Troy University Athletics
Trojans Baseball Set To Face Auburn
2/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
About Tuesday's Game
The Trojans enter the first of two meetings with the Auburn Tigers on a three-game win streak after sweeping visiting Samford over the weekend. The Tigers come into the game with a five-game win streak after sweeping Virginia Commonwealth.
The Trojans continued to swing the bats well over the weekend, scoring 38 runs on 34 hits in the series with Samford. Senior shortstop Chase Amis made the most out of his move down in the batting order. He hit .500 for the weekend out the eighth spot in the batting order and drove in five runs.
The first three in the order, Adam Godwin, Brian Bennett and Clint Robinson, all continue their early season hot streaks. Godwin is hitting .346 and has already stolen eight bases in nine attempts. Bennett is hitting .364 and Robinson is hitting .346 and already has three triples.
On the mound, all three weekend starters turned in quality starts against Samford. Senior Landon Brazell has had two strong outings this year and has recorded 18 strikeouts in 11.2 innings of work.
Junior left-hander Tony Falls (1-0, 6.75) will make his first start of the year on the mound for the Trojans. Auburn will counter with freshman right-hander Cliff Mullins (1-0, 1.12).
The All-Time Series
The Trojans and Tigers have met on the diamond 40 times dating back to 1959. Auburn leads the all-time series 29-11, including a 20-6 advantage in games played on the Auburn campus. The teams have played nine times at Patterson Field in Montgomery, with Auburn holding a 6-3 lead in those games. The Tigers will visit Troy this year for the first time since 1985. Auburn leads the series 3-2 in games played at Riddle-Pace Field.
Troy won the last meeting last year, 4-3, at Patterson Field. The Trojans have only taken back-to-back games from the Tigers once, taking both meetings in 1983. Auburn's longest win streak in the series was seven games, from 1976-81.
The Coaches
Troy
- Bobby Pierce (Alabama, ?˜82) is in his third season at Troy and has a 67-51 record after guiding the Trojans to a 36-22 record a year ago. In Pierce's second season, Troy finished fifth in the A-Sun regular season race and then advanced to the championship round of the conference tournament. In his career as a head coach, Pierce has won 602 games in his 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including 259 at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. His record at four-year schools stands at 343-159 and he is in his 10th season.Auburn - Tom Slater (VMI, 1990) is in his first season as the Tigers head coach, returning to the Plains, where he served as an assistant coach from 1995-2000. His first head coaching stint was at his alma mater, where he was head coach from 2001-03, posting a 50-100 record during that time.
On the Air
Troy baseball will be back on the Troy Network, with Barry McKnight providing play-by-play, on Tuesday afternoon when the Trojans travel to face the Auburn Tigers. The broadcast can also be picked up at www.TroyTrojans.com.
Trojans Baseball Notebook
The Samford Series (Feb. 18-20)
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Troy coach Bobby Pierce earned his 600th career victory on Friday in the Trojans' 9-5 victory over Samford. Pierce, who is in his third season at Troy, had a 259-95 record in seven seasons at Chipola Junior College. He was 276-108 in seven seasons as head coach at Alabama-Huntsville and he has a 67-51 record so far at Troy.t
Pitching was a concern after the opening weekend of the season when only Friday starter Landon Brazell was sharp. One week later and the Troy coaching staff is breathing a little easier. Brazell turned in his second quality start of the year on Friday, allowing three runs in six innings while striking out eight against Samford. Saturday starter Brent Adcock bounced back with a solid effort, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings. Freshman Steven Morelock also pitched well on Sunday, holding the Bulldogs to two runs on five hits over seven innings.t
Sophomore Clint Robinson needed just four games in 2005 to equal the Trojans' 2004 team total for triples. The Dothan native banged out his third three-base hit of the season on Friday.t
The Trojans are still in search of a closer to replace departed All-American Nate Moore. In the Samford series three different Troy pitchers got an opportunity to finish games. Junior Matt Dale earned a save on Saturday, but he issued two walks, hit a batter and was charged with a balk in 1 1/3 innings. Sophomore Ryan Ramsey finished off Friday's win, but he walked three and had a wild pitch in two innings of work. Junior left-hander Jon Gianquitti made his Troy debut on Sunday, working a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a pair or strikeouts.t
With the sweep of the three-game series against Samford, the Trojans have now won 10 straight games from the Bulldogs and own a 27-10 all-time series lead.The McNeese State Series (Feb. 11-12)
