Troy University Athletics
Photo by: Dr. James Robinson, WKU Athletic Media Relations
Troy Baseball Season Preview – Pitchers
2/13/2013 1:22:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – The Troy University baseball team opens its 2013 campaign on Friday at 6 p.m. with the first of a four-game series against Florida A&M at Riddle-Pace Field. The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single-game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
TroyTrojans.com will preview the upcoming season this week with a breakdown of each position followed by a preview of the weekend series with the Rattlers.
Monday – Outfield
Tuesday – Infield / Catchers
Wednesday – Pitchers
Thursday – Weekend Preview
The Breakdown:
With a deep pool of starters to choose from and two of the top bullpen arms in the Sun Belt Conference returning, the Trojans have a pitching staff in 2013 that could rival some of the best that head coach Bobby Pierce has put on the field.
Back is a pair of weekend starters from last year in Ryan Brady and Joe Hernandez. The pair combined for 21 starts as juniors and Hernandez was twice named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week.
The Trojans welcome back a pair of southpaws in Shane McCain and Ryan Sorce to the team this year after they both missed all of last year with arm injuries. Also in the mix for spots in the weekend rotation will be junior college All-Americans Will Starling and Tanner Hicks.
Starling was named Troy's opening day starter by Pierce earlier in the week while Hicks, McCain and Brady will fill out the remainder of the starting rotation for Troy's series with Florida A&M.
The Troy bullpen is loaded with strong arms led by the returning tandem of Nate Hill and Thomas Austin. Hill is 12-4 with seven saves in his two seasons at Troy; he was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Watch List and to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team. Austin finished third in the Sun Belt last year with a 2.80 ERA over 32 appearances and 64.1 innings of work.
Joining the backend of the Troy bullpen will be two-time Fireman of the Year from the Florida Panhandle Conference Matthew Howard. Howard had 12 saves and a sub 1.40 ERA in his two seasons at Northwest Florida College. Also joining the bullpen from the junior college ranks will be Ole Miss transfer and converted catcher Austin Sullivan.
Seniors Cass Abercrombie and William Teal, junior Ivan Carter and sophomore Jeremy McGowan along with junior Robert Price, who is back from an injury that cost him the 2012 season, will all be in the mix for innings as well.
Freshman left-hander Levi Tate has impressed the coaches during the fall and spring and will put pressure on the upperclassmen in front of him for innings. Redshirt freshman Peyton Fuller has been splitting his time between the mound and the infield, while junior college transfer Ben Tidwell will miss the 2013 season with an arm injury.
Pierce Says:
“Probably as deep with pitchability as we've been in a number of years. We've got a good solid nucleus of returning guys both in the starting rotation and in bullpen. We've got six competitive guys we are looking at to start a game for us. As the season plays itself out, it will determine whom the four are that are going start most weeks.
“I can't remember a pitching staff having this much depth coming into a season. The depth, the pitchability and the health at this point are things that we are very optimistic about. What we still have to do is determine what the roles will actually be. It has been a challenge because of the depth and because there has not been a lot of separation between the pitchers. I am looking forward to the early part of the season to let those roles take place.
“As we speak, Ryan Sorce, Shane McCain and Joe Hernandez are coming back from surgeries so we are not looking to put them on the mound early in the season and expect them to go extended innings. It's likely that those three might fill in behind guys like Will Starling, Tanner Hicks and Ryan Brady to keep their innings down as we begin the season.
“The good news is the six potential starters are all very competitive, solid college pitchers with fastballs that range from the high 80s to the low 90s and the secondary stuff is very good. They can throw more than one pitch for a strike. To a man as far as the returning starters, even the ones who have gone through some surgeries or rehabs, they appear to be as good, if not better, than they have been in their careers. We are very optimistic about the availability, the depth and the pitchability of our potential starters.
“Cass Abercrombie is a middle-inning type of a pitcher for us and can spot start for us like he did last year against East Carolina. He has come back through the fall and through the spring showing the type of consistency that we saw from him in that start against East Carolina. Jeremy McGowan is showing a lot of improvement and he is still only a sophomore. He is a big strong kid that we believe has a bright future.
“William Teal is returning for his senior season and changed his arm slot to more of a sidearm or slightly lower. He has been able to locate much better with a nice hard sinking fastball. Ivan Carter has possibly the best fastball on the staff with a quick, loose arm and has a good breaking ball. When he ties both pitches together he's got plenty of stuff and ability to help us out.
“Matthew Howard is coming into our program after being named the relief pitcher of the year twice in a very good Florida Panhandle Conference. We brought him in to mainly be a late-inning type guy so he will be in the mix with Thomas Austin and Nate Hill. Austin and Hill both carried our bullpen last season and are very good at what they do on the mound. Austin Sullivan made the transition from catcher to pitcher one year ago. He has got a really good arm and is showing a lot of progress. He is a power guy and we expect to use him in those types of situations.
“Levi Tate is a freshman out of Enterprise and has really been impressive for a freshman, but he just happens that he is coming into our program at a time when we've got injured guys coming back, experienced guys coming back and guys we've recruited out of junior college throwing very well. He has not done anything to suggest that he wouldn't be ready as a fastball, changeup left hander who could get some starts as a freshman, but we are going to struggle to find those starts for him.
