Troy Trojans (5-2, 0-0 SBC)
vs. #29 Auburn Tigers (6-1, 0-0 SEC)
Auburn, Ala. • Plainsman Park
Tuesday Feb. 20 • 3:00 pm CT
The Trojans hit the road to face their third SEC team in two weeks.
Just two days after sweeping Saint Louis, the Trojans head north up I-85 to tangle with the tigers of Auburn. The Tigers are 6-1 and ranked 29th according to the latest college baseball poll.
The Trojans won two of the three games this past weekend in dramatic fashion. On Saturday, Kevin Weidlich hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie to win the game 5-1. On Sunday, Clint Robinson continued his run for the hit record at Troy by blasting two home runs. Robinson also had nine hits and five RBI on the weekend. Freshman Shohei Fujita got his first hit of the seaon on Sunday. Fujita had the game winning hit, an RBI single up the middle on a full count with two outs to score the game winning run to complete the sweep.
Troy and Auburn met three times last season with Troy taking two of three from Auburn. In the first meeting of the year, Auburn won 5-4 by scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth. In the second meeting, Troy exploded with the bats. The Trojans put 12 runs on the board to win the game 7-5. The series finale was played in Montgomery at the new Riverwalk Stadium. In that game Troy used a seven run, 10 hit performance to win 7-6 and win the season series against the Tigers.
Troy is now 2-2 on the season against teams from the SEC this season. The
Trojans dropped two of the three games to Arkansas before going to Tuscaloosa and winning a 12 inning thriller by a score of 7-5.
Ryan Ellison is making his second start of the season for Troy, having started the game at Alabama. Against the Crimson Tide, Ellison allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out three in 4.2 innings.
The All-Time Series
Auburn leads the all-time series 32-13
At Troy: 5-4, Troy
At Auburn: Auburn leads 22-6
Neutral Site: Auburn leads 6-3
Last Meeting, 2006, 8-4 Troy
The Coaches
Troy
-Bobby Pierce (Alabama, ?˜82) is in his fifth season at Troy and has a 152-88 record after guiding the Trojans to a 47-16 in 2006. Pierce was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading the Trojans to an Sun Belt title. In his career as a head coach, Pierce has won 682 games in his career as a college head coach, including 259 at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. His record at four-year schools stands at 428-196 and he is in his 12th season.
