Super Bowl Update

Last Friday, Troy pitcher Tyler Ray threw to live hitters for the first time since last year's regional in Nashville, where he earned his 12th win of the season when the Trojans beat Oklahoma State.

In the second inning, infielder Tyler Vaughn hit a shot off Ray's left ankle. A nice little welcome back for the Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

"It just decided my leg was a magnet," Ray said. "I kept pitching, but I was pretty bruised it. It was going to make me sore for a couple of days, but I'm all right now."

Last year, Ray took two shots off the leg against South Alabama. The second one caused him to leave the game.

Ray was able to keep pitching in the scrimmage. By the time this blog entry is posted, he's probably getting ready to pitch in another scrimmage today.

"It felt good to be out there," Ray said. "I was a little rusty, but it was like I expected. Now it's time to focus and get better."

It was the second straight year that Ray had an inauspicious start to the spring scrimmages. Last year - and bear in mind, last year the NCAA made the change to the weaker bats - teammates hit four home runs off of Ray. It was probably colder that day, and after a year of going through the new bats, which reduce the force and lift of balls, the bats are made better now and better offensive results are expected.

"I was kind of disappointed nobody hit a home run off me this year," Ray said. "I think the wind was blowing out that day. I'll make excuses. They were using the new bats, and those bats are worse than the ones we're using today."

The opening scrimmage last year certainly didn't foreshadow results for the upcoming season. Ray went 12-0 with a 2.39 ERA and won Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honors.

"It was probably the best thing that could have happened to me at the time," Ray said.