pitching change. Kotwica drew a walk to load the bases.
Brandon Emery fell behind in the count 0-2 — but the Oakwood catcher dropped a foul pop that could have ended the inning. Given new life, Emery worked the count full and then laced a bases-clearing triple down the line in right field to tie the score.
“It makes a difference,” Welker said of the at-bat. “They hung their heads a bit, and we jumped on it. We always talk about taking advantage of situations, like that dropped pop. That’s a big deal.”
Reliever Troy Moore, who entered the game in the fifth, got out of a jam and left runners stranded on second and third in the top of the sixth, and with one out in the bottom of the sixth Barney gave the Trojans their first lead of the game by yanking the first pitch he saw over the fence in left to make it 9-8.
“Austin’s a free swinger,” Welker said. “He likes those fastballs, and he’s not going to watch many of those go by.”
Three walks an a strikeout later, Kotwica dropped a two-out, two-run double on the line in left field to give the Trojans a bit of insurance, and Moore recovered from hitting the leadoff batter in the top of the seventh and struck out the final two batters of the game to wrap up the sweep.
“Kotwica struggled a bit early but threw well enough for us to stay in the game,” Welker said. “And Troy is able to throw strikes with his big curve early in the count and get ahead of hitters. We played pretty good defense today — we tell our pitchers to throw strikes, let them hit it and let our guys play defense.”
The Trojans will be on the road all week, taking a trip to Georgia for a series of games beginning Tuesday. They will return to Ohio Saturday and travel to Springfield Shawnee, and Troy’s next home game is not until April 8 against Greenville.
Late Tuesday/Wednesday roundup
Troy baseball falls to 3-1
March 30th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
EMERSON, Ga. — When Troy got hits Tuesday, they came in bunches.
The Trojan baseball team had six consecutive second-inning hits against Woodland (Ga.) — five of those being RBI singles — scoring six in the inning, building a nine-run lead and holding on late for a 10-6 victory to start off its week-long Georgia trip Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, however, the Trojans couldn’t get anything going at the plate, falling 7-1 to Ooltewah (Tenn.).
Jacob Curcio finished the game 4 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, Brandon Emery was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs and Jared Bair was 2 for 2 with an RBI and a run as Troy lead 6-1 after the top of the second, then added four more in the top of the fifth to go up 10-1.
“In the second inning, we had a walk, an out, a walk and then six singles in a row with one out,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We had five RBI singles in a row. It was pretty awesome. We ended up with 13 hits in the game — and all of them were singles. When we got them, we strung them together.”
Bair got the win, pitching 4 2-3 innings, striking out four, walking two and giving up five of Woodland’s seven hits. Most of those came in the bottom of the fifth, when Woodland plated three runs to stay alive after Troy left two runners on in the top of the fifth but missed a chance to end the game in a run-rule.
The Trojans also had a pair of assists from the outfield. Curcio doubled off a runner at second with the bases loaded on a fly ball. And in the fourth, center fielder Hayden Kotwica — who threw out a runner at third to end Saturday’s season-opening 1-0 win over Oakwood — gunned down a runner at the plate Tuesday to end the fourth inning.
Justin O’Neill pitched 1 2-3 innings of relief and gave way to Emery, who pitched 2-3 inning to earn a save.
“Jared threw really well, got a little tired in the fifth,” Welker said. “It was a good first outing for him. He threw the ball well.”
Troy took on Ooltewah (TN) Wednesday at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson. The Trojans got a run in the top of the first, but it was all they could manage as they scattered six hits, all singles once again. Alex Riedel was 3 for 4 with an RBI in the game. Jordan Peck took the loss, giving up four runs in the bottom of the third. Ooltewah tacked on three more in the fifth to seal the Trojans’ first loss of the year.
Troy (3-1) faces North Paulding (Ga.) Thursday.
Braves 1-hit Trojans
April 2nd, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
SPRINGFIELD — Troy may have only gotten one hit in the game, but it still had chances throughout.
