FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
TROY, Ala. – The Troy baseball team will play 33 home games at Riddle-Pace Field, including 15 of the first 20 games of the season, as head coach Bobby Pierce announced the schedule for the 2013 season on Thursday.
The Trojans home slate includes visits from Auburn, Southern Miss, Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama and Middle Tennessee. Troy will play 41 of its 56 games inside the state of Alabama and will play eight games against NCAA Regional teams from a year ago.
“We are pleased with our 2013 schedule,” Pierce said. “The early season tournament at Central Florida and the weekend series with Southern Miss will present quite a challenge to our players. We are excited about having both Hartford and Southeastern Louisiana in Troy for a five-game format.”
Troy opens its 11th season under Pierce with a four-game series against Florida A&M beginning on Friday, Feb. 15, at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans and Rattlers will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 16, before wrapping up the series on Sunday, Feb. 17.
A rare early season road trip follows as Troy travels to Orlando, Fla., for a three-game tournament at Central Florida. The Trojans open against Texas Tech on Feb. 22 before playing Connecticut on Feb. 23 and Central Florida on Feb. 24.
Following the trip to Orlando, the Trojans play at Alabama State on Feb. 26 and will then play 11 of their next 12 games at home beginning with a three-game series against Southern Miss (Mar. 1-3).
A mid-week visit to Samford on Mar. 5 breaks up the string of home games. The Trojans will host both Hartford and Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend of Mar. 8-10 before welcoming UAB on Mar. 12 for a mid-week contest.
“Those early weekends will help our team prepare for the difficult 10 week, 30-game Sun Belt schedule that follows,” Pierce said. “We also believe our mid-week schedule offers our fans a chance to see teams in our state that are always very talented. With 33 total home games at Riddle-Pace Field, Trojan fans will have plenty of opportunity to see the 2013 Trojans in action.”
The Trojans open Sun Belt conference play at home against South Alabama (Mar. 15-17) and have home league series against Middle Tennessee (Mar. 29-31), UALR (Apr. 19-21), FIU (May 3-5) and Arkansas State (May 12).
Troy travels to defending Sun Belt Tournament Champion ULM on the second weekend of league play, Mar. 22-24, while the rest of its Sun Belt road slate includes trips to Louisiana-Lafayette (Apr. 5-7), Western Kentucky (Apr. 12-14), Florida Atlantic (Apr. 26-28) and South Alabama (May 16-18).
Once conference play begins the Trojans still have nine non-conference matchups mixed into mid-week action. Troy will play host to Auburn (Mar. 26), Alabama State (Apr. 2), Jacksonville State (Apr. 9), Alabama A&M (Apr. 16-17) and Samford (Apr. 23), while traveling to Jacksonville State (Mar. 19), Alabama (May 8) and UAB (May 14).
The eight-team Sun Belt Conference Tournament will take place in Lafayette, La., from May 22-26. The tournament has reverted to a double-elimination format this season.
