By: Caleb Odom
The Trojan softball team was held at bay all weekend when Western Kentucky took all three games of the series in Troy.
The Lady Toppers held Troy to just three runs combined the entire weekend.
The Sunday game on April 21, was knotted up 2-2 in the top of the seventh WKU, like it had done all weekend, shut the door on the Trojans.
Western Kentucky’s shortstop Amanda Thomas crushed the ball the dead center where Troy center fielder Ebony Wright tried to catch the ball but all she did was smack the fence in a failed attempt.
Thomas’ home run would make it 3-2 Lady Toppers and the score would hold.
That play summed up the weekend for the Trojans, who didn’t have many answers for the Lady Toppers.
“I just hate that we were unable to get a win across the board,” Troy coach Melanie Davis said.
The Trojans fell 9-1 to WKU in game one of a Saturday, April 20, doubleheader and in game two Troy got shutout 3-0.
“Their pitching is very good,” Davis said “They don’t walk batters, they pitch ahead and they have great late movement.”
The Lady Toppers’ pitcher Emily Rousseau was dominant on the mound, pitching in the game one Saturday and the Sunday games.
Over the two games, Rousseau struck out 17 Trojan batters while allowing just three runs over 13 innings combined.
Despite the sweep, Coach Davis is staying positive about her young team.
“I thought they played really well,” Davis said. “They played with a lot of heart. They were facing one of the best pitchers in the conference in the pitcher from Western Kentucky.”
The only Trojan who had more than one hit all weekend in a game was shortstop Bailey Blake, who had a two for three day at the plate on Sunday’s 3-2 loss.
“The difference for us winning or losing is that we have to make big plays in big situations,” Davis said. “We are a young team in one sense but I can’t use that as a reason for a lack of big plays when we are fifty games into the season.”
With the long softball season nearing an end, (20-26) Troy is looking to finish strong, starting with improving the fundamentals.
Davis stressed that her team needs to work harder on the little things as the reason they lost to Western Kentucky besides the stellar pitching.
“We are just a little bit passive at the plate,” Davis said.
The Trojan softball team next travels to Louisiana to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns in a three game tilt starting on Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m.
