Beavers blank young Trojans, 4-0
March 29th, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Troy baseball coach Ty Welker knew the first week of the season was likely the toughest stretch his young team would see all season.
It was also designed that way intentionally.
And after the Trojans dropped a hard-fought 2-0 matchup at Springboro on Tuesday in a game that had originally been scheduled as a home game but had to be moved due to the weather, Troy returned home Wednesday to face an always-tough Beavercreek team. And though they played solid defensively again and had chances offensively throughout, the Trojans simply couldn’t find ways to get runs home in a 4-0 loss to the Beavers at Market Street Field.
“I think, I hope, that we put this schedule together for a reason — that these guys can handle it,” Welker said. “These guys have aspirations to be a great baseball team. We’re a little young, but that’s not an excuse — and we’ve seen some great baseball teams already.
“These, the Beavercreeks and Springboros, they’re the kind of teams we’d see in the sectional finals. If we can see them now, at the end of March we know. We’re not delusional about how good we are or aren’t. We know what good baseball looks like.”
And the Trojans (1-3) are quickly finding out that they’re capable of playing good baseball.
Against Springboro (2-1) on Tuesday, sophomore Cole Brogan threw a solid game. He struck out five and walked none, giving up only two fourth-inning runs in the 2-0 loss — which came on a suicide squeeze followed by an RBI double.
“Cole threw really, really well,” Welker said. “For a sophomore, and that team (Springboro) probably hits better than Beavercreek, and he shut them down. No walks, complete game, 89 pitches … very, very impressive. It was a real good game overall, and he pitched a dandy.”
Wednesday’s matchup against the Beavers (2-1) ended up being the same kind of game — solid pitching and defense, just with a lack of punch at the plate.
Beavercreek’s Brandon Dewitt, who the Trojans fast in a 10-0 loss to the Beavers last season, held Troy in check. He allowed three hits and walked two while striking out 10 — with six of those on called third strikes. Austin Nuessgen pitched the seventh and added two more strikeouts, with the final out of the game coming on a seventh called third strike for Troy on the day.
“He (Dewitt) threw against us last year and shut us out down there, as well,” Welker said. “We faced him last year. He works fast, is around the zone — and we took too many pitches with two strikes and too many fastballs early in the count. We certainly have to get a more aggressive approach and be more offensive. We weren’t very offensive today.”
Troy left a total of five baserunners on in the game — four in scoring position. After Beavercreek took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Chaz Copas hit an infield single but was left stranded on second on a called third strike to end the inning. And in the fourth, trailing 4-0, Brandon Emery and Keiran Williams drew walks and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, but another batter caught looking and a groundout to second ended the threat.
For the game, Troy was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position with four strikeouts — all looking at the third strike.
“We don’t get the hit with guys in scoring position,” Welker said. “That goes back to taking fastballs — and in those situations, you should never take a fastball. If you’ve got a guy in scoring position, you’ve got to put a ball in play, and we didn’t do that enough. No contact with guys in scoring position really hurts. That’s just something we’ve got to grow and mature on.”
Sophomore Jacob Adams led the Trojans offensively, going 2 for 3, with Copas and Jake Daniel each also having a hit.
Beavercreek’s first run came in the second after a single by Dewitt, a sacrifice bunt, a steal attempt of third base and an errant throw on the play to bring him home. And in the third, Corey Jordison hit an RBI double and, after a balk moved runners up to second and third, Treyben Funderburg hit a two-run single to left to make it a 4-0 game.
It all spoiled a solid outing by a pair of sophomore pitchers. Starter Braeden Snider went the first three innings, giving up four runs — three earned — on four hits and two walks with one strikeout. Matt Bigley pitched the final four innings of relief, allowing only one hit and striking out one.
“We’re young,” Welker said. “We’re playing quite a few sophomores and juniors in key roles — and I’m thrilled to death with it (how Troy has played to start the season). Surely, I want us to grow and get better. I’d love to win baseball games — that’s the goal — but I think the lessons we’re learning are more valuable than anything at this point, win or loss. They’re not playoff games — they’re getting us ready for playoff games. They’re not league games — they’re getting us ready for league games.”
Troy has another tough matchup Thursday, hosting perennial powerhouse Centerville, and also hosts Waynesville Saturday before beginning Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division play Monday and Tuesday with a series against Greenville.
Troy baseball run-rules Greenville, 11-1
April 05, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — The Troy baseball team snapped its losing streak at five games.
And put itself right back in the thick of the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division standings — though it’s still early in the season.
Sophomore Cole Brogan shut down Greenville Tuesday afternoon, and the Trojan offense exploded for its highest run total of the season as Troy salvaged s split of the two-game series with the Green Wave with an 11-1 victory at Market Street Field.