That lack of offensive punch proved costly, though, as Springfield Shawnee shut out the Troy baseball team 3-0 Saturday in Springfield as the Trojans returned to Ohio after a week-long trip to Georgia.
Hayden Kotwica got the Trojans’ lone hit, leading off the game with a single. They had two runners on in the inning, but a double play cost them that opportunity. Despite being one-hit, Troy left seven runners on base — five in scoring position.
“They threw three guys at us, and their guys threw strikes,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We hit too many pop ups, too many groundouts at the wrong time and just did not have enough timely hitting. We got guys on but never did anything about it. We just didn’t have a good approach mentally.”
Kotwica also pitched five strong innings as Shawnee only had four hits in the game — but made the most of its chances.
Troy (3-2) travels to Greenville Monday to kick off Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division play.
Greenville Beats Trojans
April 13th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — On the heels of an 11-0 and 17-0 doubleheader sweep of Trotwood on Tuesday, the Troy baseball team had plenty of chances to finish the season sweep of visiting Greenville on Wednesday.
But the Trojans (6-3, 3-1 Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division) left seven runners stranded on base and only managed one first-inning run, while the Green Wave strung together a series of hits in the top of the seventh to plate three and held on to win 4-1.
“We had a couple base running errors, ran ourselves into outs. And we left guys stranded in scoring position in four of the innings,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We had a lot of opportunities to score runs and just didn’t. We left them in the game, and they came through in the seventh.”
Jared Bair took the loss, going 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and allowing seven hits and three walks.
Jake Daniel doubled and drove in Troy’s only run and Troy Moore added a double.
The Trojans host Triad Thursday.
Troy baseball bounces back with 6-4 win
April 14th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — After Wednesday’s loss to Greenville due to missed chances and a three-run seventh-inning rally, the Troy baseball team rebounded Thursday with a quality win over a fundamentally-sound Triad team, 6-4.
Triad had all four of its hits in a three-run first inning, putting Troy (7-3) in an early hole. But the Trojans got single runs in the second and third innings, took control with a three-run rally in the fifth and led 6-3 going into the top of the seventh behind the arm of Jordan Peck.
Peck went 6 1-3 innings to get the win, striking out only one, allowing four hits, four walks and four earned runs. Troy Moore came on with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, walking the first man he saw but striking out the next and getting a flyout to earn a save.
“Jordan settled down after that first inning, and we started chipping away,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “It was nice for Troy to come in and get a save like that, too, since he hadn’t pitched in a game situation since opening day.”
Jake Daniel had an RBI double that made the score 3-2, then Troy strung together a series of clutch plays in the fifth. Brandon Emery beat out an infield single, stole second and scored on an error, and Justin O’Neill and Jacob Curcio had back-to-back RBI singles to make it a 5-3 game.
Troy added one more run in the sixth, with Joseph McGillivary leading off with a single, Hayden Kotwica bunting him to second, Emery hitting a sac fly to get him to third and Jared Bair singling to drive him home.
“That may be the first run we’ve fully manufactured all year,” Welker said. “That was a big run, too. It made a big difference going into that final inning. It was nice to get hits when it mattered today.
“We could’ve hung our heads after last night, but we didn’t. It was good to see.”
Troy has a pair of road games, at West Carrollton today and Beavercreek Saturday, before a two-game series against division rival Butler Monday and Tuesday.
Tipp rallies, tops Troy
Devils win 10th straight, Trojans drop 4th in a row
April 23rd, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Troy had been waiting three games to put crooked numbers on the scoreboard again.
But Tippecanoe baseball coach Bruce Cahill had been waiting three years to see what he saw out of Bradley Calhoun.
After the Trojans took a 4-1 lead after three innings, the Red Devils’ junior starter settled down, allowing only two baserunners from that point on and finishing off a complete game victory. The Tippecanoe offense did the rest, scoring seven runs over the fourth and fifth innings to pull ahead for an 8-4 victory Saturday at Troy — the Devils’ 10th straight win.
