Troy baseball field sits on site of old Deep South League baseball stadium

Riddle-Pace Field at Troy University in Troy, Ala.

Thanks to the generosity of one of my coworkers at the newspaper, I received four tickets to Troy University’s baseball game against Georgia State last Friday in Troy.

Last Friday was Good Friday, my wife was off work, the kids were out of school and the weather was picture perfect, so it was a good day to load up and ride to Troy. The game wasn’t scheduled to begin until around 6 p.m., so we didn’t even leave the house until around 3 p.m.

On the ride over, as we passed through little towns like Georgiana, Brantley and Luverne, I tried to remember the last time that I’d even been to Troy. As best that I could remember, I hadn’t been back to Troy since November of 2002 when I was part of The Monroe Journal crew that went there to cover the state championship football game between Monroe Academy and Bessemer Academy. (Monroe lost, 9-6.)

Troy’s baseball team plays its home games on campus at Riddle-Pace Field, and we got there on Friday a little after 5 p.m. When we first arrived, we lucked up and found an empty parking space just short walk away, and as we walked up we passed a historical marker near the stadium’s main entrance on Luther Drive. Here’s what it said:

“Originally constructed as the home field for the university’s football and baseball teams. Pace Field, home of the Troy Trojans and the Troy baseball team in the late 1930s and 1940s, stood at the location of the current Riddle-Pace Field. It is one of the original locations were the Alabama-Florida Class D Deep South Baseball League teams played. They provided players to the Cleveland Indians (1939), the Cincinnati Reds (1940) and the Detroit Tigers (1947-49).”

All of this got me to wondering about the origin of the stadium’s name, and I later learned that the “Pace” part is in honor of former Troy president and professor Matthew D. Pace. The “Riddle” part is in honor of former coach Chase Riddle, who led Troy to a pair of Division II baseball titles in the late 1980s.

The Troy-Georgia State game last Thursday was postponed in the third inning due to rain, and they resumed that game at 4 p.m. on Friday. It was ongoing when we got there, and we caught the tail end of that one after we got supper at the concession stand. Troy won Part II of their Thursday game, 14-4.

Despite the bad weather the day before, the weather was perfect on Friday, and since our tickets were general admission, we could sit just about anywhere we wanted. Official attendance was 1,648, so we had plenty of leg room to watch a heated conference game between two Sun Belt Conference rivals. Both teams scored two runs in the second inning and the game stood tied for the next six innings, as the sun went down and the temperatures dropped into the 50s. In the end, Troy let it slip away in the top of the ninth, coming up short, 5-2, in a very entertaining game to watch.

I say all that to say that if you ever get the chance to ride over to Troy to take in a baseball game, you won’t be disappointed. There are fewer ways to enjoy good, clean family fun than with a baseball game, and it’s especially fun when the weather cooperates. It’s even better when the game is good and close with the outcome up for grabs right up to the last at-bat.