Monday link

March 31, 2008

By Drew Champlin

Here’s my game story slash notebook from Troy’s win over New Orleans Sunday.

Troy 11, New Orleans 7

March 30, 2008

By Drew Champlin

Trojans salvage a game in the series. Troy is 6-3 in Sun Belt play and plays a big non-conference series at Southern Miss Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We played a pretty solid game,“ head coach Bobby Pierce said. “I thought we walked a few too many early but somehow we got out of some jams early without major damage and held on.

“When you come from losing two, it’s hard to get yourself mentally right and prepared to win on Sunday and I credit our team to come back with the intensity to win today.“

Troy swung the bats with UNO, but played error-free ball. UNO made three key errors. Drew Hull got the win in relief. Steven Felix may have broken out of his slump with a 2-for-4 performance and a big 2-run home run that broke a 3-3 tie. Bryan Miller had three hits.

Also found out freshman LHP AJ Howard is out for two weeks after breaking his right (non-throwing) hand Friday when he was pulled from the game. Apparently, Howard fought the wall or the dugout bench and lost. It leaves Troy without a lefty in the bullpen, but Jordan Mathers may be ready to make his return from arm surgery. He was going to pitch an inning today but couldn’t get in.

Sunday links

By Drew Champlin

Here’s my T-Day story. I think I credited quarterback Jamie Hampton with an extra touchdown. He may have just had 3. I don’t think I took one away from anyone else but just gave him an extra one.

And here’s my baseball story with quotes from losing pitcher Travis Burge, first baseman Daryl Otwell and head coach Bobby Pierce in Troy’s 12-3 loss to New Orleans.

It’s off to Troy for baseball today.

New Orleans 12, Troy 3

March 29, 2008

By Drew Champlin

Trojans got bombed tonight, never could get anything going. UNO got all of its hits and damage in 3 innings, but they can really swing the stick.

“It’s been a rough weekend so far, but if we can get a win tomorrow and get back on track,“ first baseman Daryl Otwell said. “It’s not one guy struggling right now, it’s pretty much the whole team. We’ve got great senior leadership and they’ll bounce back and we’ll get hot again.“

Troy’s Travis Burge was hit up for 8 earned runs in three innings - his worst performance of the year but those happen to just about every pitcher a couple of times. He’ll bounce back, because he’s been Troy’s best pitcher this year so far.

“He was a little more elevated than he has been, but they had a great approach. They’re a hot-hitting team,“ head coach Bobby Pierce said. “Travis has pitched better, but he wasn’t terrible.“

JJ Whetsel pitched well until he walked a couple in the sixth and served up a grand slam. Rob Brown was pretty good in his 2.1 innings of hitless relief. Neal Jordan gave up two hits in one inning.

But Troy couldn’t hit - just five hits all night. Trojans and UNO play at 1 p.m. Sunday to close the series.

Troy spring game observations

By Drew Champlin

I’m at the Troy-New Orleans baseball game, where UNO got 6 hits and 4 runs in the first inning off Travis Burge. UNO is getting a bunch of bloop hits, but they count the same.

QUARTERBACKS: Jamie Hampton put up the best numbers and he’s the most versatile quarterback. He made some really nice throws in the latter part of the scrimmage and I think he’s got the highest ceiling among the quarterbacks. I think Levi Brown’s probably better in the pocket and has a better arm, and can run a little bit himself. Tanner Jones was decent, made some good throws, but wasn’t quite as good as the other two. I think, and this is just my prediction, that the final two QBs will be Hampton and Levi Brown and it seems like coaches really want Hampton to step up and be the man because he’s the most versatile. He’s got good size being around 6’2 and has the frame to get a little thicker.

Here are a few non-quarterbacks who stood out to me. Bear in mind that these are spring practices and a lot of the bigger names don’t play as much because they don’t need to. We didn’t see a lot of Boris Lee or Jerrel Jernigan, nor did we need to.

1. Xavier Lamb - The redshirt freshman took advantage of Boris Lee not playing and was all over the field, as evidenced by his 21 tackles. He’s listed behind Lee at MLB but if he keeps playing well, they’ll move him around

2. Patrick Cherry - The sophomore receiver caught what was thrown from him, took some hits and still held on. He’s a guy that’s starting to prove reliable when called upon.

3. Xavier Moreland - Who knows how much he’ll be playing at running back, but he’ll keep getting looks this spring and if he can control his fumble-itis, he’ll give the offensive staff more options at running back.

4. Donnell Golden - Another guy who was all over the field, especially in the second half of the scrimmage. The redshirt freshman played like a guy who knows there’s some spots up for grabs.

5. DuJuan Harris - Coaches feel like the sophomore running back will be a star in the Sun Belt. He showed some goods Saturday.

I’m not good at telling you who is a good lineman or not, but the first group included, from left to right, Chris Jamison, Tyler Clark, Danny Franks, Steven Merkel and Dion Small

Troy scrimmages again next Saturday. Check back here for a few updates this week.