Cahill ended his post-game conversation with his team with “I’d been waiting three years to see that.”
“For Brad to pitch the way he did,” Cahill said when asked what he was referring to. “I don’t know if he’s had a seven-inning complete game in his career. It started in the first inning when he struck out their No. 2 and 3 hitters with a runner on second. If we don’t make a couple errors, misjudge a fly ball, I don’t think he gives up an earned run. He got first-pitch strikes all day, and that was big.
“He wanted the seventh inning today, and I don’t know if that would’ve always been the case. He’s a junior, but he’s been on varsity all three years — and he grew up today.”
The Trojans (8-4), meanwhile, had entered the game on a three-game skid — and a 21-inning scoreless streak, with all three of those losses being shutouts. And though they grabbed a 4-1 lead early on, the Devils were able to capitalize on all four Troy errors in the game for a total of six unearned runs.
“We’ve got some issues we’re working through right now,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Six unearned runs — there’s just no excuse for that in a varsity baseball game. And a team like Tipp is going to take advantage of them.
“Until we can get out of our own way, we’re going to continue to struggle.”
Troy gave up one of those unearned runs in the top of the first as Aaron Hughes reached on a two-out error, stole second and was driven home on an RBI single by Justyn Eichbaum. But the Trojans answered with two of their own in the bottom of the second. Jake Daniel went to second base on a one-out error, then a Troy Moore infield single put runners on the corners. Alex Riedel took an RBI single the other way, then another run scored on an error on a high chopped that went through the second baseman’s legs, and Troy not only snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak but grabbed a 2-1 lead.
The Trojans added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Brandon Emery led off with a walk, and a Jared Bair double put runners on second and third with no outs. Austin Barney and Daniel hit back-to-back RBI sac flies, and Troy led 4-1 — a seemingly solid lead for Troy starter Hayden Kotwica, who only allowed two hits over the first three innings and struck out the side in the third.
“I thought we did a lot of things well offensively early,” Welker said. “We hit balls the other way, we hit sacrifice flies. We did all the little things. But then we got behind, and our whole approach changed. We gave him a six- or seven-pitch inning at one point. It was unbelievable.”
The Devils fought back in the top of the fourth. Brandon Gotthardt walked with one out, and a two-out error put runners on second and third. Another walk loaded the bases, then a wild pitch brought in the first run. Cole Barhorst hit an infield RBI single, and two more walks forced in the tying run, with Jacob Ambos getting the RBI, and the score was 4-4 with the Devils only getting one hit in the inning.
That changed in the fifth, though. Eichbaum led the inning off with his fourth home run of the season to give Tippecanoe the lead for good, then Gotthardt singled. An errant throw on a double play attempt put Calhoun on second with one out, and Trevor Staggs drove him in with an RBI single to knock Kotwica out of the game. But Josh Riebe and Barhorst hit back-to-back singles off of reliever Nick Matney to load the bases, and another errant throw on a double play attempt allowed to more runs to score, making it an 8-4 game.
“Eichbaum’s shot was big,” Cahill said. “That was his fourth of the year. It’s a great sign to see him hitting the way he is. We had 10 hits today, and out first and second guys didn’t have any. We hit from No. 4 on down, and that’s big for us. We had 17 hits on Thursday, so the kids are starting to feel good about the offense. Our at-bats have gotten a lot better.”
“We gave Kotwica a 4-1 lead, and then with two outs in an inning, we just faltered,” Welker said. “On a ground ball to shortstop, two runs score. That just can’t happen.”
Calhoun did the rest, allowing only a single by Drake McDonagh in the fourth and a double by Jordan Peck in the sixth. He threw a total of 33 pitches over the final three innings, including only seven in a one-two-three fifth, and he struck out two in the bottom of the seventh — including the final hitter of the game. Calhoun finished with seven strikeouts and one walk and allowed six hits.