Brogan — who lost his first start 2-0 against Springboro, the first game of the Trojans’ skid — earned the victory, pitching five innings. And Jake Daniel provided the big hit with a home run and, following the game, is in a three-way tie for the GWOC American North lead in RBIs with 11 on the season.
Troy improved to 2-6 on the season — but 2-1 in the GWOC American North, in second behind Butler and Tippecanoe. The Trojans host St. Henry Thursday.
Troy wins 3rd straight
Trojans sweep division foe Sidney
April 11, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Hayden Kotwica hit the first pitch the Trojans saw over the left field fence.
All three of Sidney’s seventh-inning pitchers hit the first pitches they saw into the dirt.
In the end, clutch hitting by the Trojans and an outstanding performance by starting pitcher Cole Brogan and the defense led the Troy baseball team to a 5-2 victory over the Yellow Jackets to complete a two-game sweep in Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division play Tuesday at Market Street Field.
The win, Troy’s third in a row after a 2-7 start to the season, makes the Trojans 5-7 on the season and 4-2 in GWOC American North play. Sidney, meanwhile, falls to 2-9 and 0-5 in division play.
“We just need these couple games to regroup,” said Kotwica, who was the winning pitcher in Monday’s 6-3 victory at Sidney. “We’ve been struggling at the plate, so it’s good to come out, be able to play back-to-back nights and keep getting cuts in and just keep improving.”
Kotwica finished the game 2 for 4 with the leadoff homer and a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth that gave the Trojans a little more insurance heading to the final inning. Jake Daniel was 2 for 3 with an RBI, Brogan had a two-out, two-run single in the first and Zion Taylor was 1 for 3 as Troy outhit Sidney 6-4 on the day.
“I think the kids have found ways to get things done over the last three games,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. The Trojans began their three-game winning streak with a 9-5 win over Anna on Saturday. “Early in the year, we didn’t execute. I think we have a little better approach at the plate. We’re not there yet — offensively, I feel like we should still be scoring some more runs, but I think we definitely have a better approach.”
Four of Troy’s five runs on the day came with two outs.
“We’ve been working on that in practice,” Kotwica said. “When it’s rained, we’re in the gym doing situational hitting in the cages. That’s what we’ve been working on. It feels good (to put it to use on the field).”
Brogan, a sophomore, made it all stand up, too, improving to 2-1 in his three starts and 2-0 at home. He struck out four, walked none and scattered four hits in the game — and retired 15 batters on ground balls.
“They (the defense) knows they’re going to get ground ball outs,” Welker said. “Cole gets ahead in counts, and Sidney is a first-pitch-swinging team. He gets ahead of batters and gets them to hit his pitch instead of the other way around. His ball has a lot of movement.”
After a one-two-three inning by Brogan to begin the game, Kotwica launched the first pitch that Sidney’s Caleb Harris threw over the fence in left to hand Troy a 1-0 lead. Brandon Emery then walked and Keiran Williams drew a one-out walk, then both runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. And with two outs, Brogan rifled a grounder down the third-base line that stayed fair, bringing home both runs on a two-run single to make it 3-0 after one.
“He’s been big,” Welker said of Kotwica. “Yesterday, he did the same thing — he hit the first pitch off the fence. He’s not a typical leadoff hitter because he swings at first pitches, but he’s done his job. We’ve had some injuries, he had to fill in there, and he’s done a great job there. Even his outs are balls that are hit hard, just right at people.”
Sidney answered in the second after back-to-back singles by Cole Hoffman and Kaine Fischer and an RBI ground out by Kyle Noble, but the Trojans got that run back in the bottom of the inning by cashing in a leadoff walk to Chase Weaver with a two-out RBI single by Daniel. Hoffman hit a solo homer in the fourth for the Jackets, and that’s where things remained until the sixth.
Sidney threatened in the top of the inning, with Austin McLain reaching on an error and Harris singling to put two runners on with no outs — and Hoffman, who was 2 for 2 at that point, up. But Brogan got him to ground back to the mound and threw to third to get the lead runner for the first out. He then induced a grounder to Matt Bigley at third, who stepped on the bag and threw to first for an inning-ending double play to keep Troy up 4-2.
“I knew what (pitch) we were throwing, a two-seamer on the guy’s hands. I had a feeling he was going to roll it over, so I said ‘Bigley, this one’s coming to you,’” Welker said. “The next pitch, boom, right smack too him, and he was ready.”
And in the bottom of the inning, pinch hitter Tyler Brandenburg led off with a walk and was bunted to second, and with two outs Kotwica hammered a pitch over the center fielder for an RBI triple to make it a three-run game — which was more than Brogan needed. In the top of the seventh, Sidney hit three straight first pitches to Bigley at third for easy outs to end the game.
