Trojans have plenty of talent returning
March 22, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — By his own admission, Ty Welker doesn’t have a roster loaded with future Division I college stars or Major League Baseball prospects.
He also wouldn’t trade it for any other team in the area.
“We are a blue collar kind of team,” the Troy baseball coach said. “When we win games, it’s going to be because we have a better team, not because we have better individuals. Would we love to have the horses that some of the other teams have? Sure. But we’ve also won some games that, if you look at talent alone, we probably had no business being in. We’ve got some great kids who work hard and are going to give it their best effort every game.”
The Trojans also return nearly their entire pitching staff and do return their entire infield from last season.
Troy only lost one starter from its pitching staff last season, although it was All-Greater Western Ohio Conference selection Hayden Kotwica. However, the Trojans do return plenty of talent, experience and depth.
Senior Derek McDonagh went 3-1 with a 1.65 earned run average and 47 strikeouts last season. Junior Cole Brogan went 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA. Senior Chase Weaver was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA who will play at the University of Northwestern Ohio next year.
“Those three guys threw a lot of innings for us last year,” Welker said. “All three of them pitched in some big games. Those are probably our top three guys right now, but we’ve also got three more guys who are right on their heels.”
Welker said juniors Ethan West, Matt Bigley and Braeden Snider all will see time on the mound this season as well. Bigley went 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA last season. Snider is the only left-handed pitcher on the Trojans’ roster. Senior Tomo Nakayama is out for the team for the first time and could see plenty of time in a reliever role.
Behind the plate will be senior Keiran Williams. Backing him up at catcher will be senior Austin Kloeker.
“Keiran is the anchor of our defense,” Welker said. “He’s a vocal leader who has worked hard in the offseason.”
Every piece of the Trojans’ starting infield returns from last season.
At first base will be senior Jake Daniel, who led the Trojans in hitting last season, batting .356 with 20 RBI and nine doubles. He’s committed to play at Ohio Dominican next season. Senior Logan Hubbard will back him up at first. Brandon Emery — Troy’s second-leading returning hitter (.278) will start at second base when Brogan or Bigley aren’t on the mound, but also could shift to shortstop or third base, depending on who is pitching. He’ll play at the University of Findlay next year. Backing up Emery will be junior Austin Kendall.
Brogan and Bigley will play shortstop and third base, respectively, when they aren’t on the mound.
“Jake Daniel will be our three-hole hitter,” Welker said. “He’s a good first baseman and a great hitter. He’s also a leader. Brandon gives us a left-handed bat in the line-up and is a versatile player. Brogan earned the starting spot at shortstop when we moved Emery to second base. Bigley is one of the best third basemen I’ve had in my career here. He’s like a silent assassin — he just makes plays.”
While the pitching staff and infield are pretty much settled heading into the season, there are some questions in the outfield.
This much is certain — junior Tyler Brandenburg, an honorable mention All-GWOC North pick as a sophomore, will start in center field and bat leadoff for the Trojans. Senior Matt McGillivary, West, Kloeker, Dakota Hamman and Trent Bell, along with junior Luke Severt, all are battling it out for time at the other two outfield positions.
“Brandenburg is a tremendous athlete, so we are pretty set there,” Welker said. “At the corners, we have a lot of questions. McGillivary might have a lead at one spot because he is such a tremendous athlete. But we really don’t know for sure what we will be doing at the corners yet. There’s a lot of guys battling for spots out there.”
Junior Jacob Adams will be the team’s designated hitter as he battles back from a serious arm injury suffered last summer. The Trojans will need his bat in the line-up.
“We can pitch and we can play defense — the big question for us is going to be how well we can hit,” Welker said. “We only hit .241 as a team last year — although we did steal 69 bases, the most we’ve had in my career. I expect us to be able to run the bases. But we’ve got to hit better.”
If Troy can do that, Welker said, he likes his team’s chances.
“We want to compete for the North title,” he said. “We know Butler and Tippecanoe will be up there, too. They always are. It’s a tough division.”
Troy baseball sweeps Greenville: Saturday sports roundup
March 31, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
GREENVILLE — Troy baseball coach Ty Welker wasn’t exactly thrilled with his team’s performance on offense Saturday at Greenville.
The result was a different story.
“It was nice to win a game that was tied going into the seventh, regardless of how it happened,” he said. “I was a little critical of the guys’ offensive approach, for sure, but in the end our goal was to be 2-0 in the league after the first two games — and we’re 2-0 in the league. No one cares how it happened.”
Troy’s Cole Brogan threw a complete game four-hitter, striking out 10 and walking none, but missed chances early allowed the Green Wave to hang around and tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth. But the Trojans (2-0, 2-0 Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division) got runs on a bases-loaded walk and hit batter in the top of the seventh, and Troy snuck away with a 3-1 division victory in a makeup game at Greenville.
The Trojans took the lead in the top of the first as Brandon Emery led off with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Jake Daniel. But the game remained 1-0 despite the Trojans putting two runners on in each the second and third innings, being unable to get them home.
“We had some missed opportunities early that could have cost us,” Welker said. “Then (Kyle) Mills set us down one-two-three in the fourth, fifth and sixth. We had nine flyball outs and struck out eight times — which is way too many — with six looking. We passed up on some fastballs early in counts and were swinging at their pitches, not our pitches. It was not a very offensive offense today.”
But Brogan was solid, giving up only four singles over seven innings to keep Troy in the game.
“Cole Brogan threw a heck of a game,” Welker said. “We lean on our pitchers a little bit — we expect those guys to perform, and he did. He was very efficient and did his job. We made three errors behind him, but he went out and did what he’s supposed to do.”