Tippecanoe will look to extend its winning streak — and possibly the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division lead — when it hosts Tecumseh Monday to begin a two-game series.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re focused every day,” Cahill said. “We only have a one-game lead. We can’t worry about what Bellefontaine is doing. We’ve got to take care of our own business.”
Troy, meanwhile, travels to Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division rival Sidney on Monday looking to put an end to its skid.
“We’ve got to show up. We’ve got to get outs when they give them to us,” Welker said. “We’ve got to be aggressive at the plate, put the ball in play and put pressure on the other team — instead of the other way around. We’ve just got to fix some things and adjust.”
Late Tuesday/Wednesday Trojans Roundup
April 27th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Both Tuesday and Wednesday, the Troy baseball team entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 4-2.
And though the Trojans rallied to win in walkoff fashion 5-4 against Sidney on Tuesday, they couldn’t put together a rally against the Skyhawks on Wednesday, falling to Fairborn 4-2 to drop to 10-8 on the season.
Against Sidney, Noah Roswell — who also got the win on the mound in relief — had an RBI single that kept the seventh-inning rally going, and Jake Daniel put an end to the game with a bases-loaded two-run double.
“Roswell had a big hit, then they intentionally walked (Austin) Barney to load the bases for Daniel,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “That was a really big hit for Daniel.”
Against Fairborn, though, the Trojans’ two errors proved costly.
Barney took the loss on the mound, giving up four runs — only two earned — in four innings of work, striking out four, walking three, hitting a batter and giving up only two hits.
“The first three innings were one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three,” Welker said. “Austin threw well for the first three innings, and Troy Moore came in for the last three and didn’t give up any runs.
“We left the bases loaded, left runners on base a number of innings. We also struck out 11 times tonight. Their pitcher was decent, but average pitchers end up throwing complete games against us. Mentally, our approach was not there.”
Troy was originally scheduled to face Springboro Wednesday, but that game was postponed. The Trojans still face Fairborn Friday on the road in an originally-scheduled game, but first they travel to Northridge Thursday.
Troy seniors clutch in win
Trojans celebrate rain-soaked victory over Wayne
April 30th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Every time Troy’s seniors needed to, they were able to come through Saturday.
Which gave the Trojans exactly what they needed heading into next week’s final division series.
Jared Bair had a pair of doubles and four RBIs, the Trojans got some big two-out hits, senior starter Noah Roswell pitched five solid innings to get the win and all 12 seniors saw action as the Troy baseball team celebrated a rain-soaked Senior Day with a 10-7 victory over the Wayne Warriors Saturday at Market Street Field.
“We did. We hit the ball,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We hit the ball much better today. I was pleased that our seniors all got to play, and they took advantage of their opportunities.”
The game was actually called after the top of the sixth inning after Wayne (9-11) fought back to tie the score at 5-5 in the top of the fifth, only to see the Trojans (12-9) post five runs in the bottom of the inning to retake control. The Warriors tried to rally again in the sixth and even brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Troy reliever Troy Moore induced a groundout back to himself to end the threat — and the umpires, after play had been stopped three times to treat the mound thanks to the constant rain the game had been played through, finally ruled it official.
The Trojans, who went 3-2 this week with little mistakes and a lack of offense costing them in two losses to Fairborn, saw more small miscues cost them runs in the top of the first.
Bryce Haney led off with a bloop single and stole second, then Austin Mailer bunted for a hit after the Trojans were slow to cover first base, putting runners on the corners. A wild pitch brought in one run, then a dropped fly ball allowed another run to score, putting Troy down 2-0 before they even came to the plate.
The Trojans, however, responded.
Nick Matney drew a one-out walk and Jared Bair singled, then a groundout put runners on second and third with two outs. Jordan Peck cashed them both in with a two-out, two-run single, then he scored after a wild pitch and an error to give Troy a 3-2 lead.
