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Troy Baseball Begins Practice for 2016 Season
1/29/2016 5:39:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team held its first spring practice under first year head coach Mark Smartt on Friday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field.
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"Our kids are excited and our coaches are excited." Smartt said. "For me it's the first step towards a long journey that will start three weeks from today."
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Troy, who finished second in the Sun Belt Conference regular season in 2015, returns 18 lettermen.
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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.
The Trojans return a pair of sophomore position players that had great freshmen years in outfielder Reid Long and infielder Matt Sanders.
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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.
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The Trojans open up their season with a four game series against Northern Kentucky, beginning on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.
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Season tickets and single-game tickets are available for purchase by contacting the Troy ticket office at 877-878-WINS, online at TroyTrojans.com.
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For more information on Troy baseball, as well as all of Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.
Â
"Our kids are excited and our coaches are excited." Smartt said. "For me it's the first step towards a long journey that will start three weeks from today."
Â
Troy, who finished second in the Sun Belt Conference regular season in 2015, returns 18 lettermen.
Â
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.
The Trojans return a pair of sophomore position players that had great freshmen years in outfielder Reid Long and infielder Matt Sanders.
Â
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.
Â
The Trojans open up their season with a four game series against Northern Kentucky, beginning on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.
Â
Season tickets and single-game tickets are available for purchase by contacting the Troy ticket office at 877-878-WINS, online at TroyTrojans.com.
Â
For more information on Troy baseball, as well as all of Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.
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