Bowling Green, Ky. • Denes Field (1,050)
For the second time this season, the Trojans will take to the road riding a nine-game winning streak. The first such road trip, to face Southern Miss, not only saw the win streak end, but also saw the Trojans get swept by the Golden Eagles.
This time, the road trip takes the Troy club to Bowling Green, Ky., where the stakes will be much higher against the Hilltoppers in a Sun Belt Conference series.
The Trojans announced their presence in the Sun Belt last weekend by sweeping preseason favorite South Alabama. To keep the streak alive, and reach double-figures with a win streak for the first time since the 2004 seasons, the Trojans will have to handle a Western Kentucky squad that is third in the league in hitting, trailing only Troy and USA.
The Trojans enter the weekend series as one of the hottest hitting teams in college baseball. With a team batting average of .339, the Trojans are hitting 20 points higher than the next best hitting team in the Sun Belt. The Trojans also lead the league in home runs and runs scored, averaging 9.46 runs per game.
Junior shortstop Tom King enters the weekend atop most of the Sun Belt Conference individual statistical categories, including a .463 batting average. He also leads the league in hits, total bases and doubles. His 24-game hitting streak is a Troy record and is now just six games shy of the Sun Belt Conference mark.
Two other Trojans enter the weekend with hitting streaks. Both Ian Craze and Josh Dew extended their streaks to nine games during the win over Birmingham-Southern on Wednesday.
The Trojans also extended another streak of importance on Wednesday, improving to 19-0 this year with junior Ben Woods in the starting lineup. Woods had a big hand in extending that streak against BSC, hitting a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, and driving in six runs.
On the mound, the Trojans are set to send junior right-hander Clegg Snipes (2-0, 1.93) to the hill on Friday, with senior left-hander Jon Gianquitti (4-0, 4.25) and junior left-hander Joe Hallahan (2-2, 5.01) scheduled to work the final two games of the series.
