Troy readies for Sun Belt baseball tournament

The Sun Belt spotlight doesn’t have Troy head coach Bobby Pierce concerned.

That’s because of the amount of preparation put in my many in Troy’s coaching staff, athletic administration and volunteers heading toward this week’s Sun Belt baseball tournament at Riddle-Pace Field.

It starts Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony, family night and home run derby, which is free for fans to attend. The games start Wednesday at 9 a.m. Third-seeded Troy’s opener is at 7:30 p.m. against sixth-seeded South Alabama.

“Everybody’s gone above and beyond the call of duty,” Pierce said. “I feel extremely comfortable that everything will go smooth. The only thing we can’t control is lightning or a downpour.”

But while lightning and a downpour would force a halt in game action, Troy’s synthetic field surface would have the teams back up in no time. That’s a problem at most other parks, including last year when the tournament was at UL-Lafayette.

Troy was playing New Orleans in an elimination game. With a tie score in the bottom of the ninth, the bases loaded and just one out, leading hitter Bryan Miller was up and Beau Brooks, another big bat, on deck.

That’s when lightning came, followed by a monsoon, and the game was resumed the next morning at 9. New Orleans got out of the jam and won in extra innings.

“All the momentum in the Trojans’ favor and a bolt of lightning strikes,” Pierce said. “There’s no doubt this type of surface is the best available for rain, but you still can’t stop play stopping from a downpour or lightning.”

Pierce said that the hospitality workers from the now-defunct ScreenTech Wiregrass Classic, which was a weekend tournament held in Dothan before the NCAA shortened the college baseball schedule, would be on hand to provide hospitality.

The NCAA recently added another week to the season, effective in 2010, and Pierce said he would be open to bringing back the tournament and participating in it.

Family night starts the fun: Two years ago, the Sun Belt decided to do away with the traditional awards dinner and make it more fun for fans and family. At 6:30 p.m., fans in the stands will see the conference yearly awards being presented, as well as the all-conference teams and academic awards.

Following that, a home run derby with one representative from each of the eight qualifying Sun Belt teams paired with a 12-year-old from a local Dixie Youth league. The youth players will hit it over a 225-foot portable fence.

Troy’s representative will be senior Michael Precise, who has just four homers this year but hit 11 last year.

“He’s probably the guy in a batting practice home run derby that would represent the team the best,” Pierce said.

Sun Belt participants include Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz, who is tied for the NCAA lead with 27 homers. Other participants are Jeremy Griffiths of Florida Atlantic, Tim Jobe of Florida International, Scott Hawkins of ULL, Matt Baird of UL-Monroe, Brandon Brown of South Alabama and Chad Cregar of Western Kentucky.

The youth participants are Wyatt Whiddon (Headland), Chris Simmon (Enterprise), Raequan Kelly (Eufaula), Auborn Shepard (Dothan American), Trey Truitt (Dothan Southern), Jonathan Waite (Montgomery-East), Walt Jones (Montgomery-AUM) and Austin Ingram (Troy).

There will be a fireworks show following the home run derby.

Other Troy notes: Pierce said he hadn’t decided on Troy’s pitching plans for the tournament yet. ... Shortstop Adam Bryant (shoulder) remains questionable after an injury last Tuesday. He didn’t play over the weekend at South Alabama. Other options include Bart Pettus, who hasn’t fully recovered from an early-season knee injury, and Shohei Fujita. ... Center fielder Steven Rosado went 4-for-8 with a homer, double and six RBIs in two starts last week. He had lost his starting spot after being one of the top players in the fall, but is back in the mix for playing time.

“He was very dynamic in the fall with his ability to get on base, swing the bat, steal bases and play defense,” Pierce said. “He started the season OK, got in a drought, and other players got in and started hitting and that’s how it goes sometimes and how it went for him.”