Trojans Open 11-Game Home Stand vs UNO

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The Troy baseball team will open an 11-game home stand on Friday night when the Trojans host former Sun Belt Conference foe New Orleans for the first game of a four-game weekend series.

Following Friday night's game, which is set for a 6 p.m. start, the Trojans and Privateers will play a day-night double-header on Saturday with game times set for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The teams will play a final game on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

All four games will be broadcast on the Troy Sports Network, heard locally on flagship station WTBF-FM 94.7, with Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller handling the broadcast. The games will also be available online at Trojans All-Access.

The Trojans are coming off a heart-breaking loss at Alabama on Tuesday night. Troy twice had the lead in the late innings, but lost to the Tide 6-5 in 11 innings. It was Troy's second loss on the road this year in as many games.

UNO (1-11) knows all about playing on the road. The Privateers, who are in a transition year from Division I to Division II, have played just one home game, against Southern University, and that was the only win so far for the team.

The Privateers are coming off a two-game series at Tennessee during which they were outscored by the Volunteers 32-4. The UNO pitching staff has allowed at least 10 runs in every game this year with the exception of the 8-2 win over Southern.

As a team, UNO comes into the series with Troy hitting just .221 on the season and has scored just 38 runs in 12 games. On the mound, the Privateers have a 12.71 team ERA, have allowed a total of 163 runs. Defense has also been a problem for UNO with 29 errors having been charged against the Privateers so far.

The Trojans have been getting solid pitching and defense this year, but are still looking for the offense to come to life. Troy is hitting .273 on the year and has hit just two homers all year. By comparison, the 2010 Troy squad had blasted 22 bombs by this point in the year.

One of the main Trojans who is struggling at the plate is senior All-American Adam Bryant. The Pensacola native is hitting .286 going into the UNO series, which is down 70 points from his 2010 average. Despite the slow start with his batting average, Bryant still leads the team in runs scored (11) and is tied with Blake Martz for the team lead in RBI (14).

Bryant enters play on Friday with 199 career hits. He will join Clint Robinson and Wade Miller as the only players in Troy history with 200 career hits when he gets his first hit this weekend.

Friday's game will pit Troy junior right-hander Tyler Ray (3-0, 1.61) against UNO senior right-hander Tyler Sanders (0-2, 8.31). Ray is coming off a complete-game shutout of Southeast Missouri State last Friday.

Saturday's first game will see Troy's senior right-hander Drew Hull (2-0, 1.35) take the mound against senior right-hander Cory Myers (0-2, 20.65) for UNO. Hull tied his career high with nine strikeouts last Saturday, but was not involved in the decision in a 2-1 Troy victory over SEMO in 10 innings.

Saturday night's game will pit Troy sophomore left-hander Ryan Sorce (1-1, 3.71) against UNO freshman right-hander Corey Laudermill (0-0, 1.80). Sorce got his first win last weekend despite having had the flu for days leading up to the start. The start will be Laudermill's first of the year.

The Sunday series finale will see Troy freshman left-hander Jimmy Hodgskin (0-1, 4.91) make another run at his first collegiate win. Hodgskin leads the Trojans starters with an average of 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings. He will face UNO sophomore right-hander Zach Kelt (1-2, 9.82).

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