Troy University Athletics
Thursday, March 28
Hattiesburg, Miss.
6 p.m.
Troy University
at
Southern Miss
Baseball Ventures for SBC Battle with Southern Miss
3/27/2024 3:23:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – After splitting its four-game homestand, Troy heads to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a crucial three-game series against Sun Belt foe Southern Miss from Thursday to Saturday.
Game Information
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss. – Pete Taylor Park
The Matchup: Troy (17-9, 3-3 SBC) at Southern Miss (16-9, 4-2 SBC)
Date: March 28 | March 29 | March 30
Time: 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network – 94.7 FM | TroyTrojans.com
Live Stats: Troy Stats.com
Projected Starting Pitchers (Troy vs. USM)
Game One – Luke Lyon (3-0, 0.67) vs. Niko Mazza (4-1, 4.01)
Game Two – Garrett Gainous (5-5, 3.97) vs. Billy Oldham (3-0, 2.62)
Game Three – TBA vs. Will Armistead (0-1, 4.50)
Headed to Hattiesburg
Troy (17-9, 3-3 SBC) run-ruled Florida A&M 12-2 in eight innings on Tuesday evening at Riddle-Pace Field. The offense continued to hum as Tremayne Cobb Jr led the way for the Trojans, knocking in three runs and crushing a solo home run over the left-field fence. Kyle Mock also had a strong showing, going 3-5 with two RBIs.
The Trojans have now scored eight or more runs in four of their last five games and rank third in the SBC, scoring 8.5 runs per game. Will Butcher added two more RBIs on Tuesday to bring his total to 38, which leads the Sun Belt and is ninth in the nation.
Freshman pitcher Pavlos Piperakis recorded the first win of his collegiate career.
Project Thursday starter Luke Lyon has had an impressive season, going 3-0 with a league-leading 0.62 ERA – which also ranks third in the country. Garrett Gainous is projected to take the bump on Friday night. Saturday's starter is still to be determined.
Troy is 12-22 in the all-time series against Southern Miss. Last season, Troy hosted Southern Miss, who won two out of three. The two teams matched up again in the Sun Belt Tournament in Montgomery, with the Golden Eagles pulling out a 7-6 win.
Southern Miss is coming off a 9-4 midweek win over Tulane on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles picked up one win in its three-game series against Georgia Southern on the road. USM swept Marshall to open its conference play two weeks ago.
The Trojans' offense will face a big test this weekend, as the Golden Eagles' pitching staff is second in the conference in strikeouts per nine innings, second in strikeout-to-walk ratio and fourth in ERA.
Notables
• Ethan Kavanagh took over the Sun Belt Conference with his fifth sac fly over FAMU and ranks seventh in the nation – remains the league leader in hits with 37.
• The Hattiesburg native, Lyon is expected to return to the mound against Southern Miss as the conference leader in ERA (0.62), WHIP (0.72) and hits per nine innings (4.34) – rank third, fifth and 11th in the nation, respectively.
• The Trojans continue to find success against right-handed pitchers after their win over FAMU, where they improved their record to 16-6 in that situation, as opposed to 1-3 against LHP.
• Mock currently rides the longest hitting streak for the Trojans and the longest for him through 2024 at six – also rides a nine-game reached base streak.
• With its 10th victory at Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday, the Trojans now have double-digit wins at home in 51 straight seasons (except Covid season in 2020).
• Mock tapped in his third three-hit game over the last five games for his fifth multi-hit game in 2024.
• Cobb Jr. went 2-for-2 on Tuesday against FAMU with his third homer of 2024. He also tallied three RBIs for his 10th three-RBI game in his career.
• The top of Troy's order has not featured much change, with Myers and Kavanagh locking down the 1-2 spot in all 26 games, while Butcher, Bryan and Cobb in 3-4-5 have been in place for 18 straight games.
• With four HBP, the Trojans improve their record to 12-1 when hit by two or more pitches.
• Troy cycled through six pitchers through eight innings, accumulating seven strikeouts while giving up four hits and two runs – marked the 20th game with seven-plus strikeouts through the bullpen.
