The Sun Belt provides enough of a challenge for its baseball teams, but the Troy Trojans are not waiting until conference season to get battle-tested.
The Trojans open the 2017 season a four-game series with Xavier Friday at 6 p.m. at Riddle-Pace Field. While Xavier registered just a 32-30 record last season, it won the Big East Tournament and knocked off Vanderbilt in the NCAA Regionals last year.
“It’s a sincere challenge. It’s a great way to start the season,” Trojans head coach Mark Smartt said. “People regionally may not be familiar with them, but this is a team that finished last year winning 18 of its last 22 games.