MONROE, La. -- Tyler Hannah
hit three doubles and drove in five runs as Troy scored 13-unanswered runs over
the final five innings to defeat ULM 13-4 Sunday afternoon in the Sun Belt
Conference series finale at Warhawk Field.
The Warhawks built a 4-0 lead
with three runs in the first and one in the third, but what should have been a
harmless grounder up the middle in the top of the fourth inning flipped the
game on its back.
Tyler Hannah picked up the
Trojans (37-15, 19-8 Sun Belt) first hit of the game with a double off the wall
to lead off the fourth inning. Following a ground out by Adam Bryant, T.J.
Rivera sent a ball back up the middle that hit ULM pitcher Drew Granier in the
leg; Granier was able to pick up the ball and complete the out, however he wasn't
the same pitcher after that play.
In the next inning, a pair of
singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Tyson Workman drew a walk to
put the Trojans on the board and Hannah then a double into right-center field
to clear the bases and tie the game.
Drew Prichard then led off the
sixth with a solo home run to give Troy the lead. Following a pair of outs,
back-to-back infield singles and a pair of wild pitches plated the second run
of the inning. A hit batter put a pair of runners on base for Hannah, who
responded with his third straight double to give the Trojans an 8-4 lead.
Bryant followed with a two-home run to cap the six-run inning. Troy added three
more in the eighth.
After dominating the opening
four frames, Granier's (3-5) day ended with nine runs and eight hits on his
tally. After getting hit in the leg, he allowed all nine runs, seven hits, two
walks and threw two wild pitches.
Joey Rapp put ULM (23-27,
8-19) on the board in the bottom of the first with his 12th home run
of the season. The two-run shot extended his streak of reaching base safely to
48 games. Following back-to-back singles by Caleb Clowers and Taylor Abdalla,
Judd Edwards made it 3-0 ULM with a single back up the middle.
Jarrett Hammond scored the
fourth run of the game for the Warhawks on a wild pitch in the third inning
after leading off the frame with a single. Hammond, Abdalla, Clowers and Les
Aulds all finished with two hits for ULM.
Workman threw 5.1 scoreless
innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win for Troy. Workman (4-3) struck
out four and scattered five hits. Troy starter Ryan Sorce was pulled after
allowing three runs on four hits in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Warhawks travel to
Northwestern State on Tuesday for their final non-conference game of the season
before hosting Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the
regular season finale.
