( Photo / Sarah Mountain )Hanna CooperEditor-In-Chief The Troy Softball program swept the Troy Invitational with a pair of wins over Western Carolina and Mercer last weekend at the Troy Softball Complex. Troy’s offense ignited scoring 21 total runs en route to a pair of wins over Western Carolina, 9-1, and Mercer, 12-4, in the opening day of the Troy Invitational Friday. “I thought we played good Troy Softball all the way around today,” Head Coach Beth Mullins said. “We had good pitching, good defense and good offense. Troy hopped on the board in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back against Western Carolina. A trio of walks in the bottom of the first loaded the bases for Troy’s cleanup hitter Kelly Horne. Horne smashed a single through the left side to give Troy the lead once and for all. Kynsley Rae Blasingame retired the side in the top of the second inning, bringing Troy’s offense back to the plate. A pair of walks and an error plated the first of a four-run inning for the Trojans. A Catamount error followed by back-to-back hits by Katie Lively and Candela Figueroa capped off the inning and gave Troy a six-run advantage. Western Carolina’s lone run of the game was plated in the top of the third inning when Danielle Chapman and Morgan Maddalu executed a double steal from first and third. In the second game of the day, Mercer opened its first game of the Troy Invitational firing away and capitalizing on three hits and a throwing error to plate four runs in the opening frame of the matchup. The Trojans then scored 12 unanswered runs, including six home runs to close out the game. The next day, Troy squared off with Western Carolina for the second time. In her fourth outing of the season, freshman Libby Baker blanked the Catamounts in six consecutive innings to power the Trojans to a one-hit shutout victory, 4-0, in day two of the Troy Invitational. Baker took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning. After fanning a Catamount for the first out of the final inning, Anna-Paige Pelfrey singled to left field to give Western Carolina its lone hit of the contest “I thought Libby Baker threw a great game today,” Mullins said. “We had a couple of big hits that scored the runs we needed to get the win. In the final day of the Troy Invitational, the Trojans downed Mercer, 9-1, in a five-inning contest. Sunday’s victory marks the first time Troy has swept the opening two weekends of the season since 1998. Following Troy’s Wednesday midweek tilt with Samford, the Trojans will hit the road for the first time this season to participate in the Easton Crimson Tide Classic. Troy opens tournament play against North Carolina on Friday at 11 a.m.
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