Troy University Athletics
2011 Baseball Schedule Favors Trojans
2/14/2011 10:38:05 AM | Baseball
Sun Belt Slate Will Be As Tough As Ever
2011 MEDIA GUIDE | GENERAL PREVIEW | OFFENSIVE PREVIEW | PITCHING PREVIEW | ALL-SBC RELEASE
Troy Trojans baseball fans will get plenty of opportunities to see their team play this spring at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans are scheduled to play 35 of their 56 regular season games at their home field, including 21 of the first 23 games of the year.
The 35 home games will be the most for Troy since the 2000 team played 35 at home. Trojans coach Bobby Pierce, who is entering his ninth season in Troy, said the home heavy slate should give his squad, which is loaded with first year players, a huge advantage this spring.
“Certainly, our schedule favors this years' team and our fans with so many home games,” Pierce said. “I know it is the best home schedule since I have been in Troy and may be one that will be difficult to repeat in the future. Things certainly fell our way in a lot of ways with this schedule. If we, as a team, can take on the “defend Riddle-Pace Field” attitude, as we should, then the amount of home games should be to our benefit.”
The home heavy schedule for the Trojans begins with six consecutive home weekend series. Troy will not play a road non-conference series for just the second time since moving to Division I. In fact, the team will play just six non-conference road games all year, and none of those games is much more than a three hour drive from campus.
Coach Pierce is quick to point out that, even though the Trojans will play at home a lot, the teams that will be coming to Troy will not be pushovers.
“The thing about our schedule is that you don't see Arkansas or Arizona State, but teams like High Point and Southern Miss play outstanding baseball and are very well coached,” Pierce said. “In Division I baseball there are a lot of really good teams that people really don't know about. We have several of those on this year's schedule.”
Both High Point (Feb. 18-20) and Southern Miss (Feb. 25-27) come to Troy for series the first two weekends of the season. The Trojans will play a four-game series against High Point, a team that is coming off a fourth place finish in the Big South Conference last year. The Big South had multiple teams ranked among the top 25 in the nation last year, including Coastal Carolina, which spent the majority of the year among the top five teams in the nation.
All Southern Miss did in 2009 was make a trip to Omaha for the College World Series. The Golden Eagles played in the Auburn Regional last year and have advanced to NCAA Regional play in each of the last eight seasons.
Other non-conference weekend opponents include Southeast Missouri State (March 4-6) from the Ohio Valley Conference and the University of New Orleans (March 11-13), which will be playing as a Division I independent this year after leaving the Sun Belt Conference.
Troy will once again play home-and-home mid-week non-conference games against in-state rivals Auburn, Samford, UAB and Jacksonville State. Florida A&M returns to the schedule for Troy for the first time since 2002. The teams will play one time in both Troy and Tallahassee.
The final two non-conference games will be at Alabama (March 8) and at home against Alabama A&M (April 20).
Of course, the most important part of any season is the conference schedule. The Sun Belt will be as tough as ever in 2011 and, with UNO leaving the league, the schedule will have a little big different flavor.
“With the loss of New Orleans in the league we adopted the plan to play our rival twice during the season, with a three-game series at the beginning and the end of the conference season,” Pierce said. “The advantages of that are now you get to have your rival at home every year, either at the beginning or end of the season. In the past, our students have not been in school when we have played South Alabama but now, at least every other year, they will get the opportunity to see that series during the school year.”
The Jaguars will visit Troy March 18-20 to open league play. The Trojans will play at Stanky Field in Mobile to close the regular season (May 19-21).
Other SBC home series for the Trojans will be against UALR (March 25-27), defending tournament champion FIU (April 8-10), Western Kentucky (April 22-24) and the Ragin' Cajuns of UL Lafayette (May 6-8).
The Trojans will go on the road in conference play to face Arkansas State (April 1-3), Middle Tennessee (April 15-17), defending league champion Florida Atlantic (April 29-May 1) and ULM (May 13-15).
“We have quietly solidified ourselves as one of the top baseball conferences in America,” Pierce said of the Sun Belt. “The insiders know that, but our fans and fans at other schools in our league may not have realized it yet. I don't think this year will be any different. There are a lot of teams, like ours, that will have a lot of new faces.
