By Matt Present. TROY, Ala. – App State fell to Troy in the middle game of the series at Riddle-Pace Field, 7-5, in a back-and-forth ballgame Friday night.
CJ Boyd led the game off with his ninth home run in the last ten games giving the Mountaineers an early lead. The 1-0 ballgame would last until the sixth inning when Hayden Cross reached on a leadoff double, and made his way to third after a wild pitch. Golston Gillespie then hit an RBI single to right field, putting the Mountaineers up 2-0.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Trojans took the lead, 3-2, on a pair of home runs in the inning. However, the Mountaineers answered right back. A leadoff walk for Austin St. Laurent and a single from Boyd put ducks on the pond for Xavier Moronta, and he hit a three-run homer down the right field line, putting App State in front 5-3.
In the eighth inning, the Trojans delivered the final blow, scoring four runs in the frame to take a 7-5 lead.
The Trojans had little offense to start and had five straight scoreless innings against Dante Chirico. Chirico allowed only four hits and one walk across his five innings pitched.
Jackson Steensma also performed well on the mound after coming in with two runners in scoring position in the eighth and striking out his only batter faced.
At the plate the Mountaineers put up eight hits as a team. Boyd led the team going 4-for-5 on the night, while Gillespie finished 2-for-3. Moronta also extended his hitting streak to 15 consecutive games.
The series finale between these two teams will be played on Saturday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET.