Troy added to that lead in the second as Matney beat out a one-out infield single and stole second, then Bair drove him in with an RBI double. Bair moved to third on a sac fly and scored on a two-out error, making it 5-2 Trojans.
“I think we took advantage of our chances, and we swung the bats,” Welker said. “Their guy was around the plate all day, and on pitches that we probably normally would take, we were swinging today. We were more aggressive and offensive-minded.”
That appeared to be plenty for Roswell, who held the Warriors in check in the second, third and fourth innings, allowing only one baserunner during each. He finished the day with three strikeouts, a walk and a hit-batter, allowing seven hits and five runs — only two earned. Which was made all the more impressive by the constant drizzle the game was played through that increased in strength the farther along things went.
“Noah threw very consistently today,” Welker said. “He didn’t walk very many guys and pitched well. It was nice to see him have a good start, especially considering the conditions.”
The conditions were so bad, in fact, that it appeared that the game would be halted once it became official after the Wayne half of the fifth inning. But the Warriors didn’t cooperate, as James Harness hit a tw0-run double and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the score at 5-5.
Welker wasn’t concerned.
“We just couldn’t get an out,” Welker said. “No matter what we did, they hit a dink here or a dink there, and they tied it up. It made me a little nervous, but I felt like our bats were good enough where we’d come back and score some runs.”
In the bottom of the inning, the Trojans made good on that.
Joseph McGillivary led off with a double, but he got caught in a rundown on a ground ball with one out. The Wayne third baseman dropped the ball, though, giving the Trojans a shot with runners on second and third. Moore drew a walk, then Matney blooped in an RBI single to give Troy a 6-5 lead.
Despite the rain, the game was allowed to continue — so Bair put an exclamation point on it with a three-run double over the left fielder’s head. He later scored on a double steal with Peck, and the Trojans led 10-5.
Wayne got one last chance to hit despite what had turned into a driving, cold rain, with Haney and Harness both driving in runs. With runners on the corners and two outs, though, Moore got a grounder back to himself to end the inning, and the game was called official at last.
Bair finished the game 3 for 3 with two doubles, three runs scored and four RBIs, Matney was 2 for 3 with three runs and an RBI, Peck was 2 for 3 with two RBIs, Roswell was 2 for 4 and McGillivary doubled. Before the game, the Trojans honored those seniors, as well as Moore, Austin Barney, Tyler Lambert, Jacob Curcio, Drake McDonagh, Justin O’Neill and Alex Riedel.
After six games in as many days, the Trojans finally get a day off on Sunday. They then face Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division rival Piqua to finish division play, traveling to Piqua Monday and hosting the Indians Tuesday.
“We definitely needed that,” Welker said of the win over Wayne. “We know Piqua is going to be tough. But today was a good day to celebrate for our seniors.”
Monday/Tuesday Baseball Roundup
May 3rd, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
PIQUA — Monday, Jordan Peck threw a two-hit shutout.
Tuesday, Jared Bair pitched a four-hitter — and got a little more run support.
The Troy baseball team (14-9, 7-3 Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division) finished off a two-game sweep of the rival Piqua Indians, winning 2-0 at home on Monday and 8-1 in Piqua on Tuesday to claim sole possession of second place in the GWOC North Division this season behind 10-0 Butler.
“We’re glad. The goal is always to win the league, but we knew we had to at least split with Piqua to tie for second this year. And the guys weren’t content with that,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Piqua is better than their record indicates, and we knew we’d have to play well. We played like a team these last two nights.”
On Monday, Peck struck out four and walked three, and the defense committed no errors behind him. Hayden Kotwica had the only RBI for the Trojans, who only had four hits in the game themselves, and they got an insurance run on an error.
“Peck threw really well, and we played nice defense,” Welker said. “He only struck out four guys and gave up two singles, so that means they put the ball in play 17 other times — and we didn’t have any errors.”