“I think that puts FAU out front because they were co-champions last year and they return a lot of people. I think you have to put them at the top but, where you go from there, I don't know. If FIU has the pitching, they return a lot of position players, so we know they will have another good club.
“I am looking forward to our league producing additional teams in post-season play. We, as a league, have earned that. Arkansas State has improved immensely. South Alabama has always been very competitive under Steve Kittrell and, even though he will be retiring, I expect their tradition to continue. Lafayette, Middle Tennessee and WKU are always good. It is going to be an interesting year.”
The priority for all 10 members of the league is to be among the top eight at the end of the year in order to take part in the Sun Belt Tournament. The championship will be played at ULM May 25-29 and will feature a brand new format. Instead of playing a two-bracket double elimination tournament, the league will divide the eight teams into two pools for round-robin play.
That change, according to Coach Pierce, should help our teams that advance to NCAA Regional play the following week.
“The more we looked at the round-robin format, we felt that our current eight-team, double-elimination tournament, was really not giving our NCAA teams their best opportunity because of how difficult it is to get through an eight team tournament,” Pierce said. “So, the round robin format, with a four-game maximum, should eliminate some of the stress on our pitching staffs.
“Last year for the championship game, both Troy and FIU had played six games, with two extra-inning games each. When you do that, and then start regional play the next weekend, those arms have not recovered. We feel like this will be a positive step, league-wide, for teams that advance to post-season play.”
The race to NCAA Regional play will start on Friday, February 18, when the Trojans host High Point. Season tickets for the 2011 Troy baseball season are available through the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office. Call 877-878-9467 for information.
Pierce said he hopes to see the Troy community continue to embrace the Trojans like other college towns around the nation have. If the local and university community can show that stadium growth is warranted, Pierce is ready to move forward.
“We do have plans for growth, but that growth will be determined by interest from the community,” Pierce said. “The possibility of adding additional seats with sky boxes and club level seating, I think would be a fabulous addition to Riddle-Pace Field from a fan standpoint as well as from the standpoint of potentially hosting a regional here in Troy. I think it is an addition we have to continue to pursue, but it can only happen if the local interest is there.”
Below are capsules on each of the Trojans' 2011 opponents.
| Alabama Crimson Tide |
March 8 in Tuscaloosa | ||
| Head Coach: | Mitch Gaspard (2nd season) | Career Record: | 45-25 (One year) |
| Conference: | Southeastern (SEC) | 2010 Record: | 45-25/15-15 |
| All-time Series: | Alabama leads 15-7 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 8/5 |
| Alabama A&M Bulldogs |
April 20 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Ed McCann (1st season) | Career Record: | 201-372-2 (12 years) |
| Conference: | Southwestern Athletic (SWAC) | 2010 Record: | 17-32/3-20 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 3-0 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 6/9 |
| UAB Blazers | April 19 in Troy April 26 in Birmingham |
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| Head Coach: | Brian Shoop (5th season) | Career Record: | 802-425-1 (21 years) |
| Conference: | Conference USA (C-USA) | 2010 Record: | 28-25/11-13 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 22-18 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 7/4 |
| Auburn Tigers | March 29 in Auburn April 5 in Troy |
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| Head Coach: | John Pawlowski (4th season) | Career Record: | 412-238-2 (10 years) |
| Conference: | Southeastern (SEC) | 2010 Record: | 43-21/20-10 |
| All-time Series: | Auburn leads 34-15 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 6/4 |
| UALR Trojans | March 25-27 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Scott Norwood (3rd season) | Career Record: | 334-199 (10 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 29-25/12-16 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 8-5 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 5/3 |
| Arkansas State Red Wolves |
April 1-3 in Jonesboro | ||
| Head Coach: | Tommy Raffo (3rd season) | Career Record: | 53-58 (2 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 30-28/16-15 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 16-2 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 4/5 |
| Florida A&M Rattlers |