And with the score tied in the top of the seventh, Troy caught the breaks it needed. Keiran Williams drew a leadoff walk, then Cole Brogan hit an infield single on a hit-and-run, and an error on the play put runners on second and third. Tyler Brandenberg walked to load the bases before a popup led to the second out — but Matt Bigley drew a walk to put Troy up by one and Matt McGillivary was hit by a pitch to score an insurance run, and Brogan did the rest in the bottom of the inning.
Troy baseball falls, 2-0: Late
April 4, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
EMERSON, Ga — The Troy baseball team continued to get stellar pitching in the first game of its trip to the Perfect Game facility in Georgia.
The Trojan offense struggled, though, as three Cartersville (GA) pitchers combined to strike out seven batters and allow only three hits as Troy (2-1) lost for the first time this season, 2-0.
Cartersville took the lead in the second inning. Garrett Shelton singled with one out and Ladarius Winburn was hit by a pitch, with a run scoring on an RBI single by Josh Mayo.
The Trojans got a runner to second in the top of the third after a Matt Bigley walk and a balk, but an inning-ending double play kept Troy off the scoreboard. Cartersville then loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning with only one out, but McDonagh induced a popout in foul territory for the second out and then a flyout to get out of the jam.
But Cartersville added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Josh Davis singled and Jake Gooch doubled to put runners on second and third, then McDonagh hit a batter to load the bases with no outs. The next batter struck out, but Winburn hit a sac fly to center to bring home a run and make it a 2-0 game.
Troy had maybe its best chance in the sixth inning. Bigley led off with a single and Matt McGillivary was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. But a pinch runner was picked off of second base, then the other runner was caught stealing at second to wipe out the threat, and a popout ended the inning.
The Trojans got out of another bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth to keep it a two-run game, but the offense couldn’t muster more than a two-out single by Cole Brogan in the top of the seventh.
McDonagh pitched five strong innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out six and walking two. Tomo Nakayama pitched the sixth, striking out one and walking two. Brandon Emery was the only other Trojan with a hit in the game as Troy was outhit 5-3.
Late error costs Troy
April 5, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
EMERSON, Ga. — During the second game of its trip to Perfect Game at Lakepoint in Georgia, the Troy baseball team got the offensive punch it was lacking in the previous game.
This time, though, a lack of control cost the Trojans.
Three walks and an error in the top of the seventh allowed Archbishop Spalding (MD) to put together a four-run inning on only one hit, a rally that led to a 6-3 Troy defeat Thursday night that dropped the Trojans to 2-2 on the season.
Troy outhit the Cavaliers 5-2 on the night, taking a 3-2 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jake Daniel doubled to lead off and Keiran Williams singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. After pinch runner Derek McDonagh stole second, Jacob Adams followed with an RBI single to tie the score at 2-2. Tyler Brandenberg then hit a sac fly to center to bring home McDonagh and put the Trojans on top 3-2.
But the Cavaliers led off the top of the seventh with a walk, then a pair of one-out walks loaded the bases. Josh Moylan hit an RBI infield single to tie the score, then the two go-ahead runs scored on an error off the bat off Justin Pelletreau. A sac fly by Justin Caesar made it a three-run game, and the Trojans could only manage a two-out walk in the bottom of the inning.
The loss spoiled a solid combined effort by Troy pitchers Chase Weaver and Ethan West. Weaver went the first four innings, striking out three, walking three and allowing one hit and two earned runs. West pitched the final three, striking out one, walking four and allowing one hit and four runs — only one earned.
Braeden Snider had the Trojans’ other RBI on a second-inning single, while Daniel and Williams were both 2 for 3 with a double.
Troy Sweeps Sidney
April 10, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
SIDNEY — The Troy baseball team’s pitchers shut down Sidney over the course of the two-game series, and even though the Yellow Jackets saw more success than in Monday’s series opener on Tuesday, the result was the same in an 11-0 Trojan run-rule win in six innings in Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division play.
After Troy’s Derek McDonagh threw a perfect game against Sidney on Monday, Cole Brogan was dominant, as well, striking out four and walking none in a three-hit shutout Tuesday.
Brogan was also 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored at the plate. Tyler Brandenburg was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Jacob Adams drew three walks and scored all three times, Austin Kendall was 1 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs and Braeden Snider, Austin Kloeker, Matt Bigley and Tomo Nakayama each drove in a run.
Troy (4-3, 4-0 GWOC American North) hosted Fairborn Wednesday in a makeup game then hosts Springboro Thursday.
Welker keeps record in Trojan family
April 15, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — When Ty Welker became the winningest coach in Troy High School baseball history last week, he could barely keep up with the congratulations he received from everyone with whom he’s come into contact during his career.
He received text messages. And Tweets. And emails.
One thing, however — quite possibly the one thing that would have meant the most to him — was missing.
“When I got my first coaching job, Fred (McMullen) was the first person to call me,” Welker said. “When I got the Troy coaching job, Fred was the first person to call me. I know he would have been the first person to call me for this, too. But I do know he was there with me.”
Last week, Welker picked up his 201st win as Troy baseball coach, breaking the record set by his friend and mentor, Fred McMullen. The legendary former Troy coach passed away in February 2006, a little more than a month before Welker coached his first varsity game at Troy.
Welker said even being mentioned in the same breath as the man who meant so much to his coaching career is an honor.
“Fred is the reason I’m a coach,” Welker said. “He gave me my first chance when I was in college. He called me and asked me if I would help coach his son’s Teener league team that summer. Of course I did because I loved being around Fred.”
It was a relationship that extended back to Welker’s own playing days at Troy High School. After being repeatedly cut from McMullen’s varsity teams, Welker got his chance to play for McMullen’s Trojans his senior year in 1989.
“I got cut my sophomore and junior years, but I asked him if I could just keep the book for the team my senior year,” Welker said. “I didn’t want to get in the way, and I wasn’t very good, but I just wanted to be a part of the team. Fred told me he wanted me to try out.
