Troy Travels to Pensacola for Cox Diamond Invitational

Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes

TROY, Alabama – Winners in four of its last five games, the Troy baseball team hits the road to Pensacola, Fla., this weekend for the Cox Diamond Invitational at Blue Wahoo Stadium, home of the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Troy will take on Seton Hall at 2 p.m. Friday, South Alabama in a non-conference game on Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing the event with a 3 p.m. tilt against Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday. Saturday's game against South Alabama will be televised live by Cox Sports Television.

The Trojans (5-3) are coming off a 4-2 victory at in-state rival UAB on Tuesday night following a series win at New Orleans last weekend. Trevor Davis provided the offensive spark for Troy with a 3-run homer in the first inning against the Blazers, while Austin Crook tossed 6.2 dominant innings on the mound.

Davis' home run was Troy's sixth of the season through just eight games; Troy didn't hit its sixth home run until its 16^th game last season. Chase Smartt has two of those long balls for the Trojans and is 8-for-19 at the plate over the past five games, while Brandon Lockridge has hit safely in all eight games this season with multiple hits in five of those contests.

Troy will turn to junior right-hander Daren Osby (1-1, 5.06) on the mound in the opener Friday night. He started game three of the series against Xavier and picked up the win in game one at New Orleans out of the bullpen.

Evan Hebert (0-0, 1.54) and Houston Mabray (1-0, 0.77) will get the call in the final two games, respectively. The pair have combined to allow just 18 hits and three earned runs, while striking out 22 and walking nine over 23.1 innings of work this season.

Troy's starters have received outstanding support from their teammates in the bullpen as the Trojan pen has combined for a 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and four saves with a .237 opponent batting average.

Seton Hall (3-4) won 38 games last season out of the Big East and has a pair of victories over Michigan and one over San Diego State on the young season. South Alabama (5-3) rebounded from a series sweep at Baylor to knock off New Orleans in the mid-week, while Southeastern Louisiana (4-4) dropped a pair of mid-week games at Vanderbilt after taking two of three from Rice last weekend.

Troy took 2-of-3 from Southeastern Louisiana last season in Hammond, while the Trojans also won 2-of-3 against South Alabama last year. Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting on the diamond between Troy and Seton Hall.

BROADCAST INFO
TV: Cox Sports Television (Saturday)
Online: None
Radio: WTBF 94.7 FM (Friday | Sunday); WTBF 970 AM (Saturday)
Online: TroyTrojans.com
Live Stats: TroyStats.com

SERIES HISTORY
Troy (5-3) v. Seton Hall (3-4)
Overall Series: First Meeting

Troy (5-3) v. South Alabama (5-3)
Overall Series: USA leads 42-37

Troy (5-3) v. Southeastern Louisiana (4-4)
Overall Series: Troy leads 7-4

PITCHING MATCHUPS
(Troy v. Seton Hall)
RHP Daren Osby (1-1, 5.06) v. RHP Shane McCarthy (0-1, 13.50)

(Troy v. South Alabama)
LHP Evan Hebert (0-0, 1.54) v. LHP Thomas Huston (0-0, 0.00)

(Troy v. Southeastern Louisiana)
RHP Houston Mabray (1-0, 0.77) v. TBA

Troy Travels to Pensacola for Cox Diamond Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austin Crook

Trevor Davis

Evan Hebert

Brandon Lockridge

Houston Mabray

Daren Osby

Chase Smartt

Troy University Athletics