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The Troy Trojans (36-17, 16-11) finished off a Sun Belt Conference sweep over the Marshall Thundering Herd (15-34, 5-22) this weekend and proceeded to break the single season strikeout record in the process.

The Troy pitching staff earned 12 combined strikeouts in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Marshall, bringing the season total to 544, surpassing the school’s single season strikeout record of 541 set in 2006.

Zach Fruit (6-1) earned the win on the mound, striking out five batters and giving up six hits with two earned runs in five innings pitched, while Asbury Kristian earned his first save of the year with seven strikeouts in four innings toing the rubber. He also allowed just one hit and no runs.

Troy’s success on the mound this season has been a collective one. A total of four Trojans have surpassed 70 strikeouts on the year with six earning more than 50 strikeouts. Troy’s 547 team strikeouts ranks first in the Sun Belt and Grayson Stewart’s 75 strikeouts is third in the Sun Belt with his 2.99 ERA ranking second in the conference.

In game three, Troy trailed 2-1 going into the fourth inning when the Trojans scored three unanswered runs to secure a 4-2 win. Ozark’s Brooks Bryan, Ethan Kavanagh, Tremayne Cobb Jr. and Kole Myers each scored one run.

Troy opened the series with a 7-6 win over Marshall in game one May 12 with a double play in the bottom of the ninth securing the win. Troy led 7-2 going into the seventh inning but Marshall scored four runs over the next three innings to cut the lead to 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Cobb corralled a ground ball up the middle and turned it into a game-winning double play with Lance Gardiner to pick up the win.

Cobb went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run, while Myers went 2-for-5 with a run and Caleb Bartolero scored two runs. Stewart (8-2) pitched six and 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts, while giving up four hits and three earned runs. Noah Manning tallied his eighth save of the year as he gave up no hits or runs in his one inning on the mound.

Troy secured the series win with a 6-3 game two victory on May 13. Bartolero went 2-for-5 at the plate with a home run, a double, two RBIs and one run, while William Sullivan went 3-for-5 with a double and a run. Kavanagh also went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and one run. Troy’s 94 home runs on the season now ranks fourth in school history.

Logan Ross (4-1) picked up the win on the mound, striking out six batters and giving up seven hits and three earned runs in six and 2/3 innings pitched. Manning earned his ninth save of the season with just two hits and no runs allowed in one inning pitched.

Troy’s 36 wins on the season are the most by a Troy team since the 2018 squad won 42 games. With one final regular season series left, against Appalachian State this weekend, Troy is looking to secure a spot in the NCAA Regional Tournament ahead of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week. Troy hosts Appalachian State May 18-20 with 6 p.m. games on Thursday and Friday and a series finale at 3 p.m. on Saturday.