“Robert Price is a left-handed specialist with a breaking ball that fits a nice role on our staff because he is the only guy who does what he does. Nate Hill is even a little different than Robert in what they do on the mound. Peyton Fuller is looking a little bit more like a position player at this time, but has had a good solid pitching career in the past.”
TroyTrojans.com will preview the upcoming season this week with a breakdown of each position followed by a preview of the weekend series with the Rattlers.
Monday – Outfield
Tuesday – Infield / Catchers
Wednesday – Pitchers
Thursday – Weekend Preview
The Breakdown:
With a deep pool of starters to choose from and two of the top bullpen arms in the Sun Belt Conference returning, the Trojans have a pitching staff in 2013 that could rival some of the best that head coach Bobby Pierce has put on the field.
Back is a pair of weekend starters from last year in Ryan Brady and Joe Hernandez. The pair combined for 21 starts as juniors and Hernandez was twice named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week.
The Trojans welcome back a pair of southpaws in Shane McCain and Ryan Sorce to the team this year after they both missed all of last year with arm injuries. Also in the mix for spots in the weekend rotation will be junior college All-Americans Will Starling and Tanner Hicks.
Starling was named Troy's opening day starter by Pierce earlier in the week while Hicks, McCain and Brady will fill out the remainder of the starting rotation for Troy's series with Florida A&M.
The Troy bullpen is loaded with strong arms led by the returning tandem of Nate Hill and Thomas Austin. Hill is 12-4 with seven saves in his two seasons at Troy; he was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Watch List and to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team. Austin finished third in the Sun Belt last year with a 2.80 ERA over 32 appearances and 64.1 innings of work.
Joining the backend of the Troy bullpen will be two-time Fireman of the Year from the Florida Panhandle Conference Matthew Howard. Howard had 12 saves and a sub 1.40 ERA in his two seasons at Northwest Florida College. Also joining the bullpen from the junior college ranks will be Ole Miss transfer and converted catcher Austin Sullivan.
Seniors Cass Abercrombie and William Teal, junior Ivan Carter and sophomore Jeremy McGowan along with junior Robert Price, who is back from an injury that cost him the 2012 season, will all be in the mix for innings as well.
Freshman left-hander Levi Tate has impressed the coaches during the fall and spring and will put pressure on the upperclassmen in front of him for innings. Redshirt freshman Peyton Fuller has been splitting his time between the mound and the infield, while junior college transfer Ben Tidwell will miss the 2013 season with an arm injury.
Pierce Says:
“Probably as deep with pitchability as we've been in a number of years. We've got a good solid nucleus of returning guys both in the starting rotation and in bullpen. We've got six competitive guys we are looking at to start a game for us. As the season plays itself out, it will determine whom the four are that are going start most weeks.
“I can't remember a pitching staff having this much depth coming into a season. The depth, the pitchability and the health at this point are things that we are very optimistic about. What we still have to do is determine what the roles will actually be. It has been a challenge because of the depth and because there has not been a lot of separation between the pitchers. I am looking forward to the early part of the season to let those roles take place.
“As we speak, Ryan Sorce, Shane McCain and Joe Hernandez are coming back from surgeries so we are not looking to put them on the mound early in the season and expect them to go extended innings. It's likely that those three might fill in behind guys like Will Starling, Tanner Hicks and Ryan Brady to keep their innings down as we begin the season.
“The good news is the six potential starters are all very competitive, solid college pitchers with fastballs that range from the high 80s to the low 90s and the secondary stuff is very good. They can throw more than one pitch for a strike. To a man as far as the returning starters, even the ones who have gone through some surgeries or rehabs, they appear to be as good, if not better, than they have been in their careers. We are very optimistic about the availability, the depth and the pitchability of our potential starters.
“Cass Abercrombie is a middle-inning type of a pitcher for us and can spot start for us like he did last year against East Carolina. He has come back through the fall and through the spring showing the type of consistency that we saw from him in that start against East Carolina. Jeremy McGowan is showing a lot of improvement and he is still only a sophomore. He is a big strong kid that we believe has a bright future.
“William Teal is returning for his senior season and changed his arm slot to more of a sidearm or slightly lower. He has been able to locate much better with a nice hard sinking fastball. Ivan Carter has possibly the best fastball on the staff with a quick, loose arm and has a good breaking ball. When he ties both pitches together he's got plenty of stuff and ability to help us out.
“Matthew Howard is coming into our program after being named the relief pitcher of the year twice in a very good Florida Panhandle Conference. We brought him in to mainly be a late-inning type guy so he will be in the mix with Thomas Austin and Nate Hill. Austin and Hill both carried our bullpen last season and are very good at what they do on the mound. Austin Sullivan made the transition from catcher to pitcher one year ago. He has got a really good arm and is showing a lot of progress. He is a power guy and we expect to use him in those types of situations.
“Levi Tate is a freshman out of Enterprise and has really been impressive for a freshman, but he just happens that he is coming into our program at a time when we've got injured guys coming back, experienced guys coming back and guys we've recruited out of junior college throwing very well. He has not done anything to suggest that he wouldn't be ready as a fastball, changeup left hander who could get some starts as a freshman, but we are going to struggle to find those starts for him.
“Robert Price is a left-handed specialist with a breaking ball that fits a nice role on our staff because he is the only guy who does what he does. Nate Hill is even a little different than Robert in what they do on the mound. Peyton Fuller is looking a little bit more like a position player at this time, but has had a good solid pitching career in the past.”
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