TROY — There are several ways to look at the Troy baseball team’s 8-7 loss to Fairborn Wednesday.

The Trojans, 6-3 overall now and 6-1 in the MVL, had the tying and winning runs on with one out in the seventh inning after trailing 7-2 in the fifth inning.

“That is one of the things we always talk about,” Troy coach Ty Welker said. “Giving ourselves a chance to win the game. And we did that.”

But, it was hard for Welker to get past some of the other things that happened during the game.

“I don’t think we played a good game,” he said. “We struck out 17 times. It is hard to win when you fail to get the bat on the ball 17 times. We lost some balls in the sun. We threw to the wrong base (on base hits) several times to allow them to take an extra base. Both of those runners ended up scoring.”

Welker also knows those are things that are going to happen with young teams.

“We are extremely inexperienced in the outfield,” Welker said. “We know that is something we are dealing with. You are going to have some bumps in the road. And that is to take nothing away from Fairborn. Fairborn played a great game. Their pitchers threw well. I have nothing but positive things to say about Fairborn. Bronson (Fairborn coach Bronson Marlett) is doing a great job with those guys.”

After Fairborn’s Nate Fasnacht led off the game with a home run, Troy tied it in the home first.

Ryder Kirtley walked, stole second, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored when Trayce Mercer reached on an error.

Troy made it 2-1 in the second.

Zach Prouty walked and scored when Fairborn misplayed Baylee Shepherd’s fly ball.

Fairborn would then answer with three runs in the third and fourth innings to go up 7-2.

Troy got back in the game in the fifth inning with four runs.

Mercer walked and Eli Smith and Connor Hutchinson singled to load the bases.

Prouty had a two-run singled through the right side and two more runs scored when Shepherd’s ground ball got past the third baseman.

Fairborn got a run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to make it 8-6, before Troy put a rally together in the home seventh.

With one out, Hutchinson, Prouty and Shepherd all singled to make it 8-7 and put the tying run on second and winning run on first.

But, two strikeouts ended Troy’s chances.

Fairborn pitchers Hunter Warner and Connor Carver combined to strikeout 17 and walk five.

Troy pitchers Mercer, Smith, Ethan Rekow and Tim Malott strike out nine and walk seven.

Rekow pitched two scoreless innings to allow Troy to get back in the game.

“Ethan (Rekow) was outstanding,” Welker said. “He kept us in the game. He hadn’t thrown in more than a week. I always tell them, you need to be prepared because you never know when you are going to be called on.”

Prouty was 2-for-3 and Smith and Shepard were both 2-for-4 for Troy, who was scheduled to play at West Carrollton Thursday and Vandalia-Butler Friday.