Super Bowl Update

This story appears in Friday's print edition of the Dothan Eagle. It can be found on dothaneagle.com HERE.  Troy has a big series this weekend against Middle Tennessee, hosting the Blue Raiders at 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. My plan is to be at the Sunday game, covering that one and sending updates from there.

BY DREW CHAMPLIN | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com

TROY – Logan Pierce leads the Sun Belt in batting average, on-base percentage and runs scored.

The Troy junior first baseman has increased his average 168 points from last year’s .235 clip, but the success only makes him work harder.

“When you’re going, you’ve got to keep working,” Pierce said. “When you stop working, all the good things stop.”

That includes at least 200 swings in the cage each day. His father, Troy head coach Bobby Pierce, said Logan has improved mentally and changed his swing up to garner better results. Pierce’s .403 mark leads the team and the Sun Belt, and he is also reaching base at a .523 rate and has 48 hits.

He had a 20-game hitting streak snapped last Sunday at FIU, but went 4-for-5 in Tuesday’s 15-7 win over Jacksonville State. Troy (14-18, 3-9 SBC) hosts Middle Tennessee (20-13, 8-4) for a 3-game Sun Belt series, playing at 6 p.m. today and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Bobby Pierce said Logan’s swing slid back at FIU to what it had been before the positive adjustment, but Logan rebounded with the big performance against JSU.

“The bat looked fast again and short and quick,” Bobby Pierce said. “When he’s there, he’s a pretty tough out because he’s always had good vision. He knows a ball from a strike, he sees breaking balls, things like that.

“For him, it’s a matter of keeping his swing mechanics consistent and not putting too much on himself.”

And last year, Logan admitted he put too much on himself. He was used to high batting averages growing up, but despite having 43 RBIs and playing well defensively (only five errors, .990 fielding percentages), some of the 0-for-3 performances took its toll mentally. But he played a big role in a team that won the Sun Belt and went to a regional.

“It was very tough to go home every day knowing that you didn’t get a hit, and that happened a lot of the time,” Logan Pierce said. “The best thing that happened for me was that we won. That’s what kept me going. I did have some bright moments. It was very tough because it was probably the worst year I’ve ever had.”

Now, Logan Pierce has a year of playing experience under his belt, and it’s his third year in Troy’s program as he redshirted in 2010. The extra maturity has helped him ease in at the plate.

“I think he’s finally settled in to just playing the game, being the player that he is versus trying to do more than that,” Bobby Pierce said. “Baseball is a game where less is more and when you’re carrying extra burdens, it doesn’t work out for you.”

The two’s relationship as a coach-player/father-son has also improved from some early tension. Bobby Pierce is finally getting to see all of his son’s games.

“I feel completely comfortable with it now and I hope he does too,” Bobby Pierce said. “Time cures and softens all. It took time for both of us to figure out what was what in this coaching your son thing, playing for your dad thing. It’s more difficult and more challenging than people will ever know, and there’s more blessings in it than people will ever now.

“I’m thankful for the time I get to spend with my son because I missed a lot of time as a coach when my son was playing half a block down the road (at Charles Henderson).”

Logan Pierce grew up watching his father build a program from scratch at Alabama-Huntsville and then taking over at Troy. Bobby also spent time as an assistant at Alabama and became the youngest head coach in Florida junior college history as a 23-year-old at Chipola College. Logan wants to follow in his father’s footsteps when his playing days are over.

“That’s all I know,” Logan Pierce said. “That’s what I grew up with and I think that’s what I would be good at. If I could do half of what he has done in his career, that would be amazing.”