“But then Fred told me he wanted me to try out for the team. I didn’t think I would make it, but he put me on the team. I actually had plans to go on spring break with a couple of my buddies that I had to cancel because I didn’t think I was going to be on the team. I didn’t play a whole lot — I only got 16 at-bats the entire season — but I didn’t care. I was just happy to be on the team. Fred allowed me to be a part of his program.”
Welker would go on to graduate from Bowling Green State University before returning to teach at Troy. He would also serve as a junior varsity and assistant coach for the Trojans before taking his first varsity head coaching job at rival Piqua. He would return home in 2006, becoming Troy’s varsity coach.
His teams have been a model of consistency, averaging more than 16 wins per season, making district and regional tournament appearances and capturing Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division championships in 2012 and 2014.
“This isn’t my record; this is a program record,” Welker said. “I’ve been so lucky with all the great players and assistant coaches I’ve had over the years. My family — my wife Amy, our daughters Jessie and Maggie and our son Luke — have just been incredible supporting me all these years. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much support I’ve gotten from the administration here in Troy, as well.”
Long-time assistant coach Heath Murray — who also played alongside Welker at Troy — said he couldn’t be happier for his friend and fellow coach.
“I think it’s awesome,” Murray said. “I know it means the world to him. I know it’s been his dream his entire life to be the Troy head baseball coach. To be able to do that, I know is a big deal to him, even if he would never say it. I couldn’t be happier for him because I know how much time he puts in all year, with the off-season conditioning and the fundraisers. It’s a lot more than what people see during the season. I didn’t know what he makes — or what any baseball coach makes — but I bet if you broke it down, it’s about a dime per hour.
“And I think it’s great that it if someone was going to pass Fred, it was going to be a Troy guy who understands Fred’s legacy and what he meant to this program and the history of Troy baseball. I couldn’t be happier for Ty. He’s done a great job with the kids and with this program.”
Welker said he hopes to remain a part of the program as head coach for years to come.
“I plan to be around for a few more years,” he said. “My son is in second grade, and it’s been a dream of mine to coach him someday, if that’s what he wants to do.”
Troy sweeps Butler in doubleheader
April 19, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
VANDALIA — Why settle for one nail-biting victory when you can have two?
The Troy baseball team got stellar pitching efforts from both Derek McDonagh and Cole Brogan, clutch defensive performances and timely hitting from everyone and yet another walkoff hit by Matt Bigley Wednesday night, sweeping a doubleheader at Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division rival Butler with a pair of 3-2 victories — the second of those in extra innings.
Derek McDonagh pitched a one-hitter in the first game, leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh by striking out the final two batters to seal the Trojans’ first victory over the Aviators since 2014 — the last time Troy won a division title. And in the second game — which also featured a rain delay — Brogan scattered eight hits and didn’t give up an earned run in nine innings of work, with Bigley beating out a two-out RBI infield single to seal Troy’s first season sweep of Butler since 2012 — another division championship season for the Trojans.
And after it was all over — 16 innings and more than five hours after it began — Troy sat atop the GWOC American North standings at 8-0 in division play, 9-3 overall, while Butler fell to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in the American North.
“That’s a lot of baseball. I’m tired,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “But it feels good. The guys battled all night and just didn’t quit.”
The opening game of the doubleheader turned into the toughest battle in division play yet for McDonagh, who had only given up a total of one hit in two previous North Division games, including a perfect game against Sidney.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Tyler Brandenburg singled to lead off the game and eventually scored on a two-out RBI single by Jacob Adams. But Butler tied the score in the bottom of the third as Evan McKinney struck out but reached base on a wild pitch, stole second and was driven in on the Aviators’ only hit of the game, a two-out RBI single by Boston Smith.
Troy retook the lead in the fifth, though, as Brandenburg was hit by a pitch and walks to Jake Daniel and Adams eventually loaded the bases with two outs. Brogan then yanked a two-run double over the left fielder’s head, bringing home two runs and putting the Trojans up 3-1.
Brogan finished the game 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs and Adams was 2 for 3 with an RBI.
“Brogan has been putting the ball in play, and he hit the ball hard there,” Welker said. “We put guys on all game, which put some pressure on Norman. He had to throw a lot of pitches under stress, he got up in pitch count, we extended some innings, and the whole team did a nice job offensively.”
But in the bottom of the seventh, McDonagh walked the first two Butler batters to put the tying runs on base, and an error on a bunt by Preston Tofstad cut Troy’s lead to one, still with no one out. A groundout put runners on second and third, and McDonagh issued an intentional walk to load the bases and set up a force everywhere with one out.
“I don’t know what was wrong. I just knew I had to battle and fight,” McDonagh said. “You’ve got to fight and have that one-pitch-at-a-time mentality. I just knew I had to put it in the zone — I wasn’t about to give them any free more free bases. I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I was just trying to throw strikes and let my dudes play for me.”
“That was probably a bit of uncharted territory for him,” Welker said. “I got a little nervous in that last inning when he put the leadoff hitter on. Butler’s a different team when they get the leadoff hitter on. But he did a nice job.”
McDonagh struck the next batter out swinging for the second out, and he got the final batter of the game looking on three pitches to seal the win.
The senior finished with seven strikeouts on the night, walking three and hitting one batter and allowing one hit and two runs, neither earned.
Butler’s Braedon Norman took the loss, striking out four, walking four and hitting one and giving up five hits and three runs.
“He just did his job again,” Welker said of McDonagh. “He’s a competitor. He wants the ball. He did a great job, and he battled and finished the game.”
“We’re trying to win the North, and this team is very good this year. This win was huge for us,” McDonagh said.
And it was only the beginning.
