Super Bowl Update

TROY – Troy pitcher Garrett McHenry used some situations he’s encountered in past games to help him get out of a pair of jams Tuesday night.

McHenry faced Jacksonville State with the bases loaded and no outs in the second and third innings, but kept damage minimal (three runs) in the second and got two big strikeouts and a ground out in the third to keep the game tied.

Troy then went on an offensive tear and won 15-7.

“When I’d come on in games this year and last, it was usually runners on second and third or bases loaded with one out or no outs,” said McHenry, a senior left-hander. “I used that as a mental strategy for this game and it worked for me. I got a couple of groundouts and got out of it.”

McHenry was the second of seven Trojan pitchers. He got the win, throwing three innings of one-hit shutout ball. He struck out two and walked three. He hadn't pitched in nearly four weeks after battling a back injury.

In the third, with the bases loaded, McHenry struck out two JSU hitters and got a fielder's choice ground out to get out of the inning. He hadn't pitched in nearly four weeks after battling a back injury.

“This year, it’s been a regular curve ball and they were struggling to hit it,” McHenry said. “I hung a few and they swung through it.”

Troy’s offense got going after that. Troy had 15 hits and scored two runs in every inning except the second, when the Trojans didn’t score, and the first, when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Danny Collins’ two-run triple and Boone Shear’s sacrifice fly.

The Trojans (14-18) had lost six straight, but swept the two-game series from JSU (12-19).

“Coming off six losses, we didn’t have a whole lot of momentum,” Troy catcher Jake Harrell said. “This turned it around for us tonight. We’ve got a big conference series this weekend, so it was huge.”

Harrell, who graduated from Rehobeth last year, hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth off Thomas Darrah. Harrell added an RBI single in the fifth.

“I had two strikes and that guy had a good curve ball,” Harrell said. “It fooled me, actually. It got me out on my front foot, but I just got enough lift on it to get it out.”

Jeremy McGowan pitched a scoreless fifth and Ryan Brady struck out four in two scoreless innings. Seven of Troy’s nine starters had a hit. Logan Pierce went 4-for-5 to raise his average to a Sun Belt-leading .403. Collins had two hits and two RBIs, Jakob Nixon went 3-for-5 and Tyler Hannah went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Troy hosts Middle Tennessee in Sun Belt play this weekend.

“We’ve just got to come out and stay focused,” Harrell said. “Sometimes we come out and don’t have the intensity and focus and will to win. When we come out like we did tonight, good things happen.”