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The Troy Trojans baseball team (20-11) beat an old rival in Jacksonville State (9-19) on the road on Wednesday in a high-scoring 18-10 contest.

Troy looked to be in control early on, leading 9-0 going into the fifth inning. The Trojans exploded to score seven runs in the second, but Jax State wasn’t ready to go down without a fight. The Gamecocks raced to a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the fifth after scoring a nearly unthinkable 10 runs.

Troy then proceeded to score nine unanswered runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to take back control of the game and eventually pick up the win.

Opelika native Brooks Bryan had a big night at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a home run, an eye-popping seven RBIs and two runs. Will Butcher also went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and three runs, while Kole Myers went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and five runs.

In a stat that may live for years, Jacksonville State used an NCAA Division I record 15 pitchers in the contest.

“Interesting, yes. I don’t know how guys can go from being so competitive and good to being so ugly like we were in the fifth, but we’ll fix that; I guarantee you of that,” Troy Coach Skylar Meade said. “Just a great answer by the guys. Peyton Watts with the big swing. Offense continued to be very relentless and aggressive but also patient.”

For Troy, Logan Ross earned his third win on the mound, striking out one batter and giving up two hits and one earned run in 2/3 innings pitched. Noah Manning fanned a pair of batters and gave up no hits or runs in his two innings.

Jacksonville State was led at the plate by Derrick Jackson, who went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. Josh Sibley took the loss on the mound, striking out two and giving up two hits and two earned runs.

Troy returns to conference play this weekend for a series at home against Arkansas State April 5-7.