Tuscaloosa Regional stacked and packed|[6/1/06]
Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 1, 2006
In March, Southern Miss swept Troy in a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. But don’t tell Golden Eagles’ players and coaches that the opening round regional matchup between the Eagles and Trojans will be such a cakewalk.
Troy has won its last 10 games and is one of the hottest teams entering an NCAA Regional. The second-seeded Trojans and third-seeded Eagles will do battle on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the first game of the Tuscaloosa, Ala., Regional. Host Alabama will battle Jacksonville State in the second game on Friday.
“We won three but they left here and went on a tear,” Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer said. “They’ve had a tremendous year and won the league. They’re going to run left-handed arms against us. We’ve got some adjustments to do to get prepared. I think it will be a good match-up.”
The Sun Belt Conference champions are riding a 10-game winning streak into Sewell-Thomas Stadium at the University of Alabama. The Trojans are 2-0 against Jacksonville State and 1-0 against the Crimson Tide this season.
“I am so very prooud of this team for the way they have conducted themselves this year as well as for the way they have performed on the field,” Troy coach Bobby Pierce said. “This is a very special team. It is a team that expects to win every time it steps on the field.”
All-American shortstop Tom King earned a spot on the College Baseball Foundation All-America squad after hitting a ridiculous .416 with a national-best 34 doubles. He also has 111 hits and 72 RBIs.
As a team, the Trojans have a .335 batting average and all nine position starters are hitting over .300.
That could mean plenty of offense in the opener against a Southern Miss team steeped in offensive power. The Eagles, led by Trey Sutton at .379, are hitting .316 as a team with 76 home runs. Former Warren Central standout Kevin Coker, the team’s starting catcher, is hitting .317 with five dingers and 40 RBIs.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a disappointing showing in the Conference USA Tournament. After beating Memphis in the opener, the Eagles lost to top-ranked Rice and Memphis again to get eliminated.
The Eagles were an at-large pick, the fourth Conference USA team to get a bid.
In the nightcap, host Alabama is scheduled to play the in-state Gamecocks. The two schools have not met this year, but Jacksonville State has won the last three meetings between the two.
Alabama, which won the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division, is a national No. 4 seed and will host a Super Regional, if it can conquer the talented regional field. The winner of this regional will play the winner of the Chapel Hill, N.C., Regional.
“There are some good teams in our regional,” Alabama coach Jim Wells said. “Troy is a big physical team. I am very aware of them. Southern Miss is always good swinging the bat. Jacksonville State is a hot team. One of the big factors in all sports is how you are playing right now.”