“A three-pitch inning. I haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” Welker said with a laugh. “All to the third baseman, too. Bigley’s been playing solid third base for us all year, and we’re just a confident team when Brogan is on the mound. He has a nice tempo, and we’re a better defensive team with him on the mound.”
Troy will look for its fourth in a row Friday when it hosts Xenia, then the Trojans host Springfield Shawnee on Saturday for Senior Day.
Troy’s McDonagh pitches no-hitter
Beats Xenia 6-0
April 14, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Troy baseball coach Ty Welker wasn’t sure when the last time a Trojan pitcher threw a complete-game, seven-inning no-hitter was.
“We may have had one somewhere, but I don’t think in my 11 years being at Troy we’ve had one,” he said. “We had one against Xenia in 2007 or 2008, but it was a combined no-hitter between a couple of pitchers.”
Derek McDonagh is now the answer to that question.
The Trojan junior struck out nine and carried a perfect game into the final inning, walking the leadoff hitter to lose the perfect game but still completing the no-hitter in a 6-0 Troy victory Friday in Greater Western Ohio Conference American League crossover play at Market Street Field.
“He threw strikes,” Welker said of McDonagh. “He got ahead in counts, had a good tempo, and we played nice defense behind him when they did put the ball in play. It was pretty exciting to watch Derek throw today. It was a great outing for him.”
Offensively, Hayden Kotwica put the game away with a two-run home run in the fourth inning, a blast coming with Troy (6-7, 5-2 GWOC American North Division) leading 3-0. Kotwica finished 2 for 4 with the homer and two RBIs, Jacob Adams was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Tyler Brandenburg was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Jake Daniel hit an RBI double.
The Trojans host Springfield Shawnee at 11 a.m. Saturday in their Senior Day game.
Trojans win 5th straight
April 15, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — When Troy baseball coach Ty Welker crafted this year’s schedule, front-loading it with some of the toughest teams in the area, he knew what he wanted his young team to work towards.
Now, with the Trojans playing their best, they’ll get to put it all to the test.
Troy won its fifth straight Saturday, scoring 11 runs in the first two innings and getting a solid outing on the mound from sophomore Jacob Adams in a 12-1 run-rule victory in five innings over visiting Springfield Shawnee on Senior Day at Market Street Field.
Troy, which lost six of its first seven games this season after running a gauntlet of the area’s best, improved to the .500 mark with the win at 7-7 heading into next week’s two-game series against Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division rival Butler.
“We’re playing well,” Welker said. “Again, we always knew we controlled our own fate … but we’re going to play a different quality team come Monday and Tuesday.”
And with Butler and Tippecanoe both unbeaten and tied for the division lead and Troy right behind at 5-2, Welker said it was definitely the kind of momentum they needed heading into the crucial North series.
“Oh, without a doubt,” he said. “There were probably times where I questioned myself with that schedule early on and what it would do to us mentally. I know we started off 1-6 and 2-7, and I was a little concerned about it. But these guys are who I believed they were going to be. They took that start and put things in perspective.”
Saturday, while honoring their all-senior outfield in Hayden Kotwica, Zion Taylor and Chaz Copas, the Trojans had everything working for them.
After Adams pitched a scoreless top of the first inning, Kotwica led off the bottom of the inning with a sharp single — and though it would prove to be the only hit for the Trojans in the inning, they would end up plating five runs.
Brandon Emery was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third for Troy’s leader in RBIs, Jake Daniel. But two more wild pitches scored both runs, and Daniel eventually drew a walk. Free passes to Keiran Williams and Adams loaded the bases and forced the Braves to yank their starter without him recording an out — but the reliever immediately walked Cole Brogan to bring in another run.
Tyler Brandenburg then hit an RBI fielder’s choice and reached on an errant throw on a double play attempt, bringing the fourth and fifth runs of the inning home as Troy batted around to take a 5-0 lead.
Troy first baseman Daniel and shortstop Emery turned a 3-6-3 double play to end the second inning, and the Trojan offense went right back to work with singles by Kotwica and Emery and a hit-by-pitch by Daniel quickly loading the bases. Williams hit an RBI groundout, and Adams followed by dropping a two-run triple into the gap in right-center. Adams then scored as Brogan reached on an error, then Brandenburg hit an RBI double to center and Taylor followed with a two-out bloop RBI single to make it an 11-0 game as Troy sent 19 batters to the plate in the first two innings.
“Jacob’s swinging the bat real well,” Welker said. “Brandenburg had a nice double down the line, too. Those young guys have just been swinging it. And Kotwica, no one’s been hotter than Hayden. He’s been hitting the ball pretty hard.”
