FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
The Troy baseball team will play 31 games at Riddle-Pace Field, including 12 of the first 15 games of the season, as head coach Bobby Pierce announced the schedule for the 2014 season on Tuesday.
Highlighted on the Trojans home slate are visits from Samford, Jacksonville State, ULM, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky, UAB and South Alabama. Troy will play 39 of its 56 games inside the state of Alabama and will play 10 games against NCAA Regional teams from a year ago.
Also unique to Troy’s 2014 schedule is a neutral-site game against Alabama at the brand new Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The Florida venue houses the Blue Wahoos, the Southern League Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The Trojans will also travel to take on in-state rival Auburn on April 8.
“As in years past, the 2014 schedule offers tremendous challenges both at home and on the road. The 30 Sun Belt Conference games present the most significant challenges, especially with three new league members on the schedule,” Pierce said.
The three new members in the Sun Belt Conference are Texas-Arlington, Texas State and Georgia State. The Trojans have never played Texas-Arlington and Texas State while the last time Troy faced Georgia State was in 2005.
Troy opens its 12th season under Pierce with a four-game series against Northern Kentucky beginning on Friday, Feb. 14, at Riddle-Pace Field. The Trojans and Northern Kentucky will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15, before wrapping up the series on Sunday, Feb 16.
The Trojans will turn around a week late and host Central Michigan in another four-game series starting on Friday, Feb. 21. The teams will also play aSaturday doubleheader before capping the series on Sunday.
After a midweek trip to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Troy will continue its non-conference rivalry with Southern Mississippi with a three-game road series in Hattiesburg, Miss. (Feb. 28-Mar. 2).
Troy’s Sun Belt Conference slate will begin with a series at South Alabama (Mar. 14-16). The Trojans will then take on ULM at home (Mar. 21-23) before wrapping up the month at Georgia State (Mar. 28-30).
April features conference series at home against Louisiana-Lafayette (Apr. 4-6), Western Kentucky (Apr. 11-13) and Texas-Arlington (Apr. 25-27). The lone road conference series in the month will see the Trojans travel to Little Rock, Ark., to take on UALR (Apr. 18-20). Road series against Texas State (May 2-4) and Arkansas State (May 9-11) precede the team’s regular-season and home finale against South Alabama (May 15-17).
“We look forward to opening the season with back-to-back series at home and continuing the non-conference series with Southern Miss, a perennial regional caliber team,” Pierce said. “Everyone associated with our program is excited about our opportunity to play in Pensacola Bayfront Stadium, which is a beautiful minor league venue. Overall, I am pleased with our schedule and eager to begin the 2014 season.”
The eight-team Sun Belt Conference Tournament will take place in Mobile, Ala., from May 21-25. The tournament will be double-elimination format.
