Baseball Opens Sun Belt Tournament Wednesday Morning

Wednesday, May 22

Conway, S.C.

8 a.m.

Troy University

Little Rock

Baseball Opens Sun Belt Tournament Wednesday Morning

5/21/2019 1:55:00 PM | Baseball

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Alabama – It will be breakfast at the ballpark to open the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament for Troy as the sixth-seeded Trojans take on No. 3 Little Rock at 8 a.m. (CT) Wednesday at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.

Troy (29-27, 16-14) enters the Sun Belt Tournament having won seven of its final eight series of the year after opening league play 0-5; the Trojans' lone series loss came at Little Rock (28-26, 18-11) despite Troy outscoring Little Rock 17-13 in the three games.

Troy assured itself of a spot in the double-elimination portion of the tournament after doing what it does best, winning a series over in-state rival South Alabama. After the Jags took the opener, the Trojans won the final two games by a 16-4 margin to push their rival to Tuesday's play-in round of the Sun Belt Tournament – it marked Troy's fifth series win in the last six meetings against South Alabama and ninth in the last 12.

Second Team All-Sun Belt selection Cory Gill (7-3, 4.24) will get the ball on Wednesday morning for Troy and has been steady over his nine starts after opening the season as Troy's closer. Gill is 7-2 with a 4.14 ERA as a starter; he allowed four runs – three earned – over six innings at Little Rock earlier in the year.

Troy brings some of the nation's hottest bats to Conway led by senior catcher Chase Smartt, who was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team. Smartt is batting at a .430 clip with 14 doubles, five home runs and a .477 slugging percentage over the last 19 games; he ranks 16^thnationally with 21 doubles on the season.

As a team, Troy is batting .308 with a .557 slugging percentage, 56 doubles, eight triples and 32 home runs over that 19-game period. Rigsby Mosley is fifth in the league batting at a .343 clip, Sadler Goodwin is second in the Sun Belt with 52 RBIs and Drew Frederic is third in the league with 73 hits and fourth with 18 stolen bases – all three Trojans were named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team.

The back of Troy's bullpen has been a strength led by Lance Johnson and Rush Hixon. Johnson ranks sixth nationally with 33 appearances on the year while Hixon is 45^thwith 28 relief appearances. Johnson leads Troy with a 2.96 ERA on the year while Hixon is tied with Gill for the team lead with five saves.

Scouting Little Rock
Little Rock won seven of its last eight games including a series sweep of Arkansas State, who finished 11^thin the Sun Belt, and taking 2-of-3 from regular season champion Texas State. The Trojans will send All-Sun Belt First Teamer Chandler Fidel (5-2, 2.99) to the mound against Troy; the southpaw struck out 12 Troy batters and limited the Trojans to three runs on seven hits in 8.2 innings during the regular season. Little Rock's other All-Sun Belt pick came in the form of designated hitter Riley Pittman who hit .352 with 10 doubles and eight home runs.

BROADCAST INFO
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Radio: WTBF 94.7 FM
Online: TroyTrojans.com/Showcase
Live Stats: TroyStats.com