March 15 in Troy May 10 in Tallahassee |
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| Head Coach: | Brett Richardson (1st season) | Career Record: | First year |
| Conference: | Mideastern Athletic (MEAC) | 2010 Record: | 10-31-1/3-15 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 25-4 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 4/6 |
| Florida Atlantic Owls |
April 29-May 1 in Boca Raton | ||
| Head Coach: | John McCormack (3rd season) | Career Record: | 67-50 (2 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 37-24/21-9 |
| All-time Series: | FAU leads 22-14 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 8/1 |
| Florida International Panthers |
April 8-10 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Turtle Thomas (4th season) | Career Record: | 90-84 (3 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 36-25/18-13 |
| All-time Series: | FIU leads 11-9 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 9/3 |
| High Point Panthers |
February 18-20 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Craig Cozart (3rd season) | Career Record: | 52-61 (2 years) |
| Conference: | Big South | 2010 Record: | 31-29/15-12 |
| All-time Series: | First meeting | Starters Ret./Lost: | 5/4 |
| Jacksonville State Gamecocks |
April 12 in Jacksonville May 3 in Troy |
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| Head Coach: | Jim Case (10th season) | Career Record: | 289-235 (9 years) |
| Conference: | Ohio Valley (OVC) | 2010 Record: | 32-26/15-8 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 76-51 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 3/5 |
| UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns |
May 6-8 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Tony Robichaux (17th season) | Career Record: | 840-559-1 (24 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 38-22/21-9 |
| All-time Series: | ULL leads 16-7 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 5/3 |
| ULM Warhawks | May 13-15 in Monroe | ||
| Head Coach: | Jeff Schexnaider (5th season) | Career Record: | 112-116 (4 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 17-38/7-23 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 10-4 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 5/4 |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders |
April 15-17 in Murfreesboro | ||
| Head Coach: | Steve Peterson (24th season) | Career Record: | 895-660-3 (29 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 35-23/18-12 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 21-15 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 3/6 |
| New Orleans Privateers |
March 11-13 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Bruce Peddie (2nd season) | Career Record: | 350-274-2 (13 years) |
| Conference: | Independent | 2010 Record: | 13-39/2-26 (SBC) |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 11-6 | Starters Ret./Lost: | n/a |
| Samford Bulldogs | March 1 in Birmingham May 17 in Troy |
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| Head Coach: | Casey Dunn (7th season) | Career Record: | 159-158 (6 years) |
| Conference: | Southern | 2010 Record: | 31-25/17-12 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 34-15 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 3/5 |
| South Alabama Jaguars |
March 18-20 in Troy May 19-21 in Mobile |
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| Head Coach: | Steve Kittrell (28th season) | Career Record: | 1055-630-1 (28 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 32-27/17-13 |
| All-time Series: | South Alabama leads 31-21 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 3/6 |
| SE Missouri State Redhawks |
March 4-6 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Mark Hogan (17th season) | Career Record: | 854-655-3 (29 years) |
| Conference: | Ohio Valley (OVC) | 2010 Record: | 30-25/13-9 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 1-0 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 8/1 |
| Southern Miss Golden Eagles |
February 25-27 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Scott Berry (2nd season) | Career Record: | 221-82 (5 years) |
| Conference: | Conference USA (C-USA) | 2010 Record: | 36-24/14-10 |
| All-time Series: | USM leads 8-5 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 6/3 |
| Western Kentucky Hilltoppers |
April 22-24 in Troy | ||
| Head Coach: | Chris Finwood (6th season) | Career Record: | 209-227 (8 years) |
| Conference: | Sun Belt (SBC) | 2010 Record: | 35-23/16-14 |
| All-time Series: | Troy leads 16-9 | Starters Ret./Lost: | 7/2 |
Skylar Meade, Blake Cavill & Zach Crotchfelt SBC Tournament Postgame - South Alabama
Thursday, May 21
Skylar Meade Postgame - ULM Game 2
Friday, May 15
Skylar Meade & Steven Meier Postgame - UAB
Tuesday, May 12
Skylar Meade, Jabe Boroff & Hayden Smith Postgame - South Alabama Game 3
Sunday, May 10