Troy 5, Penn State 2

By Drew Champlin

Published: February 29, 2008

It hasn’t been pretty, but Troy is 6-0. The Trojans scored three unearned runs in the eighth inning to get the win over Penn State tonight in the ScreenTech Wiregrass Classic.

With two outs, Steven Felix hit a grounder through the first baseman’s legs. A run scored to make it 3-2. On a wild pitch, pinch-runner Daniel Peterson scored and Felix rounded second and went to third, drawing a throw that went into left field. Felix then scored.

Troy had six hits by six different players.

“That’s been our formula so far — pitch well, defend well and get a few timely hits. That’s exactly what we got tonight and so far early in the year, that’s what has worked for us,“ Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said.

Starting pitcher Ryan Ellison struck out 10. He had a rough second inning and had he pitched well there, could have thrown a shutout.

“I don’t know why he struggled (in the 2nd inning),“ Pierce said. “He had a low-ball umpire. He was nailing it the first inning and in the second, he started getting up under it a little bit and not taking advantage of a great pitcher’s strike zone but then he settled in.“

It was 2-1 in the seventh before PSU got a solo homer off reliever A.J. Howard. Pierce said Howard did what he was supposed to do - he threw an inside cutter but the guy just hit it well. Neal Jordan (1-0) got a key double-play ball in the eighth and Josh Storm struck out the side in the ninth.

Troy plays Wake Forest today in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Wake Forest slammed Kennesaw State 16-0 in the early game Friday and is expected to contend in the ACC.

“They certainly did center up a lot of balls against Kennesaw State,“ Pierce said. “They looked like a solid ball club. We’re certainly going to have to score some runs to stay with them.“