Troy University Athletics
Baseball Hits The Road For Series At Samford
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Troy Trojans (3-1)
at Samford (0-1)
Birmingham, Ala. • Griffin Field (1,000)
Friday, February 17 • 4 pm
Saturday, February 18 • 1 pm
Sunday, February 19 • 1 pm
What a roller-coaster of an opening weekend for the Troy Trojans in 2006.
First was a 17-inning marathon in which the Trojans got outstanding pitching, but struggled at the plate, posting a 3-2 victory. Then came Saturday's double-header, in which the Trojans hit, and hit, and hit some more in scoring 35 runs in 14 innings. The pitching was again solid, holding the Islanders to just three combined runs in the two games.
Then, on Sunday, the Trojans didn't perform as well on the mound and dropped off slightly at the plate, and the result was a 12-8 loss.
This weekend the Trojans get to play a more traditional three-game series at Samford. The Bulldogs opened their season with an 11-3 loss at Alabama on Tuesday, but are expected to field a much improved team in Coach Casey Dunn's second season.
Expect to see Troy coach Bobby Pierce continue to experiment with different lineup combinations this weekend in an effort to get a lot of players playing time as well as find what will be the best lineup available.
One player who did not see playing time in the field last weekend that most certainly will get some at bats this weekend is junior Mike Felix. The left-hander made his pitching debut in the season opener, working seven shutout innings, but was kept out of the regular lineup for the rest of the series because of a sore back.
He is scheduled to pitch the final game of the Samford series, but will see some time in the outfield in the first two games.
With Felix added to the lineup, the Trojans figure to be even more potent at the plate. In the opening series Troy posted a team batting average of .370 with a .624 slugging percentage. Of the teams 64 hits in the series, 24 went for extra bases.
The one area of concern was strikeouts. The Trojans struck out 35 times during the opening series, or once every 4.9 at bats.
While the hitters got off to a fast start, the Trojans also performed well on the mound. In addition to Felix, eight of the other 13 pitchers to see action had strong performances. Expect to see the Trojans continue to use a lot of pitchers this weekend against Samford.
Defensively, after committing three errors in the season opener, Troy made just one error in the final three games of the series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The All-Time Series
The Trojans lead the all-time series on the diamond with Samford 27-10, including a 10-7 series lead in Birmingham. The Trojans have won 10 straight meetings between the teams.
The Coaches
Troy
- Bobby Pierce (Alabama, ?˜82) is in his fourth season at Troy and has an 103-71 record after guiding the Trojans to a 37-21 record a year ago. Pierce was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year and the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2005 after leading the Trojans to an A-Sun title. In his career as a head coach, Pierce has won 638 games in his career as a college head coach, including 259 at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. His record at four-year schools stands at 379-179 and he is in his 11th season.Samford -
Casey Dunn (Auburn, 1999) is in his second season at Samford. He has posted a career record of 20-37.On the Air
The Troy Network will not carry any of the games during the series at Samford. Live stats from the games will be available at www.samfordsports.com.
Trojans Baseball Notebook
Noting The Trojans Offense
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The Trojans got off to a record start as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, tying one all-time leage record and breaking another during the opening weekend of play. Edgar Ramirez tied the league record, which is co-held by five other players, with nine RBI in a game. Ironically, the other five players played for schools that are no longer in the Sun Belt. Tom King did his roommate one better, breaking the league mark for consecutive hits with nine in a row. The old record of eight was co-held by four other players, all also at schools that are no longer members of the Sun Belt. The NCAA record for consecutive hits is 14, set by Larry Patterson of Gonzaga in 1977.t
The Trojans have just one returning player with more than one season of experience as a starter at the Division I level. Junior first baseman Clint Robinson has started 97 games during his Trojans career and entered 2006 with a .303 career batting average.t
Another returning starter for the Trojans who does have more experience is senior outfielder Blake Green. Prior to coming to troy, Green spent a season at UAB where he played in nine games and had eight at bats.t
Senior Nick Smith, coming off an All-Conference season as a designated hitter, will spend the majority of the 2006 season behind the plate for the Trojans. Smith did start six games as the Trojans catcher in 2005 and Troy was 5-1 in those games. Smith started three of the four games against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and caught all 17 innings of the season-opener.t
