Riddle-Pace Field History

Continued improvements to Riddle-Pace Field, along with the addition of the Lott Baseball Complex, give Troy University one of the top baseball facilities in the Sun Belt Conference and in the nation.

Original renovations to Riddle-Pace Field were completed in time for the 2002 season, with the latest phase of improvements made in time for the 2008 season. 2009 marked another landmark in the history of the facility as the Trojans hosted, for the first time, the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament.

Riddle-Pace Field is a beautiful facility constructed of red brick and exposed steel beams, which complement the attractive architecture already found on the Troy University campus. The stadium was designed to ensure outstanding sightlines and comfort for fans, as well as meet the needs of the country’s finest college baseball players.

TOP 25 CROWDS (DIVISION 1) AT RIDDLE-PACE FIELD Upon passing through two ticket booths, fans are greeted by a brick plaza Att. Opponent Date at the base of the three3,649 3,328 3,243 South Alabama Alabama #22 Alabama 5/19/18 4/4/17 3/1/16 story press box. The first level houses restrooms, a 3,210 Alabama 4/8/19 concession stand and a mer3,189 #22 Auburn 5/15/18 chandise booth. The second 2,936 Alabama 3/20/12 level is currently used as a 2,586 Auburn 3/31/10 fitness and workout center 2,567 2,413 2,395 2,197 Auburn Alabama Auburn Auburn 3/18/08 3/3/09 4/25/07 5/3/05 for the Trojans. Level three contains a fully air-conditioned 2,159 Alabama 4/11/98 press box which features a 2,129 #17 Coastal Carolina 3/14/18 500-square foot media cen2,053 Louisiana Tech 2/22/20 ter, two 12x15 VIP suites with 2,011 Auburn 4/5/11 theatre-style seating, two 2,010 1,987 1,942 1,938 Louisiana Appalachian State Alabama A&M South Alabama 3/30/19 4/20/19 4/17/13 5/17/08 restrooms and an elevator to provide access for disabled patrons and media. 1,937 Auburn 4/24/12 Four entrances lead 1,936 #17 Coastal Carolina 3/13/18 into the main grandstand. 1,933 Southern Miss 2/25/11 Disabled, elderly or handi1,884 Auburn 3/28/06 capped fans can gain access 1,879 1,873 #17 Coastal Carolina Arkansas 3/14/18 2/10/07 to the seating area through a new elevator in the Lott Baseball Complex. Once inside, the Stadium provides 300 chairback seats and 1,700 bleacher seats.

Approximately 30 percent of the stadium seating behind home plate is covered by an awning for protection from the sun or rain.

The addition of the Lott Baseball Complex in 2008 includes locker room facilities for the Trojans, coaches offices, a new scoreboard with additional advertising opportunities, a covered batting cage and a new outfield wall.

Prior to 2002, the last major renovation to the stadium came prior to the 1991 season when the infield was dug up, leveled and rebuilt with new sod and a complete irrigation system. Prior to that, Triple-A quality lighting was installed in time for the 1987 campaign.

RIDDLE-PACE FIELD YEAR-BY-YEAR (SINCE 1970)

Year W L T Pct.

1970 6 6 0 .500 1971 7 6 0 .538 1972 7 16 0 .304 1973 10 7 0 .588 1974 15 6 0 .714 1975 10 7 0 .588 1976 13 8 0 .619 1977 10 3 0 .769 1978 17 3 0 .850 1979 18 2 0 .900 1980 20 6 0 .769 1981 21 4 0 .840 1982 16 5 0 .762 1983 14 3 1 .806 1984 23 8 0 .742 1985 22 5 0 .846 1986 27 3 0 .900 1987 24 3 0 .889 1988 20 5 0 .800 1989 19 8 0 .704 1990 29 7 0 .806 1991 22 4 0 .846 1992 14 5 0 .737 1993 25 4 0 .862 1994 23 6 0 .793 1995 14 8 0 .636

Year W L T Pct.