After Shawnee finally broke through with a run on a two-out RBI single by Tanner Vanvelzor in the top of the third, Adams drove in another run on an RBI sac fly that scored Daniel in the bottom of the inning, and Emery and substitute second baseman Matt McGillivary turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fourth to keep the score at 12-1.
That closed the book on Adams, who struck out one and scattered three hits, two walks and a hit batter over four innings to get his first win of the year.
“Jacob threw a nice game,” Welker said. “He hadn’t started in a couple weeks, threw in the bullpen last week, so it was nice to get him a start. He threw well. Struggled a little early, but once he settled in and started getting ahead in counts, he did a nice job.”
Adams gave way to Chase Weaver in the top of the fifth, and with a runner on first, Kotwica made a great diving catch on a ball headed to the gap in left-center for the first out. After another flyout and a single and wild pitch, Weaver left Braves stranded on second and third by inducing a flyout to Taylor in left field to put an early end to the game.
The top of the lineup did its job setting the table in the game, as Kotwica was 2 for 3 with two runs scored, Emery was 1 for 2 with two runs and Daniel was 1 for 1 with three runs. Adams was 1 for 1 with a triple and three RBIs, Brandenburg was 1 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Williams was 1 for 2 with an RBI, Taylor was 1 for 3 with an RBI and Brogan drove in a run.
Troy will host 13-1 Butler Monday, then the Trojans will complete the series against the Aviators at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wright State University.
“We’ll see what we’re made of come Monday and Tuesday,” Welker said.
Butler outlasts Troy in 9
Trojans’ 5-game winning streak ends
April 18, 2017 by Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — A Butler runner thrown out at home plate to end the first inning. An inning-ending 1-2-3 double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam and stay alive in extras. And a host of pickoffs, caught-stealings and double plays to erase other Aviator baserunners throughout the game.
After all the defensive plays the Troy baseball team made to stay in the game, one error in particular cost the Trojans.
With Troy clinging to a two-run lead from the first inning on, Butler was able to tie the score in the fifth inning on an error and eventually force extra innings. And though the Trojans made enough defensive plays to keep the score tied through eight innings, the Aviators finally broke the door open with a seven-run ninth inning to escape Market Street Field with a 9-2 victory Monday in Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division play.
“We made the most out of some tough situations for about eight innings,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “But you can only fight it off so long before the dam’s going to bust … and it did. I wish we could’ve capitalized on some things, found another run or made another out, something like that.
“The boys played hard enough to win it through seven and just couldn’t find a way to get another run across. And (Hayden) Kotwica surely pitched well enough to win it.”
The loss snapped Troy’s five-game winning streak, dropping the Trojans to 7-8 and 5-3 in the GWOC American North. And though the Trojans remained competitive against the division leader in Butler (14-1, 7-0 GWOC American North), it was little consolation for them.
“We don’t like moral victories,” Welker said. “We don’t work hard to lose in nine innings to a team like that. When we’re in position to come out on top in the game, we’re not happy with the loss.
“Yes, we competed. If you saw games earlier this year against some teams, we didn’t compete. But we made defensive plays, Kotwica battled on the mound and we had a much better approach at the plate for about eight innings, but unfortunately we rolled the dice one too many times, and it didn’t come out.”
Butler threatened in the top of the first with two outs. Tyler Burley singled and Matt Grossman hit a single to left-center that Troy center fielder Tyler Brandenburg had trouble fielding. Burley broke for the plate, but Brandenburg fired to shortstop Brandon Emery, who threw to catcher Keiran Williams to record the final out of the inning at the plate.
The Trojans kept riding that momentum in the bottom of the inning. Kotwica doubled to lead off, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Jake Daniel drove an RBI double off the fence in right. Williams followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0 and was eventually stranded on third base, but Troy still enjoyed a two-run lead after one.
The Aviators had baserunners in every inning and kept the pressure on most of the game, but Troy starter Kotwica and his defense kept finding ways to get out of trouble. In the second, back-to-back strikeouts left a runner stranded on third. In the third, Butler couldn’t do anything with a two-out hit, and in the fourth a leadoff double by Grossman led to nothing after he was erased by a pickoff throw from Williams.
Troy couldn’t keep it up forever, though.
A one-out single by Jack Mitchell and a wild pitch set up an RBI single by Damon Dues, but a called third strike served up by Kotwica put Troy on the verge of getting out of the inning with the lead intact. An error on a grounder that could have been the last out of the inning allowed the tying run to score, though, making it 2-2 in the middle of the fifth.