• Freshman Piperakis made his first career start and claimed his first win on 1.0 inning pitched, two strikeouts and zero runs given.
• Troy was one walk short (11) of tying the season-high for walks in a game at Indiana (March 10).
Game Information
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss. – Pete Taylor Park
The Matchup: Troy (17-9, 3-3 SBC) at Southern Miss (16-9, 4-2 SBC)
Date: March 28 | March 29 | March 30
Time: 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 1 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network – 94.7 FM | TroyTrojans.com
Live Stats: Troy Stats.com
Projected Starting Pitchers (Troy vs. USM)
Game One – Luke Lyon (3-0, 0.67) vs. Niko Mazza (4-1, 4.01)
Game Two – Garrett Gainous (5-5, 3.97) vs. Billy Oldham (3-0, 2.62)
Game Three – TBA vs. Will Armistead (0-1, 4.50)
Headed to Hattiesburg
Troy (17-9, 3-3 SBC) run-ruled Florida A&M 12-2 in eight innings on Tuesday evening at Riddle-Pace Field. The offense continued to hum as Tremayne Cobb Jr led the way for the Trojans, knocking in three runs and crushing a solo home run over the left-field fence. Kyle Mock also had a strong showing, going 3-5 with two RBIs.
The Trojans have now scored eight or more runs in four of their last five games and rank third in the SBC, scoring 8.5 runs per game. Will Butcher added two more RBIs on Tuesday to bring his total to 38, which leads the Sun Belt and is ninth in the nation.
Freshman pitcher Pavlos Piperakis recorded the first win of his collegiate career.
Project Thursday starter Luke Lyon has had an impressive season, going 3-0 with a league-leading 0.62 ERA – which also ranks third in the country. Garrett Gainous is projected to take the bump on Friday night. Saturday's starter is still to be determined.
Troy is 12-22 in the all-time series against Southern Miss. Last season, Troy hosted Southern Miss, who won two out of three. The two teams matched up again in the Sun Belt Tournament in Montgomery, with the Golden Eagles pulling out a 7-6 win.
Southern Miss is coming off a 9-4 midweek win over Tulane on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles picked up one win in its three-game series against Georgia Southern on the road. USM swept Marshall to open its conference play two weeks ago.
The Trojans' offense will face a big test this weekend, as the Golden Eagles' pitching staff is second in the conference in strikeouts per nine innings, second in strikeout-to-walk ratio and fourth in ERA.
Notables
• Ethan Kavanagh took over the Sun Belt Conference with his fifth sac fly over FAMU and ranks seventh in the nation – remains the league leader in hits with 37.
• The Hattiesburg native, Lyon is expected to return to the mound against Southern Miss as the conference leader in ERA (0.62), WHIP (0.72) and hits per nine innings (4.34) – rank third, fifth and 11th in the nation, respectively.
• The Trojans continue to find success against right-handed pitchers after their win over FAMU, where they improved their record to 16-6 in that situation, as opposed to 1-3 against LHP.
• Mock currently rides the longest hitting streak for the Trojans and the longest for him through 2024 at six – also rides a nine-game reached base streak.
• With its 10th victory at Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday, the Trojans now have double-digit wins at home in 51 straight seasons (except Covid season in 2020).
• Mock tapped in his third three-hit game over the last five games for his fifth multi-hit game in 2024.
• Cobb Jr. went 2-for-2 on Tuesday against FAMU with his third homer of 2024. He also tallied three RBIs for his 10th three-RBI game in his career.
• The top of Troy's order has not featured much change, with Myers and Kavanagh locking down the 1-2 spot in all 26 games, while Butcher, Bryan and Cobb in 3-4-5 have been in place for 18 straight games.
• With four HBP, the Trojans improve their record to 12-1 when hit by two or more pitches.
• Troy cycled through six pitchers through eight innings, accumulating seven strikeouts while giving up four hits and two runs – marked the 20th game with seven-plus strikeouts through the bullpen.
• Freshman Piperakis made his first career start and claimed his first win on 1.0 inning pitched, two strikeouts and zero runs given.
• Troy was one walk short (11) of tying the season-high for walks in a game at Indiana (March 10).
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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LHP
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