After Brogan began the second game of the doubleheader with three scoreless innings, the Trojans — the home team for the nightcap — took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third. Austin Kendall led off with a sharp single and Ethan West drew a walk against Butler starter Ryan Qvick, and a sacrifice bunt by Bigley put runners on second and third with one out. Qvick got a called third strike for the second out, but Brandon Emery — who had turned a double play on defense in the second inning — ripped a two-run single to bring in both runners and put Troy up 2-0.
That was where things remained after four innings, but with Butler coming up in the top of the fifth — which would have made the game official — the tarps came out to protect the field from a light but constant rain, causing a half-hour delay. The Aviators took advantage of the delay once play resumed as Karter Peck led off with a single, and an error on a bunt put runners on second and third. Cameron Miller hit an RBI groundout and an error on another bunt tied the score at 2-2 before Troy catcher Keiran Williams caught a runner trying to steal and Brogan induced a groundout to get out of the inning.
Both teams had chances to win the game from there, with Troy loading the bases with one out in the sixth but not being able to score and Butler leaving four runners on bases the rest of the way and having three more picked off by Williams. In the top of the eighth, Williams — who had already picked a runner off first earlier in the game — picked a Butler runner straying too far off second base. Then twice — once in the eighth and again in the ninth — the Aviators botched squeeze bunt attempts, and Williams made the smart play both times to erase runners from third base and help preserve the tie.
And in the bottom of the ninth, the Trojans finally broke through.
Adams reached on an error with one out and took second on a wild pitch, then Kendall — who was 2 for 3 at the time — was intentionally walked with two outs. Chase Weaver was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Bigley, who had the game-winning walkoff hit in the bottom of the seventh in Troy’s 9-8 win over Springboro just last week
.
And Bigley did it again, pulling a hard grounder down the third-base line off of reliever Quinton Hall and beating it out for a walkoff RBI single to bring home Adams and complete the sweep.
“I just wanted it to be over,” Bigley said with a laugh after the lengthy game and night. “I just knew I had to get a hit right there. I saw it went down the line, and I just knew I had to beat it out.
“This was huge. Two big wins. It feels pretty good.”
“Bigley’s just a kid that puts the ball in play,” Welker said. “He makes things happen. I made some mistakes in the innings before that — I see the bats we have coming up, and I think somebody’s going to hit a ball hard through the infield. I’ll take the blame for those, but the guys battled. That was two big games.”
And two big wins that put Troy atop the GWOC American North standings at 8-0, with 13-1 Tippecanoe only a half-game back and the only other team unbeaten in league play at 7-0.
“It was nice,” Welker said of the sweep. “We’ve never played a doubleheader against Butler on a weeknight, I’ll tell you that. But I talked to the boys about it yesterday, and they were excited about it. Their mentality has been that way all year — they want to play baseball.
“We always have to worry about Vandalia. Every year, in the offseason, in the weight room, we think ‘Vandalia, Vandalia, Vandalia.’ That’s our motivation.”
Now the Trojans will need to shift their focus — after Thursday’s game at Wright State against Fairfield, the Trojans play a two-game series against those Red Devils, beginning with a matchup at Tippecanoe on Monday, that will go a long way in deciding the North Division championship.
Tipp outlasts Troy, 5-1
April 24, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — Tippecanoe baseball coach Bruce Cahill almost second-guessed himself out of the move that swung the momentum in his Red Devils’ favor.
“The funny thing is we were going to put him in in that spot in the batting order, but (assistant) coach (Jim) Johnson said ‘he hasn’t even warmed up enough yet!’” Cahill said of putting Kenten Egbert in to pinch hit to lead off the top of the fifth before entering as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the inning. “He’d already thrown a little, but he hadn’t thrown enough. I’m just glad he didn’t talk me out of it.”
Egbert led off the top of the fifth with a game-tying pinch hit home run then worked three stellar innings of relief to shut the Troy Trojans down the rest of the way, and the Red Devils were able to use that momentum to cobble together a four-run top of the seventh to claim a 5-1 victory on a misty, rainy Tuesday at Market Street Field and strike first in a two-game series that will go a long way in deciding the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division championship.
Troy (9-5, 8-1 GWOC American North) had taken the lead in the bottom of the third on a two-out RBI infield single by Jacob Adams. But Tippecanoe (16-1, 9-0 GWOC American North) — which had left runners stranded in scoring position in three of the first four innings — got a big jolt when Egbert stepped in and drove a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left-center to even the score at 1-1.
“How well did that work out? He needed to go warm up, so he hits a home run and has plenty of time to go warm up,” Cahill said.
Egbert then stepped in and limited the Trojans to only a sixth-inning double by Adams in three innings to get the win on the mound, striking out three and walking none in relief of starter Zach Losey, who, along with Troy starter Derek McDonagh and reliever Ethan West, struggled to keep the ball in the strike zone in the wet conditions, with those three pitchers combining to walk a total of 12 and hit two in the game.
“That’s what you hate. You sit there and go ‘will it be us or them?’” Cahill said of the conditions. “Losey struggled a bit, walked some guys and threw three wild pitches, and he normally doesn’t do that. The weather forces you to play in these games, because you don’t want to get backed up, and we already lost yesterday (Monday’s series opener was postponed to Wednesday due to the rain). It’s just unfortunate that you’ve got to play in these conditions.”
Troy coach Ty Welker wasn’t about to let the conditions be an excuse, though.
“That’s no excuse. They had the same balls we did,” he said of all the free passes. “It’s mentally draining (for the pitchers). And that’s two guys (Losey and McDonagh) that don’t walk guys. But whatever the conditions are, you have to be the toughest one. That’s something we can control. But I wasn’t disappointed in that.
“McDonagh threw a heck of a game. He got up in pitch count after six, and he threw one pitch he’d like to have back. But (Egbert) hit a nice ball. Derek did his job today, and we’re supposed to score runs for him.”
