BY MATTHEW V. ROBERSON
SUN STAFF WRITER

JONESBORO — Arkansas State put itself in the position it wanted. The Indians just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
Then again, few teams have capitalized against Troy pitcher Josh Dew.
Arkansas State lost its second straight Sun Belt Conference game as Dew came on in relief to shut down the Indians in a key situation, and the Trojans scattered the ball around Tomlinson Stadium with their bats in a 6-4 victory Saturday night.
With the score tied 2-2, Dew went to the mound in the bottom of the fifth with runners on second and third and only one out. The Indians couldn’t even get their bats on the ball as Brandon Eller and Josh Yates — the heart of the order — struck out swinging on sliders away.
It was a pivotal moment in a pivotal game for Arkansas State. The Indians (18-25 overall, 8-12 Sun Belt Conference) have to win this afternoon to avoid being swept in a Sun Belt series for the first time this year.
“We weren’t swinging real good before that, but when Dew came in, whatever opportunities we had to score were just about gone at that point,” ASU coach Keith Kessinger said. “They went to him early tonight, probably earlier than they have gone to him early in a series. It was a big moment. We had second and third and our two and three hitters up, and we didn’t even get a good swing.”
Dew pitched the final 42⁄3 innings, striking out eight batters en route to the victory. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, but the Indians couldn’t connect for the big hit when the opportunities arose.
The win kept the Troy reliever perfect on the season when on the mound. A combination first baseman and reliever, Dew (7-0) also had six saves this year.
“You can look at Dew’s numbers — not very many people score on him,” Kessinger added. “We weren’t ever able to get ahead of him. Had we been able to get ahead, you never know.”
Troy took a 4-2 lead in the seventh as Clint Robinson doubled into the right field corner to drive in a run and Dew singled in left to drive in Robinson.
Arkansas State cut the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh as Jett Jones hit an inside-the-park home run. Jones hit a towering fly ball to left that caromed off the wall and the glove of Troy left fielder Kevin Weidlich into the corner. By the time Weidlich chased the ball down, Jones had circled the bases.
Dew then struck out the side to end the inning and Troy added a run in the eighth on Brent Henry’s single up the middle that drove in Bryan Miller to make it 5-3. Miller had reached on an error.
The Trojans scored another run in the ninth as Dew walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Trevor Trye’s single to center.
ASU scored a run in the ninth as Drew Rogers led off with a triple and Chris Evans lifted a sacrifice fly to left-center. But Dew closed the door on the Indians, getting David Humphrey to ground out back to the mound before striking out Tyler Doke to end it.
Troy (23-16, 10-7) banged out 13 hits for the game as Robinson went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs and an RBI. Dew, Weidlich and Beau Brooks all went 2-for-4.
ASU starter T.J. Brewer (4-3) suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs over seven innings. He gave up 11 hits and walked one while striking out 12.
“I thought T.J. pitched good,” Kessinger said. “They’re just really good. They’ve got a group of hitters there in a row that are awfully tough. To have to go through those guys three or four times and expect to give up no runs is probably not going to happen.”
Troy score a run in the first as Robinson doubled with two outs and Dew followed with a double to bring him home. The Trojans made it 2-0 in the second as Miller and Brooks singled to put runners at the corners, and Shohei Fujita hit into a double play that allowed Miller to score.
ASU scored its first run in the fourth when Guy Brown singled up the middle with two outs on a 2-0 pitch to drive in Josh Yates. The Indians tied it at 2-2 in the fifth on Doke’s single into right field that chased Troy starter Ryan Ellison.
But Dew moved to the mound, and the Indians went on to lose their fifth straight to the Trojans. ASU has never beaten Troy, which joined the Sun Belt last year and won the league outright.
ASU managed just six hits total after connecting for just three on Friday night. Jones led the Indians, going 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.
“Troy is a good team.” Kessinger added. “There is a reason everyone thought they were going win the league or finish second this year. There’s still a lot of people who think they will play in the postseason. We felt like tonight was a great opportunity for us, and they just outplayed us again.”
Arkansas State will try to avoid the sweep with a 1 p.m. game today as Jones, a left-handed sophomore, will start for the Indians.

mroberson@jonesborosun.com