Troy Heads Out on Rivalry Road Trip

TROY, Ala. – Troy baseball is set for a pair of in-state rivalry, midweek matchups Tuesday and Wednesday as the Trojans head north to face UAB and Jacksonville State, respectively. The squad will meet the Blazers at Regions Field Tuesday night at 6:30 then the Gamecocks Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The trip starts in downtown Birmingham, as Troy (9-6) and UAB (9-7) will clash for their first of two matchups this season. Historically, the rivals will meet for the 55^th time after splitting the first 54 meetings at an even 27-27.

The Trojans are coming off a sweep of in-state foe North Alabama this past weekend at Riddle-Pace Field. After walking a total of 18 batters in the previous two games coming into the series, Troy pitching buckled down and had its most impressive series to-date. Starting with Levi Thomas' near no-hitter in game one, the Trojans starters pitched 19.2 innings, striking out 20 batters and allowing just two runs – both unearned.

Looking to keep that momentum going are RHP Sadler Goodwin and LHP Taylor Pridgen who will make the starts in the two midweek contests. Goodwin was solid in his last appearance as he went five innings and gave up just three runs – two earned – on four hits but took the hard-luck loss against No. 21 Tennessee in Hoover.

A freshman, Pridgen will make his first career start on the mound as Troy looks to avenge its earlier loss to Jax State (7-10). The Gamecocks scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to seal a 9-7 victory against the Trojans at Riddle-Pace Field on Feb. 27.

At the plate, Troy boasts five players above the .300 batting average threshold – including Goodwin, Rigsby Mosley, Drew Frederic, Chase Smartt and Hunter Mercer. Frederic leads the team with a 1.038 OPS (.431/.607) and with 14 runs scored on the season.

SCOUTING THE BLAZERS
UAB enters the midweek after dropping four straight games – one at Alabama and three at Ole Miss. The Blazers are led statistically by J Paul Fullerton who is batting at a .423 clip with five doubles and three homers.

BROADCAST INFO (Tuesday)
Online: CUSATV.com
Radio: WTBF 94.7
Online: TroyTrojans.com
Live Stats: TroyStats.com

UAB SERIES HISTORY
UAB (9-7, 0-0 CUSA)
Overall Series: 27-27
Streak: Troy W2
Last: March 13, 2018
Troy won, 4-1 (at Regions Field)

PITCHING MATCHUP (Troy v. UAB)
RHP Sadler Goodwin (0-1, 6.75) v. RHP Tyler Gates (0-0, 5.23)

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
Jax State won its Ohio Valley Conference-opening series against Eastern Illinois, taking two of three on the weekend. Nic Gaddis leads the Gamecocks offense with a .338 batting average and four round-trippers.

BROADCAST INFO (Wednesday)
Online: ESPN+
Radio: WTBF 94.7
Online: TroyTrojans.com
Live Stats: TroyStats.com

JSU SERIES HISTORY
Jacksonville State (7-10, 2-1 OVC)
Overall Series: 85-59
Streak: JSU W1
Last: February 27, 2019
JSU won, 9-7 (at Troy)

PITCHING MATCHUP (Troy v. Jacksonville State)
LHP Taylor Pridgen (0-0, 22.50) v. TBA

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Players Mentioned

Drew Frederic

Sadler Goodwin

Hunter Mercer

Rigsby Mosley

Taylor Pridgen

Chase Smartt

Levi Thomas

Troy University Athletics