TSU hosts No. 8 Tigers today in Montgomery

Staff

Published Tuesday, March 28, 2000

Sports Editor

The Troy State Trojans have a tall order on their hands today as they try to keep their four-game winning streak alive after a weekend sweep of arch-rival Jacksonville State.

The Trojans (13-17, 4-5 in TAAC play) will be hosting ­ if you call playing in Montgomery hosting ­ another in-state team, but this time it's the No. 8 ranked Auburn Tigers (26-6, 6-3 in SEC) and they have a seven-game winning streak riding in their own right.

After a three-game sweep of Southeastern Conference foe Georgia over the weekend, capped Sunday by a dramatic two-run double by freshman Jonathan Schuerholz in the final inning to win 9-8, the Tigers are on a major role on a national scale.

This is a deserving Top 10 team playing in what is with out a doubt the toughest baseball conference in the country. All that means is the feather the Trojans could put in their cap with a win today is even more attractive.

The two clubs have already met once this year in Auburn with the Tigers nabbing the win 14-7 in a 26-hit slugfest by both teams. AU took advantage of some early TSU errors to jump out to a big lead and never looked back. The seven-point win was a little revenge for last year's 12-5 upset win on the Plains by the Trojans.

Troy State will pitch either Josh Jerkins (Dothan, Ala.) or Mickey O'Quinn (Pensacola, Fla.) against the Tigers.

Jerkins stands at 1-1 on the year with a 4.08 ERA and has started four games for the Trojans while O'Quinn (2-0) is coming off an arm injury, but has won both of his starts for the TSU and has a 4.38 ERA.

At the plate Troy State will depend on Marek Driver (Beaconsfield, Quebec) and Jonathan Smithers (Tampa, Fla.) as they try and continue their hot streaks. Driver has hit .481 in the team's last eight games and Smithers batted an impressive .625 in the series with Jacksonville State.

They will also need help from junior third baseman Casey Smith (Cottonwood, Ala.) and Derrell Kirkland who own the top bats on the Trojan squad with a .380 and .377 average respectively.

Auburn, as mentioned, comes in on a hot streak and is averaging 13 runs in their last six outings.

They are led by Gabe Gross and Todd Faulkner with averages of .432 and .421. They also lead the team in home runs and extra-base hits. Faulkner has 13 round-trippers on the year and Gross has notched 16 doubles so far.

Their team ERA is 4.56, but they are averaging 9.00 earned runs against opponents so far. They have four different pitchers with four or more wins.

The Trojans will have a great opportunity to slip up on the Tigers as Auburn could be looking forward to the weekend when they host perennial power LSU (18-9, 5-3 SEC) at Plainsman Park. A series that could help decide the leader in the SEC West.

Game time is set for 6 p.m.  

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