vs. Florida International (25-13, 6-3 SBC)
Troy, Ala. • Riddle-Pace Field (2,000)
Despite having won 13 straight games, and 22 of their last 25 outings, the 2006 Troy University baseball team is still fighting for respect. Even with a top 25 ranking in the all-important RPI, the Trojans failed to get a mention in either the Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball polls, and garnered minimum attention from the coaches in the ABCA/USA Today poll or the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
Despite the snubbing from the national polls, the Trojans have continued to go about their business of winning baseball games. This weekend the team returns to Riddle-Pace Field for what promises to be an exciting Sun Belt Conference series against Florida International. The Panthers stand in second place in the league race, but are three games behind Troy in the loss column.
The Trojans enter the series among the top hitting and scoring teams in all of college baseball. Troy ranks second in the nation in scoring, first in doubles, fourth in slugging percentage and sixth in team batting average.
FIU has not been a slouch team at the plate this season either. The Panthers rank 44th nationally in batting average and 31st in scoring.
While both teams have shown they can hit, the series will likely turn on the strength of the pitching and defense the teams put on display. Both staffs are coming off less than stellar weekends on the mound, with the Trojans having allowed 23 runs to Western Kentucky and FIU having allowed 31 runs in dropping two of three games at South Alabama.
Defensively, the Trojans have made steady improvement this season, having committed just nine errors in the last 10 games, posting a .977 fielding percentage. FIU, on the other hand, ranks last in the Sun Belt in fielding and has a .950 fielding percentage for the year.
With all of that said, all eyes will be on Troy's Tom King this weekend as he attempts to extend his 28-game hitting streak, with his eyes set on breaking another Sun Belt Conference record. King is also closing in on the league, and national, records for doubles in a season. He enters the weekend with a school-record 23 two-base hits, leaving him nine shy of the league mark (32) and 13 away from the NCAA record (36).
The Trojans and Panthers have met in baseball just twice, both times in post-season play. The two schools me in the 1980 Division II World Series in Riverside, Calif., with FIU taking an 8-2 victory. In 1998, the clubs met again, this time in an NCAA Regional in Kissimmee, Fla., with the Panthers again winning, this time 9-4.
