Sean Trawick

Staff Writer

The Troy Trojans will look to continue their strong play this weekend as they travel to play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in a match-up of two conference foes fighting for a chance at the coveted Sun Belt title.
Troy is coming off a weekend series that saw them take two out of three games against the Florida International Panthers, a team that currently owns one of the worst conference records in the Sun Belt.
However, Troy head coach Bobby Pierce doesn’t believe the numbers match up well with the talent level of the Panthers.
“When you dig a little bit into their numbers, this is a team that has very similar offensive numbers as Florida Atlantic,” Pierce said, referring to one of the top-ranked offenses in the nation.
The only time that offense really hurt the Trojans was on Saturday, when they lost 9-1.
The rest of the weekend went fairly smoothly for Troy as they were able to pound out dozens of hits and several home runs to win the other two games.
“We got the series win,” Pierce said. “We’ve won five of our last six conference games now, and I’m still patiently waiting for a real hot streak to come.”
“I think this team has one in it, but our schedule is still pretty tough,” he added.
The Trojans were able to put another tough game behind them on Tuesday, as Troy played host to its long-time in-state rival Jacksonville State.
The Gamecocks traveled to Troy hoping to keep their record above the .500 mark, but the Trojans weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to embarrass their long-time foes.
The Trojans got their offense going early and never let up as they were able to score runs in every inning except the eighth.
Troy posted 15 runs, the second-most this season, and 21 hits, tied for most this season.
“This is certainly a good win for a team that’s looking to get on a roll,” Pierce said.
The win was the sixth for the Trojans in their last eight games.
After last weekend’s series, Troy right fielder Clint Robinson was named as the Sun Belt Player of the Week after leading the Trojan offense for most of the past three weeks.
“I’m not going up there trying to do too much,” Robinson said. “I think it’s been good taking the pressure off the guys in front of me. It makes them relax a little bit, knowing that if they get on base I have the ability to drive them in.”
Through his hot hitting, Robinson tied a Sun Belt Conference record with six straight games with a home run.
Over his past eight games, Robinson has accumulated 12 runs and 24 RBI on 17 hits, including seven home runs.
“We’re starting to put better swings on the ball, and the batters are starting to heat up,” Pierce said.
Troy will hope to keep those bats going this weekend against the Hilltoppers.
“Last year we played extremely well at that park,” Pierce said. “It’s a big park, but the ball carries, and that’s a good combination for our hitters.”
“We had a lot of success there as we scored a lot and swept the season series from them. And we swept the conference tournament that was played there last year,” Pierce added.
First pitch for the Trojans is scheduled Friday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m.
All games will be carried via the Trojan Radio Network, with Barry McKnight covering each game.