1996 23 3 0 .885 1997 15 12 0 .556 1998 20 6 0 .769 1999 20 3 0 .870 2000 14 21 0 .400 2001 17 10 0 .630 2002 19 11 0 .633 2003 14 12 0 .538 2004 13 8 0 .619 2005 21 5 0 .808 2006 22 3 0 .880 2007 19 10 0 .655 2008 17 8 0 .680 2009 18 13 0 .581 2010 21 11 0 .656 2011 30 5 0 .857 2012 17 11 0 .607 2013 28 5 0 .848 2014 16 14 0 .533 2015 22 12 0 .647 2016 18 11 0 .621 2017 18 10 0 .643 2018 23 8 0 .742 2019 17 14 0 .548 2020 8 1 0 .888 2021 19 9 0 .678

Total 935 378 1 .712

After years of planning, fund-raising, sacrifices and hard work, the Troy University baseball program ushered in a new era on April 16, 2008, with the official opening of the Lott Baseball Complex.

The late Jerry Lott was inducted into the Troy Baseball Hall of Fame in the fall of 2007.

Mrs. Lott currently serves in many roles at Troy University, both as a current member of the Troy Planned Giving Council, and as a founding member of the Troy Shield Society.

Mr. and Mrs. Lott, along with their children Mike and Janet, were instrumental in making the Lott Baseball Complex go from a mere vision to reality. The Lott Baseball Complex at Riddle-Pace Field is a state of the art baseball complex that rivals any in the nation.

The new complex features indoor batting cages, new locker rooms for the players and umpires as well as a player lounge and meeting area. The facility also provides new offices for the Troy coaching staff.

“We are very proud of our facility and very appreciative to those who helped us achieve this goal,” former Trojan coach Bobby Pierce said. “This is a magnificent place and it is going to serve us well.”

In addition to the Lott Complex, numerous upgrades were made to Riddle-Pace Field. Among the highlights is a new home dugout, built into the ground floor of the Lott Complex, a new home bullpen area and a new artificial playing surface.

The new playing surface is now lit by a state-of-the art lighting system that provides the Trojans with the absolute best lighting for night games. No other college facility in the country can match the lighting available at Riddle-Pace Field.

The final touch is a new outfield wall that included a “monster” in right field and a state-of-the-art scoreboard and sound system built into the wall in right-center field. The wall in left field was lowered and future plans call for construction behind the wall, creating a fan-friendly seating and tailgate area.

The new playing surface gives the Trojans an opportunity to spend more time on the field, even on days where inclement weather would have, in the past, forced practice or games to be cancelled. The field drains water at an incredible rate of 10 inches per hour meaning that, in the future, rainouts of Troy home games will be a very rare occurrence.

In 2020, Troy baseball completed the installation of the high-tech, data-driven TrackMan system to Riddle-Pace Field. TrackMan employs 3D Doppler radar to measure an upwards of total of 27 total pitching and hitting data points and is used for player evaluation and development by all major league and minor league teams in the US, a majority of teams in Japan and Korea, and top NCAA Division I programs.

Since the completion of the Lott Complex at Riddle-Pace Field, plans are in place for the next phase of improvements and renovations that will take the facility to a level on par with the best college baseball facilities in the nation. Plans call for an expansion of seating down the right-field line that will bring capacity to more than 4,000. The expanded seating will also include a new sunken dugout on the first base line that will match the home dugout as well as locker room space for visiting teams.

Finally, the next phase calls for the construction of 12-15 luxury sky boxes to give Troy baseball fans an opportunity to enjoy all the best amenities while cheering the Trojans to victory.

As we continue to make improvements to Riddle-Pace Field all Trojan fans are needed to do their part to make this and other projects become a reality.

By contributing to the Troy Baseball Capital Campaign, fans will be helping the University, the student-athletes and coaches achieve at the highest level of success possible.

To contribute to the Troy University Baseball Capital Campaign contact the Athletics Department at 334-670-3482.