Troy University Athletics
Nate Hill
Photo by: Dr. James Robinson, WKU Athletic Media Relations
Troy Baseball Opens Fall Practice Saturday
9/21/2012 11:34:00 AM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – The Troy University baseball team opens fall practice on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans will go through 30 full-team practice sessions and play an exhibition game against the Ontario Blue Jays on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m.
“Everybody is excited to get back on the field as a team,” head coach Bobby Pierce said. “We got the mile-run in yesterday and everybody passed the six-minute test. We've got a pretty high number of new players coming in, especially on the mound, but they have mixed in well with the returning players and everyone is on the same page.”
The Trojans will practice every day with the exception of Monday next week leading up to the first intrasquad matchup of the fall Friday, Oct. 28. For the remainder of fall practice, Troy will intrasquad each Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Adding the Tuesday intrasquad game will be new for us this year, but with the number of new players we have this year it gives us another opportunity to evaluate them in a game environment,” Pierce said. “It also gets the guys used to a schedule that we will see most of the time in the spring.”
The Trojans return nine position players who started at least 24 games last season, including first team All-Sun Belt first baseman Logan Pierce and the Most Valuable Player of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) in third baseman Danny Collins.
Pierce, a senior, hit .341 with 18 doubles, five home runs and 47 RBIs last season for the Trojans. He finished third in the Sun Belt with 51 runs scored and was fourth with 43 walks and a .444 on-base percentage. Collins, who hit 12 home runs for the Trojans last season as a sophomore, set four NECBL single-season records with 19 home runs, an .818 slugging percentage, 29 extra-base hits and 130 total bases this summer.
CoSIDA Academic All-American second baseman Tyler Vaughn returns for his junior season after batting at a .305 clip with 13 doubles and a .986 fielding percentage last season. Designated hitter Jakob Nixon; catchers Jake Harrell and Brandon Brown; and outfielders Chase Mathis, Jo-El Bennett and Clay Holcomb all return for the Trojans after receiving significant playing time a season ago.
“The returning guys have looked good,” Pierce said. “They have been leading the right way, working the right way and transferred their progress from one year to the next.”
Troy returns two of its three weekend starters from last year in Ryan Brady and Joe Hernandez in addition to the top one-two bullpen combo in the Sun Belt in Thomas Austin and Nate Hill.
Austin finished third in the Sun Belt last season with a 2.80 ERA while finishing second in the league in appearances with 32 behind Hill's 35. Hill finished the season 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA and dominated in the Sun Belt Tournament; the southpaw combined to pitch 7.2 innings in back-to-back days and allowed just two hits and struck out nine against Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee.
“Nate and Tom are a great place for us to start when we are taking about our pitching staff,” Pierce said. “Another great thing is where Shane McCain and Ryan Sorce are after coming off their surgeries last year. Both have looked very good and should quickly work their way back to the starting rotation where they both have experience.
“Matt Howard looks like the guy who has the track record of being the two-time Fireman of the Year (top closer in the conference) and looks like he will add depth to what Tom and Nate have done,” Pierce said. “There is a lot of excitement about this pitching staff and there are two or three candidates among the new players to help with the starting rotation. I'm looking forward to the next five weekends to see what roles the new guys will fit in.”
Hernandez was shifted from the bullpen into a starting role midway through the season and responded with a pair of Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week performances. Brady, who also moved from the pen into a starting role, started 12 games for the Trojans and combined for a pair of shutouts, including a 9-0 victory over Alabama.
For complete coverage of Trojan baseball, follow @Troy_Baseball1 on Twitter and become fans of the Trojans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
“Everybody is excited to get back on the field as a team,” head coach Bobby Pierce said. “We got the mile-run in yesterday and everybody passed the six-minute test. We've got a pretty high number of new players coming in, especially on the mound, but they have mixed in well with the returning players and everyone is on the same page.”
The Trojans will practice every day with the exception of Monday next week leading up to the first intrasquad matchup of the fall Friday, Oct. 28. For the remainder of fall practice, Troy will intrasquad each Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Adding the Tuesday intrasquad game will be new for us this year, but with the number of new players we have this year it gives us another opportunity to evaluate them in a game environment,” Pierce said. “It also gets the guys used to a schedule that we will see most of the time in the spring.”
The Trojans return nine position players who started at least 24 games last season, including first team All-Sun Belt first baseman Logan Pierce and the Most Valuable Player of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) in third baseman Danny Collins.
Pierce, a senior, hit .341 with 18 doubles, five home runs and 47 RBIs last season for the Trojans. He finished third in the Sun Belt with 51 runs scored and was fourth with 43 walks and a .444 on-base percentage. Collins, who hit 12 home runs for the Trojans last season as a sophomore, set four NECBL single-season records with 19 home runs, an .818 slugging percentage, 29 extra-base hits and 130 total bases this summer.
CoSIDA Academic All-American second baseman Tyler Vaughn returns for his junior season after batting at a .305 clip with 13 doubles and a .986 fielding percentage last season. Designated hitter Jakob Nixon; catchers Jake Harrell and Brandon Brown; and outfielders Chase Mathis, Jo-El Bennett and Clay Holcomb all return for the Trojans after receiving significant playing time a season ago.
“The returning guys have looked good,” Pierce said. “They have been leading the right way, working the right way and transferred their progress from one year to the next.”
Troy returns two of its three weekend starters from last year in Ryan Brady and Joe Hernandez in addition to the top one-two bullpen combo in the Sun Belt in Thomas Austin and Nate Hill.
Austin finished third in the Sun Belt last season with a 2.80 ERA while finishing second in the league in appearances with 32 behind Hill's 35. Hill finished the season 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA and dominated in the Sun Belt Tournament; the southpaw combined to pitch 7.2 innings in back-to-back days and allowed just two hits and struck out nine against Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee.
“Nate and Tom are a great place for us to start when we are taking about our pitching staff,” Pierce said. “Another great thing is where Shane McCain and Ryan Sorce are after coming off their surgeries last year. Both have looked very good and should quickly work their way back to the starting rotation where they both have experience.
“Matt Howard looks like the guy who has the track record of being the two-time Fireman of the Year (top closer in the conference) and looks like he will add depth to what Tom and Nate have done,” Pierce said. “There is a lot of excitement about this pitching staff and there are two or three candidates among the new players to help with the starting rotation. I'm looking forward to the next five weekends to see what roles the new guys will fit in.”
Hernandez was shifted from the bullpen into a starting role midway through the season and responded with a pair of Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week performances. Brady, who also moved from the pen into a starting role, started 12 games for the Trojans and combined for a pair of shutouts, including a 9-0 victory over Alabama.
For complete coverage of Trojan baseball, follow @Troy_Baseball1 on Twitter and become fans of the Trojans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
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