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Troy's four errors in the season-opening win over McNeese State equaled the most the Trojans had in a game last year. Troy was charged with four errors in a game five times in 2004, posting a 2-3 record in those games. The Troy defense was charged with eight errors in the series, to go with four passed balls.t
The Trojans pitching staff had its struggles against McNeese. Troy was charged with a school-record five wild pitches in the first game of Saturday's double-header. Freshman pitcher Ryan Ellison, in his collegiate debut, tied the school record with four wild pitches in that game. Ellison also recorded five strikeouts in three innings of work.t
The Troy pitching staff also struggled to find the strike zone in the weekend series. The staff combined to issue 23 walks in the three games to go with three hit batters. On the other side, the Trojans received just six free passes from the McNeese State pitching staff.t
Troy senior Landon Brazell did not share in the struggles of the rest of his pitching comrads. In his start in the season-opener against McNeese State he recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts while allowing just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings of work. He did not, however, earn a victory in the game.t
Junior Nick Smith made the most of his opportunity in the season-opening victory over McNeese State. After grounding out in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter, Smith hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to seal the Trojans' 9-3 victory.t
Many Trojans players made their first appearances for Troy in the weekend series, including five true freshman. In all, 13 players made their Troy debuts in the weekend series.t
Clint Robinson's two triples were one shy of equaling the TEAM total from 2004. Troy had just three triples all last season, including one by Robinson.t
Senior outfielder Adam Godwin showed why he was a preseason All-A-Sun selection. He hit .357 in the weekend series, scored four runs and was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.Preseason Notes
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After placing two players on the All-Conference teams in 2004, and three on the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament team, only senior outfielder Adam Godwin was named to the league's 2005 preseason All-Conference Team.t
The Trojans, entering their final season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, were picked to finish fourth in the 2005 league chase by both the coaches and members of the media. Troy was projected to finish behind UCF, Florida Atlantic and Stetson. Troy will square off with those three schools on consecutive weekends beginning April 22.t
Troy baseball coach Bobby Pierce entered the 2005 season needing just two victories to reach 600 for his career. His record includes a 259-95 mark in seven seasons as head coach at Chipola Junior College.Looking Ahead
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This weekend the Trojans will host the ScreenTech Wiregrass Baseball Classic at Westgate Park in Dothan. Ohio State, Iowa and Middle Tennessee will round out the field for the round-robin tournament. Ohio State and Iowa will open their 2005 seasons in the tournament while Middle Tennessee opened last weekend at home against Ball State, splitting a pair of games. Troy has faced all three schools in baseball before. Troy defeated Iowa 22-8 in 1998 in a game played at Patterson Field in Montgomery. The Trojans and Ohio State have played three times, with the Buckeyes holding a 2-1 series lead. The last time the teams met was in 1999, with Ohio State taking an 11-8 decision at Patterson Field. Previous meetings were played in 1993, in Panama City (a 10-0 OSU victory) and in 1996 at Patterson Field (a 9-6 Troy win). The Trojans and Blue Raiders have played more frequently, with Troy holding a 10-8 lead in the series, which started in 1992. The two teams will become conference foes in 2006 when Troy joins Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans took both meetings last year, in Murfreesboro, winning 18-3 and 2-1.t
Following the Wiregrass Classic, the Trojans will open a four-game home stand with a single game against intra-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday, March 2. The Saint Louis Billikens, from Confernce USA, will visit the weekend of March 4-6 for a three-game series.ScreenTech Wiregrass Baseball Classic Schedule
Friday, February 25
Ohio State vs. Middle Tennessee, 2 p.m.
Troy vs. Iowa, 6 p.m.
Saturday, February 26
Iowa vs. Middle Tennessee, 2 p.m.
Troy vs. Ohio State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, February 27
Iowa vs. Ohio State, 10 a.m.
Troy vs. Middle Tennessee, 2 p.m.
Admission to the Tournament is $20 for a full weekend pass or $10 per day. No single game tickets for the tournament will be sold.
