Out of the Gate: Troy’s Best Start to the Baseball Season

With tonight’s win over UAB, the Trojans baseball team is on a eight-win streak to start the 2023 season. That’s good for the third-best start to any season Troy has ever had.

OR

With tonight’s loss to UAB, the Trojans baseball team is now 7-1 to start the 2023 season, tied for the ninth best start to any season Troy has ever had. If the Trojans can string together more wins, it’s still possible to rise in those rankings.

Either one of these introductory sentences will work for this article. A dozen other Trojan teams have started their seasons at 7-1 or better. The 2023 Trojans have an opportunity to move higher in the history books, no matter what happens in Tuesday night’s game against UAB.

Editor’s Note: They did win, after the article was published. Troy’s 2023 season began with an 8-0 run.

After all, it’s not whether you fall… it’s how quickly you get back up. Right?

Sure, but it’s more fun to start hot.

Troy’s two best starts ever came in 1982 and 1990. The earlier Trojans won 13 straight games to start the season, the most of any team.

They won both the regular season title and the Gulf South Conference tournament, but Troy was disqualified from the postseason because of an ineligible transfer.

None of Troy’s Division I teams have started the season with more than seven wins out of the gate. Unfortunately, those hot starts haven’t turned into postseason success either.

Given that it is the start of the season, the current Trojan team has plenty of time to write its own story, including a move into the No. 3 spot there.

Editor’s Note: again, they did.

The 1990 team won 11 games to start the season, but it kept the pace and had the best season in Troy history, finishing 50-10 and the Gulf South runner-up. It was Coach Chase Riddle’s final season too, so despite the high win count it was a letdown not returning to the NCAA tournament.

It’s how quickly you get back up though. After their first loss, the Trojans cranked out another eight wins, starting the season 19-1 (and technically 19-2).

This chart is more indicative of success. The 1986 team lost its fourth game, but they rattled off 10 wins after that on the way to the 46-8 record and the national championship.

The 1985 team won seven out of the gate and six after the first loss, putting together a 13-1 start and a 40-win season just before the back-to-back titles.

The earliest team on this list, the 1977 Trojans, lost their first game against Jacksonville (not State), but rattled off 10 wins after that. It was Joe Hollis’s fourth season, and it didn’t amount to much, but it was clear that this could be a successful program.

Two years later, Troy brought back Chase Riddle.

The three highest modern teams all started 7-0 before losing a game. Only the 2008 Trojans pulled out more than one win after that, but they only won 32 games all year.

The 2004 Trojans managed 36 wins, and the 2020 Trojans fell off the wagon: after going 8-1, they went 1-7 before COVID ended the season.

The recent and modern teams on this list show that this statistic isn’t a guarantee for the rest of the season, and with the Sun Belt’s strength being baseball, the conference slate is not forgiving at all.

However, Troy’s best teams are also at the top of these lists. It’s proof that you can use this momentum throughout the rest of the season.

After all, it’s not whether you fall, right?