On Tuesday, Bair struck out eight, walked two and gave up four hits to get the complete game win.
Austin Barney was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, Alex Riedel was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Jake Daniel was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Troy Moore was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Bair had a double and an RBI and Kotwica doubled.
“Bair threw well today, too. He had the bases loaded in the third and got out of it,” Welker said. “We played good defense behind him again. And offensively, we did the little things. We bunted guys over, fought and scrapped and found ways to score. And everyone contributed.
Eight of our nine guys that started had a hit today.”
Troy hosts Northmont Thursday and travels to Fairmont Friday before finishing the regular season at home against Kenton Ridge Saturday.
Trojans fall in finale
KR tops Troy 5-3 to end regular season
May 7th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — All of Troy’s mistakes came back to haunt them Saturday.
A valuable lesson before tournament play starts next week.
Kenton Ridge’s Jared Van Velzor hit a two-out, three-run double in the top of the first inning and Kaleb Meeks hit a two-run double in the third as the Cougars made a series of walks and a first-inning error hurt, and while the Trojans did battle back, a mistake on the base paths took them out of a potential big inning in a 5-3 loss in the regular season finale Saturday at Market Street Field.
The loss dropped Troy to 15-11 to finish the regular season, with the Trojans heading into Tuesday’s sectional tournament opener on a two-game losing streak — but also knowing that all of their issues are correctable.
“The good news is that the difference is us,” Troy baseball coach Ty Welker said. “We’re the ones that are going to make the difference. Once we realize that and execute the way I know we can, we’re a pretty good team.
“We control what goes on on the field. If we believe that, we’ll be fine.”
On Saturday, the Trojans simply made too many little mistakes — and Kenton Ridge (19-5) made nearly all of them count.
A walk, an error and another walk, all with out out, loaded the bases in the top of the first inning. Troy starter Jordan Peck got a strikeout and looked poised to get out of the inning, but Jared Van Velzor pulled a two-out double to the fence in left-center that cleared the bases, giving the Cougars an early 3-0 lead.
“When you give a team four outs in the first inning and they get three runs because of it, that hurts,” Welker said. “We talk all the time about executing, but a lack of execution hurt us in the first inning — and that changed the complexion of the rest of the game.”
Kenton Ridge added a pair of runs in the top of the third. Cameron Kettler singled — the only Kenton Ridge hit that didn’t drive in runs on the day — and Luke Holt drew a walk, then Kaleb Meeks hit a two-run double that made it a 5-0 game.
It was a solid day on the mound for Peck despite the loss. He pitched four innings, giving up three walks — all of which scored — striking out four and surrendering the Cougars’ only three hits in the game. Only two of the Cougars’ runs in the game were earned. Reliever Noah Roswell came in to pitch the final three innings, walking one and striking out two.
In the bottom of the third, the Trojans began to fight back.
Hayden Kotwica led off the inning with a double and stole third, then Tyler Lambert drove him in with an RBI double off the fence in left-center. After Kenton Ridge starter Drew Wichael got a groundout for the inning’s first out, Brandon Emery ripped a single down the right field line to bring in Lambert and make it a 5-2 game.
And though the Trojans threatened again in the fourth, it ended up being the game’s turning point.
Austin Barney and Alex Riedel hit back-to-back singles to start the inning and designated hitter Jake Daniel showed bunt on the first pitch he saw, but before he saw another Wichael made a move to second, catching Barney leaning the wrong way. Barney slipped, couldn’t recover in time and was picked off, and then a six-to-three double play to short ended the inning with no damage and none left on.
“He jumped the wrong way,” Welker said. “That’s just a lack of situational awareness. You’re not going to be stealing third in that situation. You can’t get picked off second there.
“Those are big situations, and in good, close games like we’ll see in the tournament, you’ve got to execute in those situations.”