Meanwhile, the Trojans couldn’t put anything together offensively against Butler’s Braeden Norman. Chaz Copas was 2 for 3 and Jacob Adams 2 for 4, the only Troy players with multiple hits as Butler outhit the Trojans 19-8 in the game, with Norman striking out six and walking none. After the first inning, Troy only got four baserunners to second or third base in the rest of the game.
“We were facing one of the better pitchers in the area, but our approach was much better than when we faced him last year and had no approach at the plate and didn’t swing and looked at too any third strikes,” Welker said. “We only looked at strike three once tonight, and we battled at the plate. Our approach is 100 times better than it was earlier this year and surely better than against him last year.”
Butler threatened in the sixth, but Troy made two big plays to get out of it unscathed. Joe Jackson led off with a single, but Williams immediately threw him out trying to steal. Back-to-back singles followed, though, and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with two outs and Dues at the plate. Troy intentionally walked him, though, and Kotwica recorded his sixth and final strikeout of the game to end the inning, though.
And in the seventh, Burley led off with a single but was doubled off first on a line drive to Matt Bigley at third, and the game went into extra innings tied 2-2.
Bigley came on in relief of Kotwica in the top of the eighth, and Butler had two runners on and one out with Dues up — and the Trojans walked him intentionally again. The move paid, off, as the next batter hit a grounder back to Bigley on the mound who started a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. Norman sat down the Trojans in order, though, and the game went on to the ninth.
Where everything went wrong for Troy.
Grossman hit an RBI double that cashed in a leadoff walk and immediately gave Butler the advantage — but the Aviators were far from done. Jackson hit an RBI sac fly, Mitchell later hit a two-run single, another run scored on a dropped fly ball, Dolen Fults hit an RBI groundout and Burley hit an RBI single. Six hits, a walk and two errors later, Butler held an insurmountable 9-2 lead.
Troy continued fighting, as Adams and Cole Brogan hit two-out singles in the bottom of the inning. But Norman induced a groundout to second to put away the game.
Now the Trojans will have to make sure that ninth inning doesn’t bleed over into Tuesday’s game — Troy finishes the series against Butler at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wright State University.
“The only thing I worry about is does it give them a boost for tomorrow,” Welker said. “We kind of held them in check, and they were a little surprised by that. I think they were anticipating coming in and rolling a little bit, and we played a nice game. But again, we don’t like moral victories.”
Troy gets back on track
McDonagh shuts down Arrows in win
April 20, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TROY — Troy baseball coach knew what the challenge would be for his Trojans coming off of a two-game sweep at the hands of Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division leader Butler earlier this week.
“It’s hard, especially after the intensity of the Butler series, where every pitch matters and everybody is so intense,” he said. “The guys have to learn how to balance their emotions and stay focused. But these guys are in the right place right now.”
Thursday — despite even some attempted intervention by Mother Nature — the Trojans were able to get back on track.
Troy (8-9) scored five quick runs against visiting Tecumseh Thursday at Market Street Field, staking pitcher Derek McDonagh — who himself was coming off of pitching a no-hitter last week in a win over Xenia — out to a 5-0 lead after two innings, and the junior did the rest in another impressive complete-game effort, leading the Trojans to an 8-3 victory over the Arrows in non-league play.
After the start of the game was delayed a half hour by sudden afternoon storms, the Trojans wasted no time getting their offense back on track. After being outscored 12-2 by Butler in the two losses combined on Monday and Tuesday, Troy plated run in the top of the first and cashed in four more in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
“I really thought we came out well,” Welker said. “We came out and had some good at-bats with guys in scoring position, which we haven’t had lately. We got hits when guys got to second and third, and the guys just did a real nice job.”
In the first, Hayden Kotwica drew a leadoff walk to start the game, took second after Tecumseh (7-10) botched a rundown on a pickoff play and took third on a wild pitch. Brandon Emery immediately singled him home, ripping a solid shot to right field to give Troy a 1-0 lead.
Four more walks in the second inning helped Troy take control for good. Cole Brogan drew a free pass to lead off the inning and Tyler Brandenburg beat out a one-out infield single, then Matt Bigley walked to load the bases for Kotwica. The senior promptly rifled a two-run single to center, and an error on the throw home allowed the runners to move up to second and third. Emery hit an RBI sac fly to make it a 4-0 game, then Jake Daniel and Keiran Williams both drew two-out walks to load the bases. Jacob Adams walked on four pitches to force in another run and make it 5-0 before the Arrows finally got out of the inning trailing 5-0.
That appeared to be plenty early on for McDonagh, who cruised through the first two innings without allowing a ball to leave the infield. But with one out in the third, No. 9 hitter Evan Maxwell knocked a single into right field to end McDonagh’s hitless innings streak, and an unearned run in the top of the fourth made the score 5-1 Troy.