McDonagh gave up five hits and seven walks in six innings of work, yet he only gave up the one run on the homer as the Trojan defense was solid behind him and helped him get out of jams in each inning. He struck out four and left nine Tippecanoe runners stranded — as well as picking off one, having catcher Keiran Williams catch another trying to steal and having one erased in a rundown between second and third to keep it a 1-1 game.
“That’s the kind of team we are. We’re scrappy,” Welker said. “I felt confident all the way. We left a couple guys on in scoring position early in the game, though, and we just needed somebody to get a hit.”
In the end, though, nobody got a game-breaking hit, but Tippecanoe made plays in the top of the seventh to take control.
Cole Barhorst led off by ripping an infield single off reliever West’s glove, then West struck out the next batter for the first out. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases, though, and Mason McClurg hit an RBI sac fly to left to put the Devils on top. Another hit batter reloaded the bases and Seth Clayton drew an RBI walk, then an error off the bat of Egbert allowed two more runs to score and make it a 5-1 game.
“We have to be the mentally tough team,” Welker said. “We know they’re tough, they’re battle-worn. We came out here and expected them to roll over — but we didn’t roll over, either. We played a heck of a game for six innings. It was a battle.”
Troy’s Adams was the only player with multiple hits in the game, going 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI as the Trojans left five runners combined on in the first three innings — four in scoring position — and six total in the game.
Egbert was 1 for 2 with a homer and an RBI and Mason McClurg was 0 for 1 with two sacrifices and an RBI for the Devils.
The two teams will meet again Wednesday at Tippecanoe with Troy needing a win to even up the division standings and Tippecanoe looking to take a seemingly-insurmountable two-game lead. The Trojans and Devils split the season series last year in Tippecanoe’s first season as a member of the GWOC American North, and as of Tuesday’s game the series has been split 6-6 since the 2006 season.
“This series has been split the last few years, so we’ve got to come back and go at it again tomorrow,” Cahill said. “We made more mistakes today than I care for. They gave us a lot of walks and hit batters, but we made some baserunning mistakes. We couldn’t get a bunt down a couple times — just a lot of things we didn’t do well. We’re just glad to get out of here with a win today.”
Trojans respond vs. Devils
Troy routs Tipp 11-0, earns series split
April 25, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TIPP CITY — After a disappointing loss on Tuesday that put them a game behind in the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division standings, the Troy Trojans knew they had to respond.
And once they did, Tippecanoe simply couldn’t find an answer.
The first eight Trojans to the plate in the second inning scored before an out was even recorded to give the Troy baseball team an insurmountable lead, Jacob Adams hammered a three-run double in the next inning to make it an 11-run game and Cole Brogan and the Troy defense put it away on the other end in a three-hit shutout as the Trojans routed the Red Devils 11-0 in five innings Wednesday on the road to earn a split in the critical division series.
With the win, Troy improved to 10-5 overall and 9-1 in the GWOC American North, climbing back into a first-place tie with the Red Devils. Tippecanoe fell to 9-1 in division play and 16-2 overall, snapping a six-game winning streak by the Devils and giving Troy a win after back-to-back losses to the Devils and Fairfield.
“This was huge, man,” said Adams, who was 2 for 3 with two doubles and four RBIs in to lead the way offensively for the Trojans. “Even after Fairfield, our coaches challenged us and wanted to see what we were made out of. And they challenged us yesterday after that tough 5-1 loss — and we knew we had to come back and show what we were about.”
After that game on Tuesday where runs came at a premium and with Troy’s Cole Brogan and Tippecanoe’s Ian Yunker, two talented pitchers, starting, everything seemed set up for another battle. And while both pitchers threw solid first innings, a double play turned from Troy second baseman Tomo Takayama to shortstop Austin Kendall seemed to energize the Trojans — and it showed in the second inning.
“Tipp’s a really good team, but Cole really got us excited throwing that first inning,” Adams said. “We knew he was going to come out and throw strikes behind us, and we knew our defense was going to play, so we just decided to produce hitting.”
Adams started things off in the top of the second with a double, Brogan singled to put runners on the corners and Kendall beat out an RBI infield single to put Troy on top. Braeden Snider drew a walk to load the bases, and Matt McGillivary dropped down a bunt that stayed fair along the third-base line for an RBI single to make it 2-0.
But things were just getting started.
Tyler Brandenburg was hit by a pitch to score another run, then Brandon Emery hit a blooper that got past a diving left fielder for a two-run double to make it 5-0. Jake Daniel followed that up with a sharp two-run single, taking second on the throw home, and he advanced to third on an error as the first nine Troy batters up in the inning reached base safely. Adams then scored Daniel with an RBI groundout for the first out of the inning, and after another error reliever Troy Powers escaped the inning at last with Troy leading 8-0.
“There’s nothing you can say. I can’t explain it,” Tippecanoe coach Bruce Cahill said. “That happened the last time we lost, too — things just snowballed. And that’s what I’m most disappointed in, the fact that, okay, they get a couple hits and a run … but when it just keeps snowballing, we’re throwing to the wrong base, make a couple errors, you don’t help out your pitchers. You can come back when you’re down 5-0, but down eight and 11? It’s just not going to happen.”
The Trojans kept building that momentum in the third, too.
Brandenburg drew a walk and Emery and Daniel both singled to load the bases with one out, and with two outs Adams blasted a ball that hit the fence in center on one hop, bringing all three runners home to make it an 11-0 Troy lead.
Tippecanoe began to fight back in the third, loading the bases with two outs on singles by Kenten Egbert and Miles McClurg and a hit-by-pitch by Cole Barhorst, but Brogan got a strikeout to get out of that jam. And after hitting another batter in the fourth, Kendall snared a hard line drive at short and fired to first to double off the runner, and the Devils didn’t threaten again.
