Troy Baseball History Trojans finished the regular season with a 22-21-1 record and drew the third seed in the four-team MCC Tournament, hosted by Eastern Illinois in Charleston. Trojan ace Jason Fawcett beat EIU 13-6 in game one, as Alex Rosa paced the team with a three-run homer and two-run double. A thrilling 8-7 win over Western Illinois in game two left Troy just one win shy of the Mid-Con title. Tournament MVP Rosa hit another three-run dinger, and Peter Bezeredi collected four hits as the Trojans defeated WIU, 12-9, for the championship. The Trojans continued their hot play in the NCAA PlayIn series against Midwestern Collegiate Conference champ Wright State. Fawcett took the hill in game one as the bats provided more than enough support in a 16-7 rout. Troy earned its first NCAA Regional berth when pinch-runner Lance Lawley scored from second on a single by Rhodney Donaldson with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth to give Troy a 6-5 victory. Despite losing two straight games, to top-seeded Florida State and second-seeded Ole Miss, in the Atlantic I Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., the trip will forever be remembered as the event that officially welcomed Troy into the Division I family.
1996
The Trojans went through the Mid-Con regular season with a 16-2 record, earned the top seed in the East Division and the host role. NE Illinois upset Troy, 8-7, in the first round when it scored the winning run on an eighth-inning error. Troy fought through the losers bracket with wins over Eastern Illinois and Pace, setting up a rematch with NEIU. Northeastern’s Matt Dunne had two hits in leading the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 victory. Troy (41-13) swept the regular season awards dished out by the conference. Reggie Hightower was named Player of the Year, Dean Cordova was named Pitcher of the Year, Michael Rivera was named Newcomer of the Year and John Mayotte was named Coach of the Year.
1997
The 1997 season proved to be one of the most successful since moving to Division I status. Troy finished with a 3723 slate, captured
Troy No-Hitters
Date Pitcher Inn. 3/27/81 Rick Knotts 1987 Tony King 3/3/88 James Wray 4/24/92 Dave Sparks* 5/28/93 Steve Charles^ 3/4/96 Dean Cordova 3/31/96 Dean Cordova
Opponent Score
Georgia SW Ripon (Wis.) Siena Heights Georgia State Mansfield Valparaiso C.W. Post
6-0
7
9-0 10-0 5-0 8-0 7-0
9 9 9 9 7
* Perfect Game; ^ NCAA College World Series its second Mid-Con title in three years, won an NCAA Play-In series and advanced to an NCAA Regional for the second time in three seasons. Troy’s 8-6 conference mark earned the Trojans the East Division’s top seed in the post-season tournament, hosted by NE Illinois in Chicago. The Trojans breezed by Western Illinois and NE Illinois to earn a spot in the finals. NEIU upended Troy, 7-3, forcing a winner-take-all final. The Trojans exacted some revenge from the previous year, defeating the Golden Eagles, 9-3, on their home field. Troy took two straight from Detroit in the NCAA Play-In series and was assigned to the NCAA South II Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In their opening game against Alabama, the Trojans held a 5-4 advantage through six-and-a-half innings but could not hang on, as the top-ranked Crimson Tide won, 8-5. A day later, ninth-ranked USC eliminated Troy, 5-2, ending the Trojans’ season at 37-23. The Trojans nearly pulled off another sweep of the conference awards, missing out only on the Newcomer of the Year. Outfielder Bryan Kelley was named Player of the Year, Jason Fawcett Pitcher of the Year and Mayotte earned his fourth career Coach of the Year award.
1998
In their first year as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Trojans finished with a 37-21 mark and advanced to the conference title game. Troy hit a school-record 115 home runs, led primarily by the record-setting bat of Jorge Soto, who hit 23. On April 14, 2,159 fans set a Riddle-Pace Field attendance record as Troy upset third-ranked Alabama, 8-4.
1999
Troy tallied 118 home runs, breaking the school record of 115 set in 1998. The 2.00 HR per game ranked second nationally. The Trojans also ranked 31st in scoring (8.39 rpg) and seventh in slugging (.564). Senior Jorge Soto ranked 11th with 0.446 HR per game. His 26 round-trippers set a new school record, breaking his own record set in 1998. Kevan Burns’ 22 and 0.376 per game
2012 Troy University Baseball Media Guide
91