Troy University Athletics
Logan Pierce
Troy Baseball Opens Sun Belt Conference Play at South Alabama
3/15/2012 11:08:00 AM | Baseball
GAME NOTES | VIDEO STREAM | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATISTICS | E-MAIL RADIO CREW
TROY, Ala. – The defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy baseball team begins the defense of its title this weekend with a three-game Sun Belt series at in-state rival South Alabama. First pitch from Stanky Field is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Both teams enter the opening weekend of conference play looking to rebound from disappointing weekends. Troy (8-7) defeated East Carolina last Wednesday, but then dropped two-of-three to defending Northeast Conference champion Monmouth over the weekend. South Alabama (4-12), who is under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Calvi, was swept at North Florida last weekend.
Four of Troy's seven losses this season have come by two or fewer runs while five of the Jaguars' 12 losses have come by one run.
All three games will be broadcast live on the Troy IMG Sports Network with local coverage on 94.7 FM and worldwide coverage on TroyTrojans.com or via the Tune-In Radio app on your smartphone by searching for WTBF-FM. Fans can also follow the action on TroyTrojans.com with live stats.
Fridays have been dubbed “T-Ray Friday” in Troy as senior All-America Tyler Ray will make his 51st career start and 32nd on Friday night. Ray (2-0, 0.98) leads all active pitchers in the NCAA with 29 career victories and has won 14 straight decisions. The right-hander enters Friday's game without allowing a walk over 22 consecutive innings and has only reached three balls in a count against 13-of-109 batters faced.
The Jaguars shuffled their rotation around this weekend and will send senior left-hander Phillip Byrd (1-0, 2.25) to the hill on Friday night for his first weekend start of the season. Byrd held Southern Mississippi to three runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings back on March 6. Junior right-hander Jarron Cito (1-1, 4.79), who had started all four Friday games this season, will get the call on Saturday.
Sophomore southpaw Jimmy Hodgskin (1-1, 4.81) will look to continue his success away from home on Saturday for the Trojans. Hodgskin, who posted a 2.13 ERA over two starts and 12.2 innings last season against the Jaguars, has a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings in two road starts at Southern Miss and Bethune-Cookman and opponents are batting just .204 against him in those starts.
Sunday's matchup will feature a pair of junior right-handers as Cass Abercrombie (1-0, 2.25) will start for Troy and Anthony Izzio (2-0, 1.32) will start for South Alabama. Abercrombie held East Carolina to just two runs on three hits over six innings last Wednesday, while Izzio enters the weekend fourth in the Sun Belt in ERA and third holding opponents to a .183 batting average.
Logan Pierce turned in a hot week at the plate for the Trojans as he batted .474 (9-of-19) with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Tyler Hannah leads Troy with a .385 batting average on the season and ranks 19th nationally with his .560 on-base percentage. Danny Collins leads the Trojans with nine extra-base hits and ranks 28th nationally with seven doubles, while the Trojans are 26th nationally as a team in the category with 35.
Whitt Dorsey leads the Jaguars batting at a .318 clip on the season and is the only regular starter hitting over .300 heading into conference play. Jordan Patterson provides the power in the South Alabama lineup with five doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs to go along with a .286 batting average.
For complete coverage of Trojan baseball, follow @adprende_TROY and @Troy_Baseball1 on Twitter and become fans of the Trojans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
TROY, Ala. – The defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy baseball team begins the defense of its title this weekend with a three-game Sun Belt series at in-state rival South Alabama. First pitch from Stanky Field is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Both teams enter the opening weekend of conference play looking to rebound from disappointing weekends. Troy (8-7) defeated East Carolina last Wednesday, but then dropped two-of-three to defending Northeast Conference champion Monmouth over the weekend. South Alabama (4-12), who is under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Calvi, was swept at North Florida last weekend.
Four of Troy's seven losses this season have come by two or fewer runs while five of the Jaguars' 12 losses have come by one run.
All three games will be broadcast live on the Troy IMG Sports Network with local coverage on 94.7 FM and worldwide coverage on TroyTrojans.com or via the Tune-In Radio app on your smartphone by searching for WTBF-FM. Fans can also follow the action on TroyTrojans.com with live stats.
Fridays have been dubbed “T-Ray Friday” in Troy as senior All-America Tyler Ray will make his 51st career start and 32nd on Friday night. Ray (2-0, 0.98) leads all active pitchers in the NCAA with 29 career victories and has won 14 straight decisions. The right-hander enters Friday's game without allowing a walk over 22 consecutive innings and has only reached three balls in a count against 13-of-109 batters faced.
The Jaguars shuffled their rotation around this weekend and will send senior left-hander Phillip Byrd (1-0, 2.25) to the hill on Friday night for his first weekend start of the season. Byrd held Southern Mississippi to three runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings back on March 6. Junior right-hander Jarron Cito (1-1, 4.79), who had started all four Friday games this season, will get the call on Saturday.
Sophomore southpaw Jimmy Hodgskin (1-1, 4.81) will look to continue his success away from home on Saturday for the Trojans. Hodgskin, who posted a 2.13 ERA over two starts and 12.2 innings last season against the Jaguars, has a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings in two road starts at Southern Miss and Bethune-Cookman and opponents are batting just .204 against him in those starts.
Sunday's matchup will feature a pair of junior right-handers as Cass Abercrombie (1-0, 2.25) will start for Troy and Anthony Izzio (2-0, 1.32) will start for South Alabama. Abercrombie held East Carolina to just two runs on three hits over six innings last Wednesday, while Izzio enters the weekend fourth in the Sun Belt in ERA and third holding opponents to a .183 batting average.
Logan Pierce turned in a hot week at the plate for the Trojans as he batted .474 (9-of-19) with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Tyler Hannah leads Troy with a .385 batting average on the season and ranks 19th nationally with his .560 on-base percentage. Danny Collins leads the Trojans with nine extra-base hits and ranks 28th nationally with seven doubles, while the Trojans are 26th nationally as a team in the category with 35.
Whitt Dorsey leads the Jaguars batting at a .318 clip on the season and is the only regular starter hitting over .300 heading into conference play. Jordan Patterson provides the power in the South Alabama lineup with five doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs to go along with a .286 batting average.
For complete coverage of Trojan baseball, follow @adprende_TROY and @Troy_Baseball1 on Twitter and become fans of the Trojans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
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