Trojans to Host Ontario on Sunday

The Troy University baseball team will hold its annual fall exhibition game against the visiting Ontario Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field. Play is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and admission is free.

The Trojans return only five regular position players from the spring when the team finished with a 36-25 record in a season that ended in a berth in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game.

Among those returners is senior shortstop Adam Bryant, who is working to recover from off-season surgery to repair a torn labrum. One of the top offensive players in all of college baseball last spring (.356, 23 HR, 65 RBI), Bryant has been cleared to play in the field, but he has just begun hitting off a tee and will not be available to hit on Sunday.

“It is going to be a mixed match,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “We have a lot of injuries on the club, a lot of guys who are banged up. We probably only have 11 or 12 position players who are healthy and ready to compete. We are in the same kind of shape on the mound with a lot of guys going through rehab coming off surgeries.”

Another expected starter for the Trojans next spring is junior Tyler Hannah, a transfer from the University of Tennessee. Hannah, however, will not be able to play on Sunday after straining an oblique muscle last week.

Other returning position players who will see action are senior infielder #T.J. Rivera# (.295, 8, 51), senior catcher Todd McRae (.354, 0, 32), junior outfielder Daniel Peterson (.333, 0, 11) and junior utility player Blake Martz (.294, 3, 15).

“We have a lot of new faces and a lot of guys who have started off very well,” Pierce said. “I like what Tyson Workman has done so far with the bat. He is a versatile player, like Chase Whitley but in a smaller body. He is doing a lot of different things right now, playing second base, center field and doing some pitching. He does have a chance to maybe fill the closer role, so we'll continue to follow his progress to see where he ends up.”

On the mound, the Trojans are without returning starters Tyler Ray and Drew Hull this fall. Ray pitched all summer in the Cape Cod League and is taking the fall off to rest his pitching arm. Hull had surgery to clean out his ankle, and is still on crutches. Both will be ready for the spring.

Three returning hurlers are expected to see action on Sunday. Senior right-hander Nick Ward (0-2, 7.71), and sophomore right-handers Cass Abercrombie (2-0, 9.16) and Thomas Austin (4-1, 7.11) are expected to make appearances against Ontario.

A trio of new hurlers are also expected to pitch against the Blue Jays. Workman, a right-hander, will see action as will sophomore left-hander Ryan Sorce and heralded freshman left-hander Jimmy Hodgskin.

“Probably the most anticipated thing will be seeing Jimmy Hodgskin on the mound,” Pierce said. “He has thrown well this fall and it will be interesting to see how he does.”

The visiting Blue Jays are an Under 18 travel team that makes an annual swing through the southeast playing college teams on their way to a tournament in Jupiter, Florida. The squad played Jacksonville State on Friday and faces Georgia State today before coming to Troy. Other teams they have faced this fall include Central Michigan, Evansville, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Michigan, Kent State, Virginia, East Carolina, Notre Dame, Saint Louis, Arkansas and Western Kentucky.

“The Ontario Blue Jays are always a very competitive group,” Pierce said. “They have very young players, of course, but they are always a very competitive group. It gives us a good chance to play outside competition and see our guys play and apply some of the practice scenarios we have worked on. It is our only opportunity to do that against outside competition, so everyone will be excited about that.”

Troy University Athletics

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