SAN MARCOS, Texas\u00a0– Troy dropped Friday night’s series opener at Texas State 8-5 after a walk-off three-run homer by Bobcat shortstop Dawson Park.<\/p>\n
Troy led 5-4 after 1-2-3 eighth inning from Zach Crotchfelt<\/a>, but two walks from Dylan Alonso<\/a> to start the ninth brought the winning run aboard. Troy quickly turned to Cooper Ellingworth<\/a>, who struck out the first hitter he faced before a Jackson Cotton single tied it and put runners on the corners. Ellingworth got the next hitter to popout, put Park smashed an opposite field homer over the right field wall to end it.<\/p>\n Early in the game, the Trojans built a 3-1 lead before a 2-hour, 45-minute rain delay halted play with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, cutting short a strong outing from Troy ace Benjamin Stubbs<\/a>. The lefty worked 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and one unearned run while issuing one walk and striking out four.<\/p>\n Sophomore Noah Thigpen<\/a> ate 4.1 innings in relief, striking out three. Thigpen got the final out of the third before putting the Bobcats down 1-2-3 in the fourth and fifth, but a two-out rally in the sixth sparked by an infield single by Manny Salas and a walk by Ethan Farris led to a three-run homer by Jaquae Stewart.<\/p>\n Troy remained in position despite the Bobcats’ surge, capitalizing on a Texas State error to score in the sixth before Steven Meier<\/a> laid down an RBI sacrifice bunt in the seventh. However, the Trojans couldn’t find any insurance down the stretch, going down in order in the eighth and stranding Josh Pyne<\/a>, who ripped a one-out double,in the ninth.<\/p>\n Notables
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\n\tNoah Thigpen<\/a> went 4.1 innings out of the bullpen, the longest relief appearance of his career.
\n\tJosh Pyne<\/a> extended his hitting streak to six games.
\n\tPyne hit his team-high 12th double of the season and 70th of his career. His 70 doubles are the most among active Division-I players.
\n\tBlake Cavill<\/a> extended his reached base streak to 23 games.
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