Troy University Athletics
Photo by: Edward Fieder
No. 18 Trojans Head North to Face MTSU
4/14/2011 12:11:27 PM | Baseball
Sun Belt leading Troy continues quest for title.
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The 18th-ranked Troy Trojans head north to face Middle Tennessee for a weekend Sun Belt Conference series that begins on Friday night at 6 pm.
For the first time in program history, Troy is ranked in all four major polls, including a high rank of 18 in the Baseball America Top 25.
The Trojans enter with a record of 25-7, but are coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season. The most recent a 7-6 defeat in 10 innings at Jacksonville State on Tuesday night.
In that contest, the Trojans twice battled back from multi-run deficits, but never led and a walk-off base hit proved to be the final blow in the bottom of the 10th.
The Trojans will send junior right-hander Tyler Ray to the mound on Friday evening. The Hoover, Ala.-native is currently 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA – the lowest mark for any qualified starting pitcher in the Sun Belt.
With Drew Hull's status uncertain for the weekend, Troy coach Bobby Pierce will make a decision late in the week on who will get the ball on Saturday and Sunday. Sophomores Ryan Sorce and Shane McCain along with freshman Jimmy Hodgskin will surely be under consideration.
Sophomore Daniel Polo will toe the rubber for MTSU in the opener. He holds a record of 1-4 with a 5.36 ERA in 42.0 innings thus far in 2011. Blue Raiders coach Steve Peterson will count on Hunter Adkins (0-6, 6.35 ERA) on Saturday and Eric Gilley (2-3, 6.39 ERA) on Sunday.
The Trojans are led offensively by senior All-American Adam Bryant. Bryant leads the squad in home runs (4), RBI (32) and stolen bases (8). He also boasts a .317 batting average – the third-best mark on the team.
Eight Trojan regulars are hitting over .270, while the team sports a .291 batting average.
Sophomore first baseman Logan Pierce has recieved multiple national player of the week awards and is the current Sun Belt player of the week after hitting .600 and driving in 15 runs in four games last week.
Troy currently stands atop the Sun Belt standings with a league record of 10-2. MTSU is 10-23 this season, including 3-9 in league games.
The Trojans took 3-of-5 meetings with Middle Tennessee a season ago. Two of those wins came in the Sun Belt tournament held in Murfreesboro, most notably a walk-off win that ousted the Blue Raiders from the event.
The series continues on Saturday with first pitch set for 4 pm, while the finale will get started at 1 pm. All games will be played on campus in MTSU's Reese Smith Field. Coverage will begin on the Troy Sports Network by IMG College 15 minutes before first pitch with Barry McKnight bringing you all the action from the diamond.
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