“Derek always keeps us in the game,” Welker said. “All three runs were unearned. He just throws strikes, struck out seven in the game. He did what he’s supposed to do. And really, that first hit was probably my fault. I called a fastball that I thought the kid couldn’t handle, and the kid was sitting on it. So I take credit for that one. But Derek kept his focus.”
Troy bounced right back in the bottom of the fourth. Jake Daniel led off with a single and Keiran Williams reached on an error, then both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Jacob Adams hit an RBI groundout, Cole Brogan drew a walk and stole second to put runners back on second and third, and Chaz Copas ripped a two-run single back up the middle to make it an 8-1 game.
Tecumseh got two more unearned runs in the top of the fifth to close the gap back to five, and — after a brief but potent rain shower that did not halt play — McDonagh walked and hit the first two batters of the sixth inning. He got even stronger from there, though, striking out the rest of the side in that inning and pitching a one-two-three seventh, striking out the final batter of the game to end it.
McDonagh finished with seven strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters, scattering five hits and giving up no earned runs in the complete game.
“I thought he was going to lose his focus there in that sixth inning,” Welker said. “He walked the first guy, hit the next. But he buckled down and struck out the side — and picked up a little velocity, too.
“We lost a little focus, too, but we had some weird hops. One of their hits, we played the ball right, but it was just a tough play. We had some throwing errors, too. The guys just need to learn to balance their emotions. It’s hard after that intense Butler series. This was a good win for us.”
Kotwica finished the game 1 for 3 but had two RBIs and scored twice, Emery and Copas were each 1 for 3 with two RBIs and Adams was 0 for 3 but had two RBIs as Troy and Tecumseh both had five hits on the day and both committed three errors as teams.
Troy remains at home Friday, hosting Graham.
Trojan baseball ends Devils’ streak
Troy baseball knocks off Tipp, 3-1
April 26, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
TIPP CITY — The Troy baseball team’s breakthrough win couldn’t have come at a bigger time.
Hayden Kotwica pitched a four-hitter, shutting down a potent Tippecanoe offense that had won 11 straight games and routed the Trojans the day before, and Troy (10-10, 6-5 Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division) did all the little things necessary to hold off the Red Devils for a 3-1 victory Tuesday at Tippecanoe Middle School.
“This was the breakthrough we’ve need to have,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Last year, we won 16 games, but we won all the games that we should’ve won. We didn’t beat anyone that, on paper, we shouldn’t have been able to beat. On paper, we shouldn’t have been able to beat Tipp — but we did. The kids needed to see that we could do this, needed to know that they could do it.”
Kotwica struck out five and held the Devils — who came into the game with a .400 team batting average after run-ruling Troy 11-0 the day before — in check. And the Trojans jumped out in front in the top of the first, loading the bases and getting an RBI fielder’s choice from Jacob Adams to take a 1-0 lead.
And in the second, Brandon Emery led off with a single and stole second, and Tyler Brandenburg and Hayden Kotwica each hit RBI singles to make it a 3-0 game.
“It started with Kotwica,” Welker said. “He’s the pace setter, and he led from the mound. He wasn’t overpowering, but he competed with every batter. We turned two double plays, caught a runner stealing, ended the game with a double play, Brandenburg made a diving catch in center to end an inning — we just made big outs. Everyone played well.
“We just did the little things right, and Kotwica set the pace for us. The guys kept the intensity up the whole game. We needed a win like that.”
Tippecanoe fell to 16-4 with the loss and dropped to second in the GWOC American North with a 10-1 record, one game behind 11-0 Butler — which the Devils play in a two-game series next week. Before that, Tippecanoe hosts Trotwood Friday and Northmont Saturday.
The Trojans, meanwhile, travel to Miamisburg Thursday and host West Carrollton Friday before a two-game series against Piqua to close division play next week.
Brogan shuts out Piqua
Trojan sophomore blanks Indians 3-0
May 1, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
PIQUA — Troy sophomore Cole Brogan has drawn some tough assignments on the mound this season, particularly the past two weeks.
Monday, he found his way back into a groove.
Facing rival Piqua, Troy’s Brogan pitched a complete-game five-hit shutout on the road, getting out of a pair of tough jams throughout the game and getting help from the defense behind him, and the Trojan baseball team was able to scratch together a few runs off of an equally effective Piqua starter, Blake Wright, to claim a 3-0 victory Monday at Hardman Field in Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division play.
Brogan only struck out four but walked none, allowing only three Piqua baserunners to reach scoring position in the entire game. The Indians’ biggest threat came in the third after a pair of two-out errors allowed baserunners to reach second and third, but Brogan induced a groundout to Brandon Emery at second base to get out of the jam.
