Troy softball suffered its first conference series loss while on a four-game road trip this past week.
The Trojans travelled to Georgia Tech on Wednesday April 3, for a midweek matchup before heading to San Marcos for a weekend Sun Belt series against No. 23 Texas State. Troy struggled offensively and defensively over the weekend where the Bobcats offensive firepower proved too much in the 1-2 series loss.
The midweek matchup against the Yellowjackets was much closer than the series against Texas State. Troy headed into this game on a one-game losing streak looking for momentum before San Marcos; however, Troy did not get the start the team was looking for.
Georgia Tech opened an early 4-0 lead in the first inning behind homers from Mallorie Black and Madison Dobbins. Trojan pitcher Haley Pittman escaped the inning by striking out the final two Tech batters following the Dobbins homer.
This 4-0 lead would not stand for long as Troy answered right back in the second inning. In the first at bat of the second, Libby Baker got the Trojans on the board with a first swing home run. Cassidy Boltz followed this with a single to right field. All the momentum was on Troy’s side now with Jade Sinness stepping up to the plate.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Sinness delivered with a grand slam to put the Trojans ahead 5-4. Both teams would go back and forth for the next few innings with the lead growing to as many as three for Troy. When all seemed lost for the Yellowjackets, a two-run fifth inning tied the game and stole the momentum from Troy for good.
Troy would gain the lead one last time following a Sarah Beth Brake homer in sixth inning, but the 9-8 lead would not stand. Georgia Tech would go on to score six straight winning the game 14-9, extending Troy’s losing streak to two games.
The loss of momentum did not bode well for Troy in the series opener against Texas State. The Bobcats dismantled Troy 9-1 in five innings behind a stellar performance from pitcher Jessica Mullins.
Troy could not find a rhythm pitching the entire game. Texas State scored eight straight runs in four innings, gaining an 8-0 lead heading into the fifth. Troy’s offense did not show either as the lone run scored was an Audra Thompson solo home run in the top of the fifth. The Trojans defense had five errors on the day, which accounted for three Bobcat runs.
The second game was not much better. Texas State pitched an 8-0 shutout in six innings. The Bobcats offense remained red hot, scoring four runs in the first inning; however, Troy did adjust its pitching strategy.
Newell pulled the trigger on Alyssa Faircloth after 2.2 innings and inserted another freshman, Savannah Money. Money had struggled in the early season, but with her in the circle, Texas State only scored three runs on four hits.
“This not only gave her some confidence but gave the team some confidence,” said head coach Eric Newell in the postgame interview with Troy Athletics.
The Trojan batters could not solve Texas State pitcher Mullins who ended the game with five strikeouts while allowing only three hits. The Trojans turned to the final game of the series to avoid the sweep on Sunday.
“We are not excited to get beat,” Newell said. “The score won’t tell you, but we competed better today than yesterday.
“I am looking forward to improvement tomorrow in the final game.”
Troy claimed victory in the final game of the series in a 12-inning 4-3 win. Libby Baker pitched the full 12 innings giving up 11 hits but stranding 15 Bobcat baserunners.
It took three games, but the Trojans solved Texas State pitcher Mullins getting seven hits on the Bobcats star pitcher. Williams started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to allow Anslee Finch to score from third. This lead did not stand for long as the Bobcats tacked on two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Texas State held a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. Troy was down to one final chance to extend the game. Audra Thompson stepped into the batter’s box with two outs on the board and delivered with a two-RBI double to give Troy the 3-2 lead. Texas State answered in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extras.
The first extra inning did not have any noise, but in the ninth inning, Texas State found some offensive momentum. With a baserunner on second, Bobcat catcher Karmyn Bass sent a pop fly to right fielder D’Aun Riggs, who delivered a strike to third base to end the inning on a double play and keep the Trojans alive in the battle.
Thompson stepped up to the plate in the top of the 12th inning, and on a 1-2 count sent the ball over the left field wall to put the Trojans ahead 4-3. Troy held on to this lead and won the final game of the Texas State series.
The Trojans bring their record to 27-15 and conference record to 7-5. Troy will continues its season with a home game against Mercer Wednesday, April 10 before welcoming ULM for a weekend conference series.
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