Senior third baseman Jared Keel returns after starting 57 games last year. Keel, who had a strong second half of the season at the plate, had a huge summer in the Missouri wood-bat league and is poised to have a breakout season this spring. Keel struggled during the opening weekend of the 2006 season, with just two hits in 13 at bats against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.t
After serving as a late-inning defensive replacement for much of the 2005 season, senior Dru Rymer will serve as an every day player for the Trojans this year. Rymer will start the season in right field, but can play any of the outfield positions. He will also open the season as the Trojans' leadoff hitter. He led off the season for the Trojans with a home run and hit .313 during the opening weekend of play.t
The Troy hitters went on a home run binge last season. Throughout the entire 2004 season, the Trojans hit just 38 home runs and Henry Gutierrez led the squad with seven. In 2005, the Trojans launched 82 home runs, which was good for a top five national ranking.t
After a highly contested race for the starting job at second base, junior Edgar Ramirez earned the opening day start over incumbent Bryan Madril. Ramirez came to Troy from Mesa Community College in Arizona and edged out Madril, who will still see plenty of playing time during the season. Madril, a senior from Cantonment, Fla., finished the 2006 season with a .294 average in 57 games.t
Ramirez showed why he earned the starting job at second base during the opening weekend. After an 0-for-4 in the first game of the season, Ramirez went on an RBI binge during the double-header against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. His three-run homer in the first game capped Troy's 12-0 win, and he then added nine more RBI in the second game, with another three-run homer and a grand slam. The nine RBI in a game was one shy of the school record of 10 set by Stacy Gillispie against Stetson in 1999.t
Junior shortstop Tom King is one of two Division I transfers for the Trojans who is expected to make a major impact this season. King, who was be the opening day starter at shortstop, came to Troy from the University of South Carolina, where he was a part-time starter for two years. King also had a solid weekend and did manage to take down one of Stacy Gillispie's school records. King's RBI single in the 17th inning against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was his fourth hit of the game and give the Trojans a 3-2 victory. He continued to swing a hot bat on Saturday, going 4-for-4 in the first game of the twin-bill before a 5-for-6 in the second game. In all, King had hits in nine consecutive at bats, breaking the mark set by Gillispie during the 1999 season.t
The biggest shoes to fill on the Troy squad in 2006 are those left vacant by Adam Godwin in center field. Filling those shoes will be junior Ian Craze, who was named the Panhandle Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season at Pensacola Junior College. Craze had four hits during the opening weekend of play, drove in six runs and was a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.t
Besides second base, the other most highly contested starting job entering the 2006 season was at designated hitter. A group of first year players, including Matt Carlo and Josh Dew, were in a battle for the job, which eventually went to junior Ben Woods. After playing at L.B. Wallace Community College, Woods redshirted last year and will serve as a backup for Smith behind the plate. The opening weekend saw four different players start at the DH position -- Woods, Nick Smith, Dew and redshirt freshman Brett Henry.t
Junior Mike Felix, the Trojans other Division I transfer, will have his playing time in the field limited early in the season because of a sore back. Felix, who was the Trojans best hitter during fall practice, is most affected by the back when he swings a bat. That did not, however, stop the Auburn transfer from being the Trojans' opening day starting pitcher against the Islanders. Felix is expected to see playing time in the outfield this weekend against Samford.t
A couple of returning Trojans will be wearing different jersey numbers this season. Senior Nick Smith switched from 32 to 16, which was worn last year by Michael Davis. Senior Blake Green switched from number 8 to 10, which was last worn by Henry Gutierrez. Redshirt freshman third baseman Brett Henry moved into Green's old number, after having number 34 last year. The only returning member of the pitching staff to make a number change entering this season was sophomore Pete Van Horn, who went from 42 to 24, last worn by 2005 A-Sun Pitcher of the Year Brent Adcock.Noting The Trojans Pitcherst
The 2006 Trojans pitching staff will have a decidedly left-handed slant. The opening weekend rotation feature three left-handed starters in Mike Felix, Jon Gianquitti and Steven Morelock. Only sophomore right-hander Ryan Ellison prevented the opening weekend from being completely left-handed. But it isn't just the starting staff that will come from the left side, pitching coach Todd Lamberth has four more left-handers to choose from in the bull pen.t