“Cole goes out and does what he does,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “He induces ground balls, and we played great defense behind him.
(Third baseman) Matt Bigley does his job and is a wall, (Jacob) Adams did a nice job in his first start at shortstop. And when Cole is on the mound, we’re a confident team. They want to play defense for him, and it’s kind of nice.
“He’d probably be the first to tell you that wasn’t his best game control-wise, but he doesn’t have to do it all. And that’s the message to all our pitchers — throws strikes, get ahead of hitters and let the defense play.”
Brogan has three losses this season, including two in the past two weeks to the top two teams in the GWOC American North, a narrow 3-0 loss to Butler and an 11-0 defeat against Tippecanoe in his last start — two teams with a combined 38-7 record.
“Not making excuses, but he found out at school that day that he was pitching (against Tippecanoe),” Welker said. “I think he’s a kid that needs to know and be prepared, and we made a change that day. When he knows he’s going to be on the mound, he prepares mentally, and he does a nice job. That’s a young kid out there throwing well. He doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts, but he throws strikes and we played good defense behind him.”
Wright was cruising along for Piqua (10-13, 7-7 GWOC American North) early in the game, too. All five of his strikeouts came in the first three innings as he allowed only a pair of walks during that time, keeping the score 0-0 going into the fourth.
“He surely was in control the first couple innings,” Welker said of Wright. “He threw a nice game. We were swinging at his pitches. I get disappointed a little with our offensive approach, and we did not have a good approach early today.”
In the fourth, though, Troy (12-10, 7-5 GWOC American North) finally broke through.
Jake Daniel hammered a leadoff triple to the gap in right-center, the Trojans’ first hit in the game, and cleanup hitter Keiran Williams quickly followed by drilling an RBI double up the hill in left-center field. Williams advanced to third on a groundout, a walk to Brogan put runners on the corners, and Brandon Emery drove an RBI sac fly to center field to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead.
Troy added an insurance run in the sixth, too. Williams drew a leadoff walk and was bunted to second by Adams. And with two outs, Emery knocked a clutch RBI single back up the middle and just out of reach of Wright on the mound, bringing home Williams to make it a three-run game.
“Jake hits the ball hard. He did a nice job, and that got us going,” Welker said. “And then we manufactured a couple of runs. Emery hit a sac fly, which was important, then Adams sacrifice bunted Keiran to second, and Emery got a hit to get that add-on run — which was a big deal. Going into that last inning only up two? That could’ve been a different ballgame.
“Brandon had a really nice game, as well. Two kind of quiet at-bats — a sac fly and a single up the middle with a guy on second that we just sacrificed over — but two big at-bats. And he’s had kind of a rough year, so to have him have a game like that is big for him.”
In the bottom of the inning, Piqua’s Dakota Iddings — who was 2 for 3 in the game — led off with a single, but Bigley and Emery erased that baserunner with a 5-4-3 double play. And in the seventh, Michael Ashcraft hit a two-out double and Logan Harris singled to put runners on the corners and bring the tying run to the plate, but Brogan got a soft lineout to Bigley at third to end the game.
Oh, and the third team that owns a victory over Brogan this season? Springboro, which earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming sectional tournament with a 14-7 record — and happens to be a potential sectional final matchup for the ninth-seeded Trojans, who face No. 11 Tecumseh in the opening round on May 9.
“We surely can’t look past Tecumseh,” Welker said. “They’re a good baseball team. These guys have done a nice job, but they haven’t gotten ahead of themselves. These guys have prepared, and the mentality was correct tonight. They were prepared. They kept up the intensity all the way to the end, and they haven’t lost focus.”
Brogan shuts out Fairborn
Troy wins 1-0, advances to sectional final
May 11, 2017 By Josh Brown Troy Daily News
FAIRBORN — As the ball flew off the bat and toward the left-field fence, Cole Brogan could only watch and hope.
If it stayed in the park, he knew his defense had his back.
“I just turned hoping (left fielder) Tyler (Brandenburg) could make the catch, honestly,” the Troy sophomore pitcher said. “There was a good chance it was going out — but if it didn’t, I knew Tyler was going to get it.”
And Brandenburg did just that, recording the final out of the game on the warning track to finish off Brogan’s masterpiece — a one-hit shutout on a mere 57 pitches to give the ninth-seeded Trojans a 1-0 upset victory at No. 5 Fairborn Thursday in the Division I sectional semifinal round, giving Troy seven straight wins and sending it to next week’s sectional championship game.
