Auburn, Ala. • Plainsman Park (4,096)
In a weekend series better suited for penguins than baseball, four bad innings cost the Trojans a pair of games at Samford. The third game of the series, which was lost on Saturday to cold and rainy weather, will be made up later in the season on a yet to be determined date.
With the exception of the four bad defensive innings, the Trojans played well in the two games. Friday starter Jon Gianquitti was dominant through five innings and Sunday starter Mike Felix, although not especially sharp, worked his way out of jams until the trouble caught up with him in the fifth.
In the four bad innings Troy committed three errors, walked five hitters, hit three more, had a wild pitch a passed ball and allowed two homers, resulting in all 15 Samford runs in the series, six of which were unearned. The two home runs, a two-run shot on Friday and a three-run blast on Saturday, provided the necessary margin of victory for Samford in both games.
While the Trojans had the four bad innings in the field, the team still had plenty of chances to put runs on the board, but left 19 runners on base in the two games, including 10 in scoring position. Only junior Clint Robinson swung a consistent bat in the series, getting three hits in five at bats and driving in three runs.
Now, the Trojans must find a way to snap a three-game losing streak during a tough week in the schedule that features three regular NCAA particpants and a UAB club that defeated the Trojans twice last year.
Troy will start on Tuesday afternoon at Auburn, which is off to a 5-3 start to the season. The Tigers are coming off a three-game sweep of Hofstra over the weekend and are hitting .318 as a team with a 3.70 ERA.
The Tigers are expected to send freshman right-hander Bryan Woodall to the mound for his first collegiate start. The Phenix City native has worked in relief in two games, having allowed two earned runs in three innings of work.
The Trojans will counter with sophomore left-hander Steven Morelock. The Abbeville native had been scheduled to pitch the Saturday game at Samford, which was postponed. He went four innings in his first start of the year, allowing three earned runs.
