Baseball Takes on No. 12 Auburn in Mid-Week Clash

MADISON, Ala. – Fresh off its series victory at Indiana this past weekend, Troy stops over in Madison, Ala., for a neutral site showdown with No. 12 Auburn at Toyota Field, home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, before opening Sun Belt Conference play this weekend at ULM.

What: Troy (12-5) at No. 12 Auburn (12-3)
Date: March 12
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Madison, Ala.
Radio: Troy Sports Radio Network - 94.7 FM | TroyTrojans.com
TV: YouTube (@RocketCityTrashPandas)
Tickets: TroyTrojans.com/TrashPandas

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS (Troy vs. Auburn)
RHP Garrett Gainous (1-0, 1.69) vs. RHP Conner McBride (2-0, 2.63)

Troy (12-5) has fared well during the mid-week this season, winning 3-of-4, with the loss coming less than a week ago in an 8-7 setback at No. 13 Alabama. Auburn (12-3) won 2-of-3 against Austin Peay over the weekend and are 3-0 in mid-week games against Samford, Air Force and UAB this season.

Garrett Gainous (1-0, 1.69) will get the start for the Trojans as he continues to ramp up his pitch count, coming off an injury that cost him the entire 2023 season. He struck out three and did not allow an earned run (two unearned) in 2.2 innings at Alabama last Wednesday.

Auburn will counter with Conner McBride (2-0, 2.63), who has started all three of the Tigers' mid-week games this season. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in all three of his starts, with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings.

The series between the schools has been even the last 10 meetings, with each side winning five after Troy's 8-7 victory at Plainsman Park in 2023. Tuesday's matchup is the first at a neutral site since a 4-3 Trojan victory over the Tigers in 2016 in Pensacola.

Troy scored 30 runs during its 3-game set at Indiana, which was picked to finish second in the Big Ten after making an NCAA Regional final last year. The Trojans have scored the 15^th most runs in the country this season and have topped the 10-run mark 10 times already through the first 17 games.

Notable
• Troy has scored 10-plus runs 10 times through the first 17 games of the season; the Trojans reached double-digit runs 18 times in 62 games last season.

• Shane Lewis' second home run in Sunday's finale at Indiana registered at 475 feet via Trackman ... of Troy's 26 homers that have Trackman data, eight have been hit 400-plus feet, including all three of Lewis'.

• Troy has hit 7-plus home runs in three of its four weekend series; not surprisingly, those are the three series the Trojans have won.

• Troy's bullpen has not allowed an earned run in seven games this season; the pen has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 games.

• Troy enters the week ranked among the nation's leaders in multiple categories - sac flies (7), walks (8), home runs (13), runs scored (15), doubles (16), on-base percentage (19), hit by pitch (26), hits (26), slugging pct. (27) and batting average (45).

• Individually, Will Butcher leads the country with 33 RBIs through the first 17 games of the season; he already has a 9 RBI game and a 6 RBI game.

• Brooks Bryan ranks fifth nationally with four sac flies, Luke Lyon is fourth with a 0.59 WHIP and third, allowing 2.86 hits per nine innings, Kole Myers is seventh in runs scored and Will Butcher is eighth in doubles.

• Kole Myers enters the week ranked 12th in the country with a 1.44 (Wins Above Replacement); third-ranked center fielder. He is 11th with 1.38 offensive wins above replacement.

• Ethan Kavanagh ranks third nationally among second basemen with a 1.2 WAR, while Will Butcher ranks 20th among first basemen with a 0.99 WAR.

• Shortstop Tremayne Cobb Jr. ranked 15th nationally and third among shortstops, with 3.51 defensive runs saved, entering the week ... eight of the top 14 players are catchers.

• Troy's current 12-game road trip is the longest since ending the 1997 season with 12 straight games on the road (also included the NCAA Tournament) ... this is the longest in-season road stretch since a 13-game run in 1992 (only two of those games were true road games, with 11 at neutral sites).

• Troy has hit multiple home runs in 10 of its last 13 games, including three-plus home runs in five different games.

• Troy pitchers have allowed two or fewer extra-base hits in 10 of the last 15 games; in contrast, Troy hitters have collected three or more extra-base hits in 12 of its 17 games and have four EBH or more in nine games.

• Troy has scored 6-plus runs in an inning six times this season.

• Among active DI players, Will Butcher ranks fifth in career RBIs (165), eighth in games played (195) and 22nd in home runs (35). Shane Lewis is 18th in slugging percentage (.667), Tremayne Cobb Jr. checks in 25th in career stolen bases (51) and Noah Manning is 23rd in saves (12).

• Troy closer Noah Manning has held opponents without an earned run in 14 of his last 16 appearances, pitching to a 1.35 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 20.0 innings.

• Troy batters have been hit by multiple pitches in 9-of-17 games ... coupled with walks, the Trojans are averaging 8.76 free base runners per game. Troy drew double-digit walks in both ends of the Sunday doubleheader at Indiana; it was the third time this season that the Trojans had walked 10-plus times in a game (Harvard G1).

Baseball Takes on No. 12 Auburn in Mid-Week Clash

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Players Mentioned

Brooks Bryan

Will Butcher

Tremayne Cobb Jr.

Garrett Gainous

Ethan Kavanagh

Shane Lewis

Luke Lyon

Noah Manning

Kole Myers

Troy University Athletics