Troy University Athletics
Logan Pierce
Photo by: Mike Strasinger
Baseball Season Preview - Infield
2/12/2012 8:58:00 AM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. - The defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy baseball team begins its title defense on Friday when it opens a four-game series against Central Michigan at Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
TroyTrojans.com will preview the upcoming season over the next five days with a breakdown of each position group and finally a preview of the weekend series on Thursday.
Sunday - Infield
Monday - Outfield
Tuesday - Catchers / DH
Wednesday - Pitchers
Thursday - Game Preview
The Breakdown:
The Trojans are having to replace one of the best middle infield combos in school history with the departure of shortstop Adam Bryant and second baseman T.J. Rivera – both of which are playing professional baseball.
Troy head coach Bobby Pierce will replace the All-American Bryant with another All American in Tyler Hannah. Hannah slides over from third base to his natural position at short after batting .370 with 27 doubles, seven home runs, 53 RBIs, a .591 slugging percentage and a .477 on-base percentage last season. He finished third in the NCAA with his doubles total and was 26th nationally with 62 runs scored.
Transplanted third baseman Logan Pierce returns to man first base after an impressive sophomore season defensively. Pierce posted a .990 fielding percentage and was named the Louisville Slugger National Hitter of the Week following a 9-for-15 week with 15 RBIs against Auburn and FIU.
Sophomore Danny Collins will step in at third base for Hannah. The transfer from Northwest Florida State College earned junior college All-America honors last year after batting .419 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs.
A trio of players are vying for the spot at second base with sophomore transfer Jakob Nixon leading the way. Also in the mix is first team All-Sun Belt utility player last year Tyson Workman and sophomore Tyler Vaughn.
The Trojans have outstanding depth at all their infield positions with Kyle Brown working at first base, Austin Golden at shortstop and Peyton Fuller at third base.
Pierce Says:
“The combination of Adam (Bryant) and T.J. (Rivera) is rarely seen in college baseball. Replacing that will be a big challenge for us, even with moving Tyler (Hannah) to short. Right now at second base we have three guys working there – Tyson Workman, Jakob Nixon and Tyler Vaughn. All three can contribute and help this team. We are still looking for that right combination to go with Hannah at shortstop.
“Austin Golden will be backing up Tyler at short and has some versatility so he can help us at other spots if needed. Danny Collins will start the year at third base after finishing as the runner up for Florida Junior College Player of the Year last year. He has a chance to be a great offensive player and we are still working to get him to be better defensively.
“Logan (Pierce) had a great year defensively for us last year at first base; we are looking for him to have a little more consistency on the offensive side. Kyle Brown will enter the year backing up Logan at first back and Peyton Fuller will be backing up Danny at third.
“There is some depth that we haven't had in the past, so hopefully those guys will defend the way we are accustomed to seeing. If they do that, I think we are going to have an excellent club.”
TroyTrojans.com will preview the upcoming season over the next five days with a breakdown of each position group and finally a preview of the weekend series on Thursday.
Sunday - Infield
Monday - Outfield
Tuesday - Catchers / DH
Wednesday - Pitchers
Thursday - Game Preview
The Breakdown:
The Trojans are having to replace one of the best middle infield combos in school history with the departure of shortstop Adam Bryant and second baseman T.J. Rivera – both of which are playing professional baseball.
Troy head coach Bobby Pierce will replace the All-American Bryant with another All American in Tyler Hannah. Hannah slides over from third base to his natural position at short after batting .370 with 27 doubles, seven home runs, 53 RBIs, a .591 slugging percentage and a .477 on-base percentage last season. He finished third in the NCAA with his doubles total and was 26th nationally with 62 runs scored.
Transplanted third baseman Logan Pierce returns to man first base after an impressive sophomore season defensively. Pierce posted a .990 fielding percentage and was named the Louisville Slugger National Hitter of the Week following a 9-for-15 week with 15 RBIs against Auburn and FIU.
Sophomore Danny Collins will step in at third base for Hannah. The transfer from Northwest Florida State College earned junior college All-America honors last year after batting .419 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs.
A trio of players are vying for the spot at second base with sophomore transfer Jakob Nixon leading the way. Also in the mix is first team All-Sun Belt utility player last year Tyson Workman and sophomore Tyler Vaughn.
The Trojans have outstanding depth at all their infield positions with Kyle Brown working at first base, Austin Golden at shortstop and Peyton Fuller at third base.
Pierce Says:
“The combination of Adam (Bryant) and T.J. (Rivera) is rarely seen in college baseball. Replacing that will be a big challenge for us, even with moving Tyler (Hannah) to short. Right now at second base we have three guys working there – Tyson Workman, Jakob Nixon and Tyler Vaughn. All three can contribute and help this team. We are still looking for that right combination to go with Hannah at shortstop.
“Austin Golden will be backing up Tyler at short and has some versatility so he can help us at other spots if needed. Danny Collins will start the year at third base after finishing as the runner up for Florida Junior College Player of the Year last year. He has a chance to be a great offensive player and we are still working to get him to be better defensively.
“Logan (Pierce) had a great year defensively for us last year at first base; we are looking for him to have a little more consistency on the offensive side. Kyle Brown will enter the year backing up Logan at first back and Peyton Fuller will be backing up Danny at third.
“There is some depth that we haven't had in the past, so hopefully those guys will defend the way we are accustomed to seeing. If they do that, I think we are going to have an excellent club.”
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