Troy kept fighting, though. putting together a two-out rally in the fifth and making a Kenton Ridge error count. Drake McDonagh reached on an error with two outs and stole second, then Emery beat out an infield single — and Daniel scored all the way from first base to cut the lead to 5-3.
“The team mentality in the dugout was still good,” Welker said. “We changed our approach at the plate a little. I felt like in the first three innings, we were swinging at curves out of the zone and letting good fastballs go by. We’re a better hitting team than that. We just have to believe we are. In the last four innings, we started swinging at our pitches, not his.”
But 5-3 is where the game would stay, though. After a one-two-three sixth, Daniel led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, chasing Wichael in favor of Jordan Bailey. Bailey quickly got a flyout, a strikeout and a groundout to end the game and record a save, preserving the win for Wichael.
“He threw one strike during his warmups. We watched him throw only one strike in warmups, and then we went out and swung at the first pitch we saw out of the zone,” Welker said. “That’s not being hitters. We’ve done that throughout the year, too, and we’ve got to figure out the difference.”
The Trojans only have two days to do so, as well — they host Greenville in the first round of the Division I sectional tournament on Tuesday. The Trojans split with the Green Wave in the regular season, winning 10-1 and then falling 4-1.
“The boys earned that,” Welker said of hosting a tournament game. “We got a No. 9 seed, but we got a home game against the No. 15 seed in the first round — and we’re going to try to take advantage of that. The difference in the game will be us at the plate.”
Trojans hold off Wave
Troy tops Greenville 6-5 in sectional opener
May 11th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Baserunning blunders, errors in the field and an off-kilter approach at the plate in scoring situations.
Troy made a lot of the same mistakes it has all year — but clutch pitching and one huge defensive play in the top of the seventh made them all not matter for the moment.
After the Trojans loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth but only got one run out of it, taking a 6-5 lead into the final inning, catcher Keiran Williams threw out the leadoff runner trying to steal — right before a would-have-been-RBI double was hit to the fence — and reliever Nick Matney got a pair of groundouts to leave another would-be tying run stranded on third base as the Troy baseball team held off Greenville for a 6-5 Division I sectional tournament victory Wednesday at Market Street Field.
The ninth-seeded Trojans improved to 16-11 with the win and advance to face No. 4 Fairmont in a second-round game Thursday on the road, while No. 16 Greenville finished its season at 11-17.
With the Trojans protecting a one-run lead in the seventh, Greenville’s Kyle Mills reached on an infield dribbler to lead off the inning. After Matney nearly picked him off first on a close play, Williams gunned him out trying to steal second — and a double by Logan Eldridge to the fence in left-center on the next pitch turned that into the play of the game.
“I had no idea (it would be that important,” Williams said. “I just saw him running and threw it like I’m told to. That was a really big play, considering the next guy hit a double and he would’ve scored and tied the game.”
“That double would’ve scored that run, so it was a great throw and a great job by (Troy shortstop Brandon) Emery to get the tag down.”
Eldridge took third on a groundout to second base for the second out, then Matney forced a groundout to third for the final out.
“That (the caught stealing) is a huge deal, all things considered,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Starter Jared Bair pitched well and kept us in the game early, Nick came on and threw a nice game in relief. And Williams was in the game to make a difference — and that’s exactly what he did.”
Troy began the game strong, scoring three in the bottom of the first to take control early. Troy Moore and Bair hit back-to-back singles, with Moore later scoring on a wild pitch. Alex Riedel and Jake Daniel followed with RBI singles, giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead. And they tacked on another run in the second as Emery walked and stole second with one out then came home on a two-out RBI double by Bair.
But the Green Wave fought back in the top of the third. Brayden York led off with a single and Mills drew a one-out walk, then Eldridge drove in Greenville’s first run with his first double of the day. Troy’s left fielder then dropped a fly ball off the bat of Tanner Ross, allowing two runs to score on the error and making it a 4-3 game.