“We’re just struggling hitting the ball one through nine in the order,” Cahill said. “We only scored three against Fairborn, three against Kenton Ridge, five last night, but an error made that happen, and nothing tonight. We’ve just got to put better at-bats together.”
Brogan gave up three hits, hit three batters and struck out five in the five-inning shutout.
“We know when he’s on the mound, he’s going to compete every time,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “He threw a lot of strikes, they put the ball in play and we made good defensive plays behind him. Also, this is Kendall’s second start at shortstop, Tomo got his first start of the year at second base, we’ve got a banged-up third baseman that can’t play so Emery, our normal second baseman, had to play some third. We were out of position, out of place, but with this team, it’s a ‘next man up’ mentality.”
Offensively in addition to Adams for Troy, Emery was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Daniel was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Keiran Williams doubled as the Trojans piled up 11 hits off of three Tippecanoe pitchers.
Yunker took the loss, striking out one, walking two, hitting a batter and giving up five hits and seven runs in one-plus innings. Troy Powers pitched 1 1-3 innings, walking one and giving up three hits and three runs and Mason McClurg finished off the game, giving up two hits, a walk and a hit batter and striking out two in 2 2-3 innings.
The win puts Troy in a good position to finish out the season, playing road GWOC American League crossover games at Stebbins Thursday and West Carrollton Friday to finish out the week, with a series against division rival Piqua looming early next week, as well as one other crossover game against Trotwood. Tippecanoe, meanwhile, travels to Xenia Thursday and Trotwood Friday and will take on reigning division champion Butler in a series to begin next week.
Welker wasn’t about to discuss the help they need to win the title outright, though.
“We’re not worried about that at all,” he said. “That seems easy, but we’ve got our own things to take care of. We aren’t taking any of our crossover games lightly, and Piqua can come out and play baseball. That’s what we’re worried about, and whatever else happens happens. People think we’ll be scoreboard watching, but we have to focus on our crossover games and on Piqua.”
“The good thing is we get to come back tomorrow, just like Ty said last night,” Cahill said. “We can’t worry about today. They’re definitely in control now, and we have to win out. We can’t have a hangover. We’ve got to go out and play.”
Troy seniors celebrate with win
April 28, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — After its biggest letdown of the season, the Troy baseball team desperately needed to rebuild some momentum heading into a huge series against rival Piqua.
The sixth inning of a Senior Day matchup against Miamisburg certainly helped.
Trailing 9-4 after giving up a four-run top of the sixth, the Trojans scored eight in the bottom of the inning with some big hits to cash in a series of Viking errors, then they fended off a rally in the top of the seventh to hold on for a 12-11 victory Saturday at Market Street Field.
The win made Troy 12-6 overall on the season, but it also came on the heels of a 3-2 loss at West Carrollton on Friday, a disappointing defeat to the 4-14 Pirates that had massive implications in the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division. It left Troy 10-2 in the division — one game behind Tippecanoe in the standings.
“It was huge,” Troy coach Ty Welker said of the win. “That was a big loss last night. It was important. For us to score eight runs in an inning, and it was all pretty much hitting. We hit the crap out of the ball there, and the guys never hung their heads or gave up.”
Before Saturday’s game, Troy honored its 11 seniors — Trent Bell, Jake Daniel, Brandon Emery, Dakota Hamman, Logan Hubbard, Austin Kloeker, Derek McDonagh, Matt McGillivary, Tomo Nakayama, Chase Weaver and Keiran Williams — and they all had a role in the win, as well. Hamman, Weaver, Daniel and Emery all pitched in the game, with Daniel getting the victory and Emery earning a save by working out of trouble in the seventh.
Ad while Miamisburg (6-7) outhit Troy 10-9 on the day, the Vikings committed seven errors in the final two innings — including five during the Trojans’ eight-run sixth inning rally — and Troy’s defense survived after committing five errors in the final three innings.
“We knew it was Senior Day, and we got a lot of guys some playing time,” Welker said. “That was nice to do. Dakota pitched a few innings and did a nice job in his first outing of the year. I think we had three pitchers pitch their first outing of the year in Dakota, Jake and Brandon. And again, everybody did their parts. The seniors were part of everything. It was very exciting.
“Both coaches talked about the lack of arms at this point in the week, so we knew it was going to be an adventure there and it was likely to be a high scoring game. But we don’t need to have five errors in any game.”
After Miamisburg plated two runs in the top of the first, Troy responded as Emery launched a solo home run to right to cut the deficit to 2-1. After Hamman pitched a one-two-three second, the Trojans took advantage of two walks and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning, with Daniel hitting an RBI single and Williams drawing an RBI walk to give Troy a 3-2 lead.
The Vikings tied the score in the third and then took a 5-3 lead after the top of the fifth thanks to a pair of Troy errors, but then the Trojans got one back in the bottom of the fifth as Weaver reached on an error and scored on an RBI sac fly by Kloeker. Miamisburg seemed to put the game away in the top of the sixth, though, cashing in two walks to start the inning by stringing together three two-out hits, with another Troy error sandwiched in between, to take a 9-4 lead after five and a half.
But Troy — which also put together an eight-run inning in a big win over Tippecanoe earlier in the week — wasn’t done.
Daniel led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and scored on an error off the bat of Williams. Williams then scored on an RBI triple by pinch hitter Jacob Adams, then he was balked in to make the score 9-7. Weaver then reached on a dropped fly ball and scored by an error off the bat of Nakayama to cut the lead to one, then an errant throw on a bunt by Bell scored Nakayama all the way from first to even the score before the first out of the inning was even recorded.
McDonagh reached on another dropped fly ball, though, and Bell scored on an RBI single by Emery to give the lead back to the Trojans. That brought Daniel up again, and he ripped his second double of the inning to bring home two more runs and give Troy a 12-9 lead before the Vikings finally got out of the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Miamisburg had two outs and a runner on second that had reached on an error, but an RBI single and an RBI triple put the tying run on third base. Emery induced a grounder to Cole Brogan at short, though, and after a quick bobble he threw to first for the final out of the game.
