No. 3 Troy opens Sun Belt Tournament against Appalachian State

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Troy opens competition at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament against No. 6 Appalachian State in Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24.

The matchup will be the first time these two programs have seen one another in the postseason. Three days ago, the Mountaineers visited Troy for a three-game series, which saw the Trojans victorious in two of the three games.

Entering the matchup, the Mountaineers rank ninth in team batting (.281) and have the highest ERA among Sun Belt Teams (7.83). They are led by First Team All-Sun Belt Pitcher Xander Hamilton, who is 8-3 on the season and leads the league with 109 strikeouts in 82.0 innings pitched.

Troy finished the regular season 38-18 and 18-12 in the Sun Belt, making it the Trojans’ best finish since 2018, which saw Troy make an NCAA Regional. Nationally Troy ranks 35th in RPI, with their non-conference RPI seventh and non-conference strength of schedule 16th in the nation.

The 2023 season has been a season of setting records. Troy sits at 99 home runs on the season; they are trying to become the fourth team in program history to hit 100 home runs in a season. Senior and captain Barotolero will finish his career at Troy ranked in the top 10 in career hits (204), at-bats (688), and doubles (50). Bartolero is one of only six Trojans to hit 50 doubles in his career.

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