“A lot of the mistakes we’ve made all year long, we made today,” Welker said. “Hitting popouts with a 2-0 count and guys in scoring position, dropping fly balls in foul territory, getting picked off third base — we did it all. The difference, though, was that this time we were able to overcome it all and still win the game.”
Troy added an unearned insurance run in the bottom of the third. Daniel reached on an error with two outs and Joe McGillivary pulled an RBI double over the right fielder’s head to give Troy a 5-3 lead.
But the Wave refused to give up. Brandon Beyke led off the top of the fourth with a single, an error on a bunt put two runners on and a sac bunt moved the to second and third with one out. Jacob Houndshell hit an RBI sac fly to make it 5-4, but Bair got a popup to short to end the inning.
Bair’s final line was three strikeouts, two walks, four hits and four runs — one earned — in four innings of work, and he also went 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run at the plate.
The Trojans missed a golden opportunity in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead. Riedel led off with a walk and stole second and third base, then Matney drew a walk to put runners on the corners with one out. Matney broke for second and the catcher threw down — but the pitcher Mills leapt up to cut off the throw and instead fired to third, catching the lead runner leaning too far away from the bag for the second out — and the Trojans ended up getting nothing out of it.
Greenville made that missed opportunity look costly in the top of the sixth. Beyke reached on an error and stole second, took third on a groundout and scored on a two-out RBI single by York that tied the score at 5-5.
The Trojans got the lead back in the bottom of the inning, though, but again missed a chance to pull away more. Emery led off with a walk and Moore and Bair both beat out infield hits to load the bases with no outs. Austin Barney hit a slow roller to short, and the throw home was late for what proved to be the game-winning RBI. A shallow flyout to right kept the runner on third from even trying to tag up, then a flyout to left turned into a double play as Eldridge threw the runner out at home.
But Matney, Williams and the rest of the defense held the lead in the top of the seventh, and Troy celebrated the win regardless. The Trojans will now travel to Fairmont Thursday — where they lost 7-3 less than a week ago, against a Firebird team that they defeated 6-3 in last year’s sectional championship game.
“We’ve got to play a very good Fairmont team now,” Welker said. “We beat them in the sectional final last year, so we know they’re going to be hungry. We can’t let these mistake become us.”
Trojans Fall In Extra Innings
Fairmont Tops Troy 2-1 in 9 Innings
May 12th, 2016 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
KETTERING — Six days ago, a host of Trojan errors proved costly in a 7-3 regular season loss at Fairmont.
And while the fourth-seeded Firebirds capitalized on both of the Trojan errors Thursday, the ninth-seeded Troy baseball team stepped up and played a solid game in the second round of the Division I sectional tournament, missing its chances in a 2-1 loss in nine innings.
“We left 13 runners on base,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We had a lot of hits, just none of them with runners in scoring position. We left the bases loaded in the first inning, did it again in the seventh and eighth. Left guys on third. We had our chances, but in the end we played a great game against a great team.”
Troy got its only run in the top of the first. Jared Bair drew a walk and Austin Barney and Alex Riedel hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Hayden Kotwica then drew a bases-loaded walk to give Troy a 1-0 lead.
The Trojans held that lead until the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff error, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch and a sac fly tied the score and forced extra innings. Then in the bottom of the ninth, another leadoff error started things off wrong and Fairmont had runners on second and third with the No. 3 hitter up. Troy elected to intentionally walk him, but then, on a full count, the next batter drew a walkoff walk to end the game.
“Jordan Peck threw a heck of a game,” Welker said. “He pitched all nine innings, only struck out a couple and walked a couple, and — other than our two errors — we played decent defense behind him. That bases-loaded walk was not a representation of Peck’s game. He kept their hitters off balance all night.”
Troy finished the season 16-12.
“They played a clean game defensively, and we did not in only a couple of situations,” Welker said. “Leadoff hitters reaching on errors changes the whole complexion of the game. But we definitely represented ourselves well today. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”
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