“It was important for us going into Piqua, that’s for sure,” Welker said. “Because we know that those are going to be battles.”
And they’ll be battles for the GWOC American North title, too. The Trojans have the two games against Piqua early in the week and then an American League crossover game Friday at Trotwood remaining, while Tippecanoe has a two-game series against reigning champion Butler and a crossover game against Stebbins still to go, with the Trojans needing to win out and get at least one loss from the Red Devils to climb back into a first-place tie.
Taking care of business
May 2, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
PIQUA — The Troy baseball team went into Tuesday’s matchup against Piqua knowing that, whether or not it took care of its own business, it still needed help.
So the Trojans focused on their own end, what they could control, finishing off a sweep of the rival Indians with a 12-1 run-rule victory in five innings Tuesday at Hardman Field, and then, once the post-game speech was over, they got the good news — that Butler had upset Tippecanoe 3-2, knocking the Red Devils down into a tie for the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division lead with Troy and setting up a chance for the Trojans to be co-division champions.
And after sitting through the normal, everyday speech and being surprised with that news, the Trojans celebrated accordingly — as in loudly.
“We told them at the end,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “We wanted to have our normal talk, so we told them at the end. Truly, no one even asked the question (during the game). The guys weren’t even thinking about it — or even expecting me to say something about it to them after. Geezy-petes.”
Troy improved to 14-6 overall and 12-2 in the GWOC American North with the win, while Tippecanoe fell to 12-2 in the division with the loss to Butler. Both teams have one American League crossover game remaining on Friday, with Troy hosting 1-13 Trotwood and Tippecanoe facing 3-13 Stebbins, practically guaranteeing that the two teams will share the North title.
But Welker isn’t letting those thoughts get in the way this time. Last week, the Trojans had been in the driver’s seat and controlled their own destiny after splitting a series with the Devils. But a shocking 3-2 loss at then 3-14 West Carrollton on April 27 forced Troy to depend on Butler to at least split with Tippecanoe — and after Tippecanoe beat Butler on Monday, Tuesday was the Trojans’ last chance to get a share of the title.
“Our focus was on us — it was always on us,” Welker said. “Even in our loss to West Carrollton on Friday, we were focused on us. We just had an off night then and faced a good pitcher.
“We took care of ourselves, our business, this week, and now we’ve got to play Trotwood Friday. We’re not looking past anybody.”
Troy knew it certainly couldn’t overlook Piqua (8-14, 6-9 GWOC American North), especially after the Trojans held on for a narrow 7-5 victory on Monday to begin the series. And the Indians took charge on Tuesday on their home turf, getting an RBI single by Austin Davis in the first inning to go up 1-0 — which was where the score remained until the top of the third as Piqua starter Iverson Ventura kept the Trojans off balance the first trip through the lineup.
“They (Piqua) battled, and that first guy was kind of tough to get a read on,” Welker said. “But then we started putting the ball in play, dropped down some bunts, started running well, and that put a little pressure on him. Those guys are tough for us to hit, and they did a nice job. But once the flood gates opened, we let the guys go. We know that once they start swinging, they stay hot and we just kind of stay out of their way.”
The Trojans tied the score in the top of the third. Matt McGillivary drew a walk to lead off, took second on a groundout and third on a sac fly with two outs, then Keiran Williams cashed him in with a clutch double to the left-center gap to even the game at 1-1.
But that was only the beginning.
After a strikeout to start the top of the fourth, Austin Kendall and Braeden Snider both drew walks to set up Austin Kloeker, who yanked a two-run triple up the hill in left field to put Troy up 3-1. A bunt single by McGillivary and a stolen base — the first of Troy’s six steals in the final two innings — put runners on second and third, Brandon Emery dropped down a bunt RBI single and then, after a Piqua pitching change, Jake Daniel planted a two-run double in the left-center gap to make it a 6-1 game before the second out of the inning was finally recorded. But Jacob Adams and Kendall both added an RBI single before it finally came to a close, and Troy led 8-1 after four.
The Trojans remained hot in the fifth to put the game away, as Daniel hit an RBI single, Williams followed with a two-run single and Cole Brogan hit an RBI double to make it a 12-1 game and put Piqua in a tough spot, needing to score two runs in the bottom of the inning just to keep the game going.
But with Brogan on the mound, that just wasn’t going to happen.
Brogan gave up only four hits and walked one — with the walk and two of those hits coming in Piqua’s first inning — striking out six in the game. And even though the Indians had runners in scoring position in four of the five innings, helped along by two Troy errors, Brogan and the defense found their way out of every jam, leaving seven Piqua runners stranded in the game.
“What can you say about Cole Brogan?” Welker said. “He does what he does, got a lot of ground balls, and I think we had a couple errors behind him. But he got out of some tough situations, and he battled. He did what he’s done for us all year.”
Piqua actually had two runners on in the bottom of the fifth when the Tippecanoe-Butler game went final, as Mick Karn singled just as reports came in from that game. But Brogan induced a groundout to Matt Bigley at third for the final out, ending the game and putting Troy into a first-place tie.
The Trojans will host Fairmont Thursday before Friday’s matchup with Trotwood, then Troy will finish the regular season by hosting Lakota West Saturday and traveling to Centerville on Monday.
“Nothing’s final yet league-wise,” Welker said. “We’ve still got to play Friday. We’ve got to stay focused, and we’ve got some other big games this week, too. We’ve got three home games in a row, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Troy, Tipp share title
May 8, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — All the Troy baseball team needed to clinch its first share of a division championship since 2014 was to defeat Trotwood.
And the Trojans left little doubt on Friday, scoring 12 first-inning runs en route to a 16-1 title-clinching victory at Market Street Field.