“I think the game came down to the fact that we were the underdog,” Troy’s Jake Daniel, who scored the game’s only run, said. “We weren’t supposed to win, and we really wanted to come out and pull off that ‘W.’ All year, we’ve talked about winning the games we’re not supposed to win. We did it against Tipp City, we did it against Miamisburg, and we came out here and did it again.”
And the Trojans (16-10) did it against a Skyhawk team that had already beaten them once this season, 2-1 back on April 7 to cap off a 2-7 stretch to begin the season. Since then, Troy has gone an impressive 14-3 and scored numerous solid wins along the way — none more so than Thursday’s.
“We feel like we’re a team like that (that can win the games we’re not supposed to), but we couldn’t say that before,” Troy baseball coach Ty Welker said. “We couldn’t say that before Tipp, but I feel like now we’re a team that understands what it takes to compete and battle.
“Early on in the year, we took our lumps. That wasn’t a surprise, but it was at times challenging, thinking did we make the right decision to schedule the schedule we did with the young guys we had. But I think that’s why we win that ballgame. We win that ballgame because of our growing pains early on, and these guys have grown. We are a different team now.”
Brogan’s growth has helped lead the way, too. He gave up only one hit — a third-inning single by Leighton Mohr — and walked one in the fourth, a runner that was promptly doubled off on an inning-ending double play by third baseman Matt Bigley. Brogan also struck out only two, getting 15 of the 21 outs in the game on ground balls.
He also threw five one-two-three innings in the game — including a three-pitch inning in the second, all on groundouts. Eight Fairborn batters were one-pitch outs in the game, and only twice was Brogan forced to throw five pitches to a hitter.
“That’s amazing,” Welker said. “I don’t know if I’ve had a guy that’s had that efficient an outing. But that’s what he does. It’s who he’s been all year, and we play great defense behind him. It’s a total team effort. He kept us in the game by throwing the pitches that he threw, and our guys played great defense behind him.”
“Mine and coach’s approach is just to throw strikes and try to get them to ground out,” Brogan said. “They were swinging … and hitting them right to our players.”
Jacob Webb — who pitched the victory over the Trojans earlier this year — threw another gem for Fairborn (18-10), as well, only allowing two hits himself while walking four, hitting one and striking out six. But when Troy did manage to get runners on, they went into motion as the Trojans stole three bases on the game and forced Webb to throw a whopping 114 pitches — exactly double Brogan’s total.
“Webb threw a heck of a game,” Welker said. “We like to put pressure on defenses, and I think we did tonight. I know we didn’t get the big hit when it mattered and we didn’t execute a couple things, but a lot of innings we got guys into scoring position — and those are high-stress pitches.”
And in the fourth, that stress produced the game’s only run.
Daniel led off the inning with a solid single, and cleanup hitter Keiran Williams laid down a sacrifice bunt attempt back to Webb. But Webb bobbled the ball when trying to pick it up and rushed his throw as a result — and it went sailing over the first baseman’s head and into the wide foul area along the fence in right.
Daniel may have been surprised when he saw Welker waving him home as he rounded third base — but he did not slow down at all, scoring all the way from first base on the error to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
“I was rounding second, looked over my shoulder and saw the first baseman jumping,” Daniel said. “I figured it was over, and I look at coach and he’s just waving me home. All I was thinking was go. Run. I was running as fast as I possibly could to score that run.”
Williams ended up on third with no outs on the play, but the Trojans couldn’t get the insurance run home. A sharp groundout to second and a shallow flyout to left prevented him from scoring, then a flyout to center ended the inning with no more damage.
Brandon Emery had Troy’s only other hit in the third inning and Brandenburg was hit by a pitch, but the Trojans left runners stranded on the corners. In the fifth, Bigley walked with one out and stole second with two outs but was left stranded. Then a series of three seventh-inning walks loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Webb induced a flyout to shallow center, though, to keep Fairborn alive in the bottom of the inning.
Brogan recorded two quick outs before Will Coleman gave a 2-1 pitch a ride all the way to the warning track — but Brandenburg was right there to put it away and end the game.
“I knew it was deep, but I didn’t think it was out,” Welker said. “The only question was if Tyler was going to get back in time, and he did what he’s supposed to do. He took off running to the spot. He didn’t coast. Another sophomore doing well.
“As a group, everyone did well. Nine guys on the field, and a heck of a bench supporting them. This was a total team win.”
Troy advanced to the sectional championship game on May 18 at Beavercreek, where the Trojans will face another familiar team — Springboro. Troy lost 2-0 to the second-seeded Panthers in the third game of the season — a game that was actually Brogan’s first start of the year.
And he, along with the rest of the Trojans, showed just how far they’ve come since then on Thursday.
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