Sophomore Steven Morelock has started every game he has pitched during his college career. He was the only Trojan pitcher to work only in a starting role last season, taking the mound in 16 games for the Trojans. Morelock posted a 6-4 record during his rookie campaign, and the Trojans were 10-6 in games when he started. He earned his first victory of 2006 in his first start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.t
Junior Jon Gianquitti made just two starts in 2005, and with vastly different results. His first start came on May 10 against South Alabama when he held the Jags hitless into the eighth inning before taking a no-decision in a 2-1 Troy win. A week later he managed to last just 1 2/3 innings against Jacksonville State, allowing five runs on three hits and three walks. Gianquitti earned his first collegiate victory on Feb. 11 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, working six shutout innings against the Islanders.t
Junior transfer Mike Felix made just five starts on the mound for Auburn last year, including one at Riddle-Pace Field against the Trojans. Felix was not involved in the decision in that game. For his college career he has made 21 starts on the mound and has a 5-7 career record.t
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Ellison made six starts on the mound for the Trojans in 2005, all in mid-week games. His best outing was his first start of the year when he went seven inning against Saint Louis, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out 10. He did not get out of the third inning in any of his other starts. In his first start of 2006 Ellison went into the fifth inning, allowing six runs on eight hits and took a loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.t
One pitcher the Trojans hoped to have available at some point this season will not be a member of the squad. Tony Falls, who was a second team All-Conference pick last year, and was working his way back into playing shape after having Tommy John surgery following the season, was dismissed from the squad in January for a violation of team rules.t
Besides Ellison, sophomore Pete Van Horn is the only returning right-handed pitcher for the Trojans this year. Van Horn, along with Morelock, was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman squad last year as a relief pitcher, a role he will fill for the Trojans again this year.t
Another right-hander who is back in 2006 is junior Bert Elliott. The Gadsden native saw limited time on the mound last year before a knee injury ended his season prematurely.t
Expect to see a lot of new faces on the mound for the Trojans during the opening weekend. As many as 12 different pitchers could take to the hill for Troy against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Seven of those players will be making their Division I debuts.The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Series
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The Trojans used more position players (18) in the opening series of 2006 than played during the entire 2005 season, and 15 of the 18 started at least one game in the series. In 2005, only 14 position players saw playing time all year. The Trojans also used 14 pitchers on opening weekend, one shy of the total that worked all of last year.t
Junior shortstop Tom King had an incredible debut for the Trojans. King had four hits in Friday's 17-inning game, including the game-winner. He followed that with hits in each of his first eight at bats on Saturday and finished the weekend with a .609 batting average and 14 hits.t
Six different Trojan hitters had at least one home run in the four-game series, and three of them came as the players' first hit of the season. Senior Dru Rymer led off the season opener with a homer, junior Ramon Orsini homered in his first at bat for the Trojans, and senior Jared Keel's first hit of the season was a homer.t
With all of the fireworks from King and Ramirez, another first-year Trojan's big weekend got overlooked. Junior outfielder Kevin Weidlich, a transfer from Hill College in Texas, hit .538 in the series with two home runs and eight RBI.t
The Trojans hit 10 homers in the opening series and finished the weekend with a .624 slugging percentage … Troy was also a perfect 7-of-7 on stolen base attempts … Eight Trojans pitchers who worked at least one inning came out of the weekend without allowing a single run, earned or unearned … After committing three errors in the 17-inning opener, Troy was charged with just one error in the final three games of the series … The 17-inning game was the second longest in school history, trailing only an 18-inning 8-7 victory over Kansas State in 2003. Here is a list of the longest games, by both inning and time, in school history:Longest Games, By Inning
Date Opponent Innings Result
3/1/2003 vs. Kansas State* 18 W, 8-7
2/10/2006 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 17 W, 3-2
2/18/2000 vs. Western Illinois 14 W, 5-4
5/4/83 at Birmingham-Southern 13 W, 9-8
1958 at Southern Union 13 n/a
4/21/81 at Columbus State 12 W, 3-2
4/20/98 at Jacksonville State 12 W, 9-6
Longest Games, By Time
Date Opponent Time Result
3/1/2003 vs. Kansas State* 5:22 W, 8-7
2/10/2006 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5:12 W, 3-2
2/13/2002 vs. McNeese State 4:06 L, 18-17
2/13/1994 vs. USC-Aiken 4:06 W, 12-11
2/13/2000 vs. Elon 4:04 L, 6-5
3/8/1996 vs. Kent State# 4:03 L, 20-19
* Played at Westgate Park in Dothan, Ala.
# Played at Patterson Field in Montgomery, Ala.
