Fresh off a home series victory over ULM, Troy travelled to Statesboro, Georgia, for a road series against Georgia Southern. After dropping the first game of the series 6-2, the Trojans claimed the final two games to win the series over the Eagles.
“That was an absolute dog fight,” said head coach Eric Newell in an interview with Troy Athletics. “It took every last run, every last out, every last pitch, but the team kept battling and came out on top.”
Pitching struggles plagued the first game of the weekend series resulting in a 6-2 loss. The Trojans gained the lead in the top of the second inning following a Jillian Williams two-run homer. All looked well in what should have been Troy’s third straight win, until the pitching staff fell apart in the fourth inning.
“Too many baserunners for Georgia Southern,” Newell said. “We looked flat and played sloppy and didn’t make the right adjustments for this game.”
The Eagles began the fourth inning with a walk and a bunt, putting two runners on base with no outs. The Eagles Kyla Maxwell then laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing runners to second and third. This is where things started going downhill.
Georgia Southern hit three straight singles, tying the game 2-2 and loading the bases. Newell made a pitching change from Libby Baker to Savannah Money, putting the pressure on the freshman to get the final two outs of the inning with the bases loaded.
Money gave up four runs and did not get a single batter out. Baker was inserted back into the circle, but the damage was already done, and Troy lost 6-2.
Saturday’s game had a much better result for the Trojans. After falling behind 3-1 in the fourth inning, Troy scored five unanswered runs to win 6-3 and even the series.
Pitching once again plagued the Trojans early. The Eagles continued to hit well, blasting two solo home runs in the third and fourth innings, but this is where the momentum shifted. In the top of the fifth inning, Troy tallied three runs to take the lead 4-3.
“We really responded well to yesterday’s loss,” Newell said. “A lot of players stepped up to the adversity and helped with the win today.”
The score remained at 4-3 heading into the top of the sixth inning. With two outs on the board, Jade Sinness stepped up to the plate for a chance to add some insurance to Troy’s lead. On the fourth pitch she saw, Sinness sent the ball over the right field wall for her ninth homer of the season.
Money stepped in to pitch for the final two innings looking to redeem her performance from the day before. In the final two innings, Money gave up no runs on no hits and recorded astrikeout in the 6-3 Troy victory.
The series came down to the final game, and the final inning. Georgia Southern held a 2-1 lead, but the fourth inning was once again a turning point in the game for Troy.
The fourth started with a four pitch walk to Audra Thompson, which would foreshadow how the inning would go for the Eagles. Three batters later, the bases were loaded with only one out as Rebekah Johnson stepped up to the plate. Johnson fought and forced a bases loaded walk to tie the game at two.
Sinness once again stepped up big adding two more runs with a two-RBI single before stealing second and getting in scoring position. A D’Aun Riggs double topped off the five-run inning to increase the Trojans lead to 6-2.
“You never know how many runs it’s going to take to win a ball game,” Newell said. “The five spot in the fourth inning was the difference in this game.”
Pitching once again struggled to close out the game as the Eagles brought it within one run after a Janai Conklin two-run homer. Baker stepped into the circle with no outs in the inning, only leading by one. She would shut down the next three Eagles batters and close the game and series out. The Trojans won the final game of the series 8-7.
Troy improves to 31-17 on the season with a conference record of 11-7. The Trojans sit fourth in the Sun Belt with two series remaining before the conference tournament on May 7. Troy welcomes rival South Alabama for a three-game series this weekend April 26-28 with a chance to take sole possession of third place in the Sun Belt.
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