Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? Josh Dew went 5-for-6 with three home runs and seven RBI on Friday night to lead Troy to a 17-11 win over UALR at Gary Hogan Field. Troy (36-14, 15-4 Sun Belt) plated nine runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a grand slam from Dew, to break open a 6-4 contest.
UALR (23-26, 4-15) tied Troy with 17 hits on the night and pushed across five runs in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't match Dew's firepower in the end. Troy took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second thanks to a solo shot by Dew and a two-run base knock from Beau Brooks, and never looked back.
Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth, UALR manufactured a pair of runs to cut its deficit to two, 6-4. Junior Ryan Gotcher plated the first run with a RBI double to right, before a Troy fielding error allowed the second run to score. Gotcher went 4-for-4 in the game and matched his season high with three doubles (increasing his team-leading total to 20).
With its lead down to two, Troy exploded for nine runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. After hitting a two-run shot in the fifth, Dew launched a grand slam over the wall in centerfield off reliever Shane Landry to cap off the rally.
Junior Matt King made it a 15-6 contest in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, two-run double. The two RBI extended King's team-leading total to 50 runs batted in this season. UALR pushed across five runs in the bottom of the ninth, but reliever Pete Van Horn recorded the final two outs to close out the win.
Troy's Clegg Snipes improved to 6-0 on the year by working 7.0 frames, allowing 11 hits and six runs (five earned) with seven strikeouts. Senior Trevor Clay (4-4) took the loss for UALR after allowed 11 runs and 11 hits over 6.1 innings of work.
The two teams return to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The final game of the series, which will be Senior Day for UALR, is slated for a 1 p.m. start time on Sunday.
