Troy looks to extend streak against ULL

By: Patrick Bryan

The Trojans carry a nine-game conference win streak into this weekend's three-game series against Louisiana Lafayette at Riddle-Pace Field.

Troy (24-13, 11-5) has historically struggled against the ULL Ragin' Cajuns.

'We have never swept, and to my knowledge, have never won a series against them,' said Bobby Pierce, Troy head coach.

The Trojans are looking to reverse past fortune and keep two streaks alive.

Like the Trojans, the Cajuns are also riding a streak into this weekend's series.

ULL has lost its last six conference games.

South Alabama swept the Cajuns last weekend, and Louisiana Monroe took all three from ULL the prior week.

Despite the recent struggles, ULL still has the second best ERA (5.21) in the conference.

The Trojans, behind league leading Western Kentucky, are hoping to gain ground in the race for the conference title.

Troy, after last weekend, still sits in third place behind WKU and Middle Tennessee State.

The Trojans defeated the University of Arkansas Little Rock last Friday 12-9, but games two and three were cancelled due to rain.

The cancelled games, which will not be rescheduled, could have potentially bumped the Trojans up in the conference race.

UALR (9-25, 5-14) is statistically the worst team in the conference.

'No one has a crystal ball, so you have to be as positive as you can and run with it,' said Pierce.

'We did what we could control by winning on Friday,' Pierce added.

In the 12-9 win, sophomore Adam Bryant drove in five runs from the ninth position on the lineup.

Both Bryant and Charley Williams led the Trojans with three hits apiece.

Freshman pitcher Tyler Ray (5-2) earned the win, despite giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits through five and a third innings.

The sole game of the weekend series was the only game for the Trojans last week.

In fact, before playing UAB on Tuesday, Troy had only played one game in nine days.

Pierce said he is not worried that the break in action will break the Trojans' momentum.

'Being a 90-10 rule kind of guy, I take the positive from things,' said Pierce.

'Ten percent of life is what happens while 90 percent is how you react. I see this weekend as an opportunity to rest, and say 'Man we're getting ready for the stretch run.',' added Pierce.

According to Pierce, the added rest will provide more benefit to an already favorable stretch.

The Trojans play their next three conference series at home, and the final series in Mobile against South Alabama.

Apart from the series with USA, Troy will only travel to Auburn for the remainder of the season.

In fact, the Trojans' last 17 games are being played in the state of Alabama.

'The schedule sets up good for us,' said Pierce.

The first of the 17-game stent was Tuesday night's game against UAB.

The Trojans defeated the Blazers 11-3, and pushed their win streak to six.

Starter Jason Walls (3-2) earned the win.

The junior worked four shutout innings, and allowed two hits on 44 pitches.

Miles Hoyle led the Trojans' 16 hit romp by blasting two homers and picking up two singles.

'I'm not sure we've played our best, which is good, and hopefully our best ball is still in front of us,' said Pierce.

The Trojans were scheduled to play UAB last night in Birmingham, but results were unavailable at press time.