The Troy University Trojans enter their 18th NCAA Regional Tournament as a No. 3 seed in the Oxford Regional at the University of Mississippi. It is Troy's fourth Division I Regional appearance since moving up from Division II in 1994. Troy is 6-6 in the three previous NCAA Regionals, appearing in 1995, 1997 and 2006.
The Trojans earned an at-large bid this season based largely on having played the 16th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. The Trojans posted a 17-8 record in non-conference play, including wins over a pair of national seeds, Arkansas and Coastal Carolina.
Troy's non-conference wins this year also included a 3-2 victory over Southern Miss, which enters the Oxford Regional as the No. 2 seed.
The Trojans and Golden Eagles have split six games over the last two seasons, with USM winning three times in Hattiesburg while Troy won twice at the Tuscaloosa Regional last spring and once in Dothan at the Screentech Wiregrass Classic in February.
Despite the solid non-conference performance, the Trojans enter the Regional having completed a less than stellar month of May that ended with a 5-8 record for the month. It was the second worst single month for the Troy baseball program since head coach Bobby Pierce arrived in 2003 and was just the sixth losing month in his tenure at Troy.
The Trojans will rely on a group of 13 seniors to try to fi nish the 2007 campaign on a high note in Oxford. Th e Trojans will send either senior left -hander Joe Hallahan (5-6, 5.66) or senior right-hander Clegg Snipes (6-5, 5.18) to the mound against Southern Miss, with the other to start Friday's second game. Both hurlers pitched well in the Sun Belt Tournament, with Hallahan working seven shutout innings against UL Monroe while Snipes allowed three runs in five innings against UL Lafayette.
Another Trojan senior who is looking to finish on a high note is Clint Robinson. Already the owner of six school career records, Robinson needs five RBI in the Regional Tournament to break the season record of 73 set last year by All-American Tom King.
Senior Josh Dew (7-2, 2.56, 10 saves) is also looking to bounce back from a Sun Belt Tournament performance in which he took his second loss on the mound after surrendering a grand slam homer to ULL's Jonathan Lucroy.