With the win, Troy improved to 16-6 overall and 13-2 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference American North Division, sharing the crown with Tippecanoe.
On Friday, Austin Kendall was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Jake Daniel was 2 for 2 with a triple and two RBIs, Tomo Nakayama drove in two runs and Brandon Emery, Jacob Adams, Derek McDonagh and Cole Brogan each had one RBI.
Matt Bigley and Luke Severt combined for the win, with Bigley striking out four, walking one and giving up one unearned run in two innings and Severt striking out two and allowing one hit in three innings.
And on Saturday, the Trojans fell to 16-7 overall and saw a five-game winning streak come to an end in a 13-7 loss to Lakota West.
Daniel was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Keiran Williams doubled and had two RBIs, Matt McGillivary was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Emery doubled, Chase Weaver was 3 for 3 and Adams and Bigley each had an RBI.
Troy finishes the regular season Monday at Centerville.
Trojans rout Bucs, 13-3
May 11, 2018 By David Fong Troy Daily News
TROY — To Troy’s Brandon Emery, it looked like a typical lazy fly ball.
But his sixth-inning shot turned into an exciting — and game-ending — play.
Emery’s deep fly ball to right field was misplayed by a Xenia defender, getting lost in the sun and then lost against the base of the fence for just long enough for Emery to race around the bases for a two-run walkoff inside-the-park home run, capping off the third-seeded Trojans’ 13-3 win in six innings over the No. 7 Buccaneers Thursday at Market Street Field in the second round of the Division I sectional baseball tournament.
The Trojans led 7-3 going into the bottom of the sixth inning but were able to string together a series of hits along with a Xenia error to bring go up 11-3 and bring Emery up as the potential winning run with a man on base and one out. He hit a fly ball to deep right field, but it seemed high enough off the bat that the defender would easily track it down.
That’s not what happened at all, as the outfielder lost it in the sun and held up his hands to defend himself, having no clue where it was coming down. It landed on the ground and rolled to the fence without being touched, giving Emery new life on the basepaths.
“At first I thought it was a routine fly ball, but it just kept carrying,” Emery said. “I looked at first base coach (Jake) Wells, and he was just like, ‘Go, go go!’ And I just kept going and didn’t stop.”
By the time the ball was finally scooped up and headed back to the infield, Matt McGillivary — who had an RBI single in the inning — had already scored from first and Emery was rounding third, easily scoring to give Troy a 10-run lead and end the game without allowing Xenia to hit in the seventh.
“I wasn’t going to stop,” Emery said. “I knew they didn’t have a chance. We knew coming into the game that we needed to be aggressive, and that’s what I tried to do for my team. We knew we needed to be loud and aggressive, because that’s what drives us.”
On the day, the Buccaneers committed four errors, two of those coming on dropped popups or fly balls, and lost three other balls in the air, both on the infield and in the outfield.
“First of all, they played the deepest I’ve ever seen anybody play,” Troy baseball coach Ty Welker said. “And we had a couple of hits taken away from us early on because of that. They played back, that was their philosophy, and I don’t know if they’ve dealt with a lot of sun before — it can be tough to pick the ball up coming out of that tree (behind home plate), but every ball in the air was an adventure.”
And after the adventure, the Trojans’ postseason quest continues.
Troy, which improved to 17-8 with the win, will take on fifth-seeded Northmont in the sectional championship game Thursday at Centerville High School. It will be the second straight sectional final appearance for the Trojans, who last won advanced to the district final in 2015.
Even with the Trojans leading wire to wire, scoring four in the bottom of the first and never seeing the deficit go below two runs, Welker knew the team couldn’t rest easy. During the regular season meeting between the teams, the Trojans went extra innings against the Buccaneers (20-9), winning 8-5 back on April 13.
“I’m telling you right now, that’s a good baseball team,” Welker said of Xenia. “They had 20 wins, and I don’t care what your schedule is, what league you’re in, if you win 20 baseball games … my hat’s off to those guys. After Tuesday’s game (between Xenia and Fairborn, an extra-inning Xenia win), we didn’t know who we wanted. We knew whoever it was was going to battle, and we knew Xenia was a scrappier team.
“Those guys compete and battle. Going into that last inning, I just knew what kind of team they are — they’re a scrappy team that’s not going to let us win, not going to roll over. Nothing was over until it’s over. We even had (Derek) McDonagh warmed up to come in and close the thing.”
It turned out Cole Brogan did enough to get the job done, though, limiting the Bucs to three runs, two earned, on six hits and one walk while striking out five in the six-inning complete game.
“I think Cole threw really well,” Welker said. “He’d be the first to say it probably wasn’t his best stuff, but it was the first home game he’s pitched all year. We had a couple of plays on defense that we took off, all in one inning, and that can’t be us. But he picked it back up, and we went out and put some more runs on the board.”
And one key play in the top of the fifth allowed Troy to get out of a jam with minimal damage. Logan Bilbrey and Kyle Lane both hit one-out singles and a wild pitch moved them up to second and third, and Aydan Evans drove an RBI single up the middle. Both runs should have scored, but the trailing runner slipped up while rounding third base and was forced to hold there — and the next batter hit a ground ball that allowed the Trojans to gun the runner out at the plate, keeping the score 7-3 after five and allowing Troy’s six-run sixth inning to end the game.
Offensively for the Trojans, Emery finished a double shy of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a triple, a homer and two RBIs, Austin Kendall was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Jake Daniel was 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, McGillivary was 3 for 5 with an RBI and Matt Bigley drove in a run.
For Xenia, Lane was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Evans drove in a run. Warren Maher took the loss on the mound, giving up six runs on seven hits and four walks with one strikeout in three-plus innings.
Troy will host a regular season game against Beavercreek Monday before Thursday’s sectional final against Northmont at Centerville.