Michael Shipma
Staff Writer
The Troy softball team dominated the opposition in its road series against Georgia Southern, winning both games on Saturday, April 18, and another on Sunday, April 19.
The Trojans (29-19, 11-7 Sun Belt) have moved up to the third spot in the Sun Belt rankings with just seven games left in the regular season.
Troy set the pace for the entire series in the first game with solid defense and productive hitting against the Eagles (12-32, 4-17 Sun Belt).
Sophomore right fielder Becca Hartley put the Trojans on the board first with a sacrifice ground out RBI to put them up 1-0 in the first inning.
The Eagles responded in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from sophomore first baseman Morgan Robinson to tie the game. It was the only run scored by Georgia Southern in the game.
Troy proceeded to score six unanswered runs the rest of the way, as the Eagles were unable to overcome a five-strikeout performance from senior pitcher Jaycee Affeldt.
Junior left fielder Amanda Winters led the Trojans offensively with three RBIs and a homer. She went two for four at bat, as the Trojans cruised past Georgia Southern 7-1 in the first game of the series.
The momentum from the first game carried over into the second game of the doubleheader for the Trojans, as they bowled over the Eagles for another victory.
Hartley and junior third baseman Khadija Neely both had RBIs in the first inning to put Troy on top early 2-0.
The Trojans added three more runs in the top of the third inning, but Robinson provided a lift for the Eagles with a three-run homer to make the score 5-3 after the third inning.
The Trojans halted the comeback, however, with solid relief pitching from junior pitcher Sara Mock. Mock recorded just one strikeout in four innings of pitching, but gave up zero hits.
Senior first baseman Michelle Phelps sealed the deal for Troy by batting in two more runs in the fourth to make the final score 7-3.
There was no slowing down the Trojans in the third and final game of the series on Sunday.
Troy dominated in every aspect of the game, thanks to combination of excellent pitching from Affeldt, who had eight strikeouts, and consistent hitting on offense.
The Trojans jumped way out in front in the first two innings, tallying up 10 runs and shutting down any offense generated by Georgia Southern.
Winters led Troy with four RBIs and a solo home run. Freshman center fielder Carli Kayler also added four RBIs and a home run.
Georgia Southern managed one run in the bottom of the third inning when Robinson hit an RBI double to make the score 10-1.
Troy wasn’t finished yet, however, and proceeded to score three more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 13-1 and ensure its victory by mercy rule.
The Trojans finished their last road game of the season on Tuesday, April 21, and lost 5-2 to Alabama.
Troy returns home to play UT Arlington on April 25-26. First pitch starts at 1 p.m.
