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After being rained out on Wednesday evening, the Troy Trojans baseball team returns to action this weekend to play in the Cox Diamond Invitational at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, Florida.

The Trojans will play in three different games over the weekend beginning with Michigan State on Friday beginning at 6 p.m. They will host in-state foe Samford on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. They will close out the Invitational on Sunday against Louisiana in a non-conference showdown beginning at 3 p.m.

The Trojans (8-5) began the season 8-1, but they are currently on a four-game losing streak. After being swept by the Florida Gators last weekend, the Trojans lost to in-state rival UAB on Tuesday evening in Birmingham.

Levi Thomas will get the ball as Troy’s starter against the 8-4 Spartans on Friday night. The junior is currently 2-0 on the season and has yet to let up an earned run, while picking up 31 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.

Orlando Ortiz (1-0, 3.71) will get the start against Samford (10-1) and Tyson Ellis (0-1, 3.52) will get the call in Sunday’s finale against rival Louisiana (5-8).

The Trojans have two players that rank in the top 10 in hits. Rigsby Mosley leads the Trojans with 23 hits, while Caleb Bartolero is right behind him with 22.

Troy ranks first in the nation with 42 doubles on the season. Bartolero is second in the country in doubles with 8 so far this season, one behind Texas Tech’s Brian Klein.

Troy and the Spartans have met three times, with the Trojans holding a 2-1 advantage. Troy lost their last meeting with Michigan State in 2016.

The Trojans own a 32-17 advantage in their series with Samson. Their last win against the Bulldogs, however came in March of 2018.

The Trojans have lost 14 of their 38 all time meetings with the Ragin’ Cajuns. However, they have won four out of their last five.