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Photo by: Joshua Thurston
Troy Baseball Ready to Begin Fall Practice
9/24/2015 1:30:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team will begin fall practice at 3 p.m. on Friday at Riddle-Pace Field in preparation for the 2016 season.
"My responsibility is to be very organized and efficient with our time," first-year head coach Mark Smartt said. "Our coaches have done a great job with the individual work that we've done to this point. Now we'll focus on the team concept, which includes competition and our overall plan. That's our main focus for this fall."
The Trojans feature 19 newcomers, including 10 true freshmen. However the team has 19 returners from last season.
Among those returning are two senior All-Sun Belt pitchers in Grant Bennett and Lucas Brown. Bennett finished the season with a 3.12 ERA and a 9-4 record. The Hazel Green, Ala., native led the team with 106.2 innings pitched and 84 strikeouts, including a team-high 14 against Georgia Southern. Brown led the team with a 2.85 ERA and finished second on the team with six wins and 60 strikeouts, including nine against Alabama A&M.
Sophomore pitcher Corey Childress was Troy's first freshman opening night starter, when he toed the rubber against Northwestern State. In his collegiate debut against the Demons, he only allowed two hits in seven innings and struck out five. Childress closed out the year third on the team with 45 strikeouts in 64 innings.
Junior pitcher Marc Skinner had a phenomenal freshman campaign and was named Louisville Slugger All-American and NCBWA Freshman All-American, along with Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. Skinner finished the year with 21 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched and only allowed two hits in his last 10 innings pitched. The Phenix City, Ala., native participated in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer and helped lead his team to the championship game.
The Trojans return a pair of sophomore position players that had great freshmen years in outfielder Reid Long and infielder Matt Sanders.
Long, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, batted .275 with nine doubles, a team-high six triples, eight home runs and 30 RBIs in 2015. Sanders finished the year with nine doubles and 21 RBIs. In his first collegiate series Sanders went 9-for-19 with seven RBIs -- five in one game -- a triple and a home run.
After Friday's practice, the Trojans will have a pair of intrasquad scrimmages on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public.
Troy looks ahead to hosting the Ontario Blue Jays, a high-level, high school summer baseball program on Sunday, October 18 at noon.
For more information on Troy baseball, visit TroyTrojans,com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyTrojansBSB.
"My responsibility is to be very organized and efficient with our time," first-year head coach Mark Smartt said. "Our coaches have done a great job with the individual work that we've done to this point. Now we'll focus on the team concept, which includes competition and our overall plan. That's our main focus for this fall."
The Trojans feature 19 newcomers, including 10 true freshmen. However the team has 19 returners from last season.
Among those returning are two senior All-Sun Belt pitchers in Grant Bennett and Lucas Brown. Bennett finished the season with a 3.12 ERA and a 9-4 record. The Hazel Green, Ala., native led the team with 106.2 innings pitched and 84 strikeouts, including a team-high 14 against Georgia Southern. Brown led the team with a 2.85 ERA and finished second on the team with six wins and 60 strikeouts, including nine against Alabama A&M.
Sophomore pitcher Corey Childress was Troy's first freshman opening night starter, when he toed the rubber against Northwestern State. In his collegiate debut against the Demons, he only allowed two hits in seven innings and struck out five. Childress closed out the year third on the team with 45 strikeouts in 64 innings.
Junior pitcher Marc Skinner had a phenomenal freshman campaign and was named Louisville Slugger All-American and NCBWA Freshman All-American, along with Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. Skinner finished the year with 21 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched and only allowed two hits in his last 10 innings pitched. The Phenix City, Ala., native participated in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer and helped lead his team to the championship game.
The Trojans return a pair of sophomore position players that had great freshmen years in outfielder Reid Long and infielder Matt Sanders.
Long, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, batted .275 with nine doubles, a team-high six triples, eight home runs and 30 RBIs in 2015. Sanders finished the year with nine doubles and 21 RBIs. In his first collegiate series Sanders went 9-for-19 with seven RBIs -- five in one game -- a triple and a home run.
After Friday's practice, the Trojans will have a pair of intrasquad scrimmages on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public.
Troy looks ahead to hosting the Ontario Blue Jays, a high-level, high school summer baseball program on Sunday, October 18 at noon.
For more information on Troy baseball, visit TroyTrojans,com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyTrojansBSB.
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