A bad start for Duke in NCAA regional. Troy beats Blue Devils 6-0.

Duke dug itself an early hole Friday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Athens Regional, one it never could find its way out of in a 6-0 loss to Troy.

Duke (40-16) will next face a losers’ bracket elimination game at 4 p.m. Saturday against the loser of Saturday’s noon game between top-seeded Georgia and Campbell.

“I have a good feeling this club will come out playing very hard and very hungry,” Duke coach Chris Pollard said following Friday’s loss.

Troy (42-19) sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs in the third inning. Joey Denison’s three-run double to right center field led to the eventual departure of Duke starter Ryan Day (5-4) and Brody Binder greeted reliever…