TROY BASEBALL HISTORY 1980
After sweeping Jacksonville State, 2-0, in the GSC Championship playoff, Troy played host to the NCAA Central Regional. The Trojans went 5-1 and advanced to their first College World Series in Riverside, Calif. Troy dropped their first game, 8-2, to Florida International but rebounded with a 6-3 win over Florida Southern in the loser’s bracket. The Trojans were eliminated by New Haven, 15-7, and ended the year with a 30-12 mark. Riddle was named GSC and NCAA Central Region Coach of the Year.
1981
Senior Danny Cox throws an NCAA-record 43 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to a 13-3 record and 1.30 ERA. His 13 victories are tops in the NCAA.
1982 The 1930 Troy baseball team in front of Kilby Hall. Few schools in the South, let alone in America, possess as rich a history and tradition as that of the Troy baseball program. In the last 40 years, Trojan hardball squads have claimed more than 1,300 victories, 16 conference championships, seven NCAA Regional crowns and back-toback Division II NCAA Championships in 1986 and 1987. Photographic archives show evidence of intercollegiate baseball in the Wiregrass as early as the turn of the century, but school records only date back to 1954. Listed hereafter is a synopsis of the “modern era” of Troy Baseball.
1931
All home games are moved to what is now known as Riddle-Pace Field. All previous home seasons were played on the quad in front of Shackelford Hall. The change in venue was due to the number of windows being broken in Shackelford.
1961
In his first season as head coach, Melvin Lucas leads Troy to a 17-7 record and its first Alabama Intercollegiate Conference title. After capturing ACC crowns in 1962 and 1964, Lucas ends his four-year stint with a 62-30 record. His .674 winning percentage is still second all-time at Troy.
The Trojans tear through the GSC and capture their third consecutive conference crown, but are denied a spot in NCAA Regional play. Troy (31-10, 8-3 GSC) finished the season ranked 13th, its lowest in four years under Riddle.
1983
Troy’s string of three consecutive GSC titles is snapped and the Trojans failed to reach the CWS for the second straight season, falling in the semifinals of the NCAA Central Regional. Troy finished with a 23-11-1 record, 5-3-1 in GSC play, and a No. 7 final ranking.
1984
The 1984 squad won a then-school-record 39 games (16 losses) and finished third at the NCAA College World Series and won the third Central Region title in the last five years. The 1984 team broke or tied an amazing 76 school records.
1985
Eleven seniors led Troy back to the NCAA CWS and broke the school record for wins (43) and home runs (87). The home run record stood for 13 years. Senior Chuck Stanhope and junior Ron Warren combine for 22 victories, 12 complete games and a 3.15 ERA. It was the first year for the CWS to be played at Paterson Field in Montgomery.
1975
Larry Maier is hired as the eighth coach in school history. He is also the linebackers coach on the Troy football team. In his only season on the diamond, the 33-year-old leads the Trojans to a 14-12 record.
1978
Catcher Buster Bergstrom is named firstteam All-GSC and second-team All-South Central Region as a junior. In a team-high 187 at bats, he struck out just two times. His 93.5 at bat-to-strikeout ratio is still a school record.
1979
After 25 years as a player, manager and scout with the St. Louis Cardinals, 50-year-old Chase Riddle is hired as the ninth head coach since 1954. In his first year as the head man in Troy, he led the Trojans to a then-school-record 33 wins and a second-place finish in the Gulf South Conference Eastern Division. They also reeled off a school-record 20-game winning streak. Stan McCauley leads the GSC with 14 home runs and becomes Troy’s first All-America selection. Pitcher Andy Giannini finishes tied for the conference lead with 10 wins.
Pace Field, circa 1950.
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