The Troy baseball team won both games of a doubleheader, 5-0 and 6-1, against Northern Kentucky on Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field and earned the opening series win.

Troy (3-0) picked up 20 combined hits and outscored Northern Kentucky (0-3) 11-1 on the day. Eight hits and five runs came in the first game, while 12 hits and six runs came in the second.

Game 1 – Troy 5, Northern Kentucky 0

Lucas Brown (1-0) carried the team on the mound as he pitched eight innings, only allowed four hits and didn’t surrender a single run. The senior from Acworth, Ga., only threw four pitches in the first inning and 12 of his first 13 pitches were strikes. The performance from Brown was the longest outing of his career without allowing a run to score.

The Trojan bats gave Brown an early confidence boost as a Trevor Davis double to left center scored Matt Sanders, who reached on a walk and gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead. TJ Binder got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded later in the inning and put Troy up 2-0.

Troy picked up three more runs throughout the game. Chase Smartt singled to right field in the third inning and scored Joey Denison. The RBI single was Smartt’s first collegiate RBI.

Another run crossed the plate on a double play in the sixth and Brandon Lockridge hit an RBI triple to score Windham Jackson, who reached on a fielder’s choice.

Marc Skinner made his first appearance of the season as he closed out the ninth inning on eight pitches.

Lockridge went 2-for-5 in the game and five other Trojans picked up a hit. TJ Binder and Bert Givens picked up their first hit of the season and Davis also picked up his first RBI as a Trojan.

Jordan Menfee (0-1) suffered the loss for the Norse. He pitched five innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits.

The game only lasted one hour and 44 minutes. It was the shortest nine-inning game recorded over the past 10 seasons

Game 2 – Troy 6, Northern Kentucky 1

The Trojans used a big sixth inning and plated three runs and extended their lead to 6-1. Denison scored the first run of the inning as Smartt hit an RBI single through the left side. Two batters later, pinch hitter Justin Friend blasted a 3-2 pitch to left center field for a two-run double on his first appearance of the young season.

Reid Long scored the first run of the game in the second inning as he hit his first home run of the year, a solo shot to right field. In the third inning, Davis doubled to center field and knocked in Sanders, who reached on a single. Davis advanced to third on an error by the center fielder and scored four pitches later on a sacrifice fly by Denison that gave the Trojans a 3-0 lead.

Northern Kentucky cut the deficit to two runs in the fourth inning as Trey Ganns scored on a Conor Ledger groundout to third base.

Evan Hebert (1-0) earned the win for the Trojans; he pitched six innings and only allowed one run on four hits. Hebert walked two batters, but struck out three.

Skinner and Johns each pitched one inning in relief for Hebert. Corey Childress made his first appearance of the season as he pitched on inning and got three outs on five pitches in the ninth.

Three Trojans had multi-hit games in Matt Sanders, who went 2-for-4; and Tripp Calhoun and Joey Denison, who each went 2-for-3.

Troy will send true freshman Cory Gill to toe the rubber for the series finale, which will begin on Sunday at 1 p.m.

For more information on Troy baseball, as well as all of Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.