Troy University Athletics
Trojans Set for Top- Ranked Arkansas
2/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Many questions face the 2007 Trojans as they host the nationally ranked Arkansas Razorbacks in a three-game season-opening series at Riddle-Pace Field.
This will be the Trojans' first series of the season while Arkansas will have already played three games against Lousiana Tech.
Arkansas (2-1) got its season started of with a three-game series in Louisiana last weekend.
The Razorbacks took two of three from Louisiana Tech winning the Friday night and Sunday game.
The Razorbacks, are picked as one of the top teams in the country and they are coming off a 39-21 record in 2006 and were also selected to host a NCAA Regional.
The Trojans will take the field for the start of the season only having to replace three starters. The Trojans will have to replace three guys who have moved on to the majors. Tom King, who was an NCAA statistical champion, Mike Felix, who was drafted in the second-round, and Jared Keel, who had a great season at third base will be hard to replace but the Trojans have a good crop of talent that looks to fill those holes.
The Trojans return several key players from the 2006 squad that compiled a very impressive 47-16 record and a regional birth in Tuscaloosa. Those starters include the left handed first baseman, Clint Robinson. Robinson is only 44 hits away from becoming the schools all-time leader in hits. Josh Dew is coming back in 2007 after receiving numerous pre-season awards and being named Pre-season Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference. Robinson and Dew will split time at first while the other will serve as the DH, but both bats will be in the everyday lineup.
Center fielder Ian Craze will anchor the Trojans outfield with Ben Woods returning to play left-field. Craze did not make a single error last season while the Trojans were 31-2 when Woods started. Bryan Miller will get the nod in right.
Another returning starter, second baseman Edgar Ramirez, will have to gel with one of the many candidates at short-stop. Edgar will be the strong spot returning to the in-field.
Sophomore Brett Henry has earned the starting spot at third base after an impressive fall. Henry appeared in 15 games last season batting.429.
At shortstop, three guys have been battling all spring for the starting job. Bart Pettus, Chase Calamia, and freshman Shohei Fujitia will likely all see some playing time in the first weekend series.
The Trojans' rotation for the weekend series is scheduled to see senior right-hander Clegg Snipes make the first start for Troy. Snipes finished the 2006 season with a record of 7-0. Two other pitchers who are scheduled to make starts in the first weekend will left-handed senior Joe Hallahan and right-handed junior Nate Duhe.
The All-Time Series
This is the first meeting between the schools on the diamond
The Coaches
Troy -Troy - Bobby Pierce (Alabama, ?˜82) is in his fifth season at Troy and has an 147-86 record after guiding the Trojans to a 47-16 record a year ago. 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 423-194 and he is in his 12th season.
Arkansas - Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, ?˜88) is in his fifth season at Arkansas and his 18th overall. He has posted a career record of 745-317, including a 160-90 record at Arkansas.
On the Air
The Troy Network will air all of the games for the 2007 season with Barry McKnight handling the play-by-play. Live stats and audio are available for all games at www.TroyTrojans.com.
