Softball starts Sun Belt Conference play

Brady Fitch photo

Caiden Oliva takes warm-up swings during Troy’s season opener against Central Michigan.

The Troy softball team kicked off Sun Belt Conference play over spring break with series against Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss. The Trojans snatched a series over the red-hot Chanticleers at home and dropped a road series to Southern Miss.

Troy is now sitting at 21-12 with a 3-3 conference record. In the series against Coastal Carolina, Alyssa Faircloth dominated. She allowed only two runs and five hits in 16 innings pitched against the Chanticleers, going toe-to-toe with Coastal Carolina ace Nicolette Picone.

Faircloth threw nine innings in the series opener against Coastal Carolina, but the Trojans ultimately fell in a 3-1, ten-inning loss. She won the second pitcher’s duel in the rubber match, pitching a complete game in a 5-1 win as Troy captured the series win.

Against Southern Miss, Faircloth struggled at times but surpassed the 100-strikeout mark for 2025. She became the first Trojan to hit the achievement since Leanna Johnson did so in 2023.

Taylor McKinney had a fantastic individual series against Southern Miss, going 5-for-10 with five RBIs, a double, a home run and two walks. She was just a triple short of hitting for the cycle in Friday’s 6-4 loss.

The Trojans started the series against Coastal Carolina with a heartbreaking 10-inning loss, as a two-run homer from the Chanticleers sealed the game despite strong pitching from both teams.

Troy bounced back in the second game, taking a season-high 11 walks in a 12-4 win. The walk total was Troy’s largest since they took 12 in 2015. The Trojans scored seven runs in the first inning, punctuating the run-rule win with three runs in the fourth inning.

Troy clinched the series with its 5-1 win, as Faircloth took a shutout into the seventh inning. Sissy Dunn went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Caiden Oliva blasted an RBI triple down the line for her first career triple.

Against the Golden Eagles, the Trojans struggled. McKinney’s huge night couldn’t prevent a 6-4 loss to open the series, as Troy brought the winning run to the plate in the seventh inning but fell short. Natalie Turner also went 2-for-3 with two singles in the game.

On Saturday, the Trojan offense fell flat in a 7-3 loss. Southern Miss used a four-run sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

Two doubles from Makaley Boswell and a home run off the bat of Oliva weren’t enough for Troy to keep pace with the Golden Eagles.

Despite the slow start to the series, Troy made adjustments with a new-look lineup and a shutdown outing from Faircloth. In the 6-2 win, Faircloth took a shutout into the seventh inning as Kayden Dunn homered, and Mia Tidmore hit an RBI triple.

Following a midweek contest against Auburn, the Trojans will continue conference play with a road series against ULM.