(Photo/Zenith Shrestha)Candela Figueroa recorded her first home run as a Trojan against Kennesaw State last Friday.Hanna CooperStaff Writer The softball team finished the Troy Invitational last weekend winning three out of four games at the Troy Softball Complex. After the win against Eastern Illinois on Sunday, Head Coach Beth Mullins spoke about the team’s response after losing to Southeast Missouri State. “I was proud of our resilience we showed after a tough loss,” Mullins said. “We were able to put it behind us and do what we do best and that is great pitching, defense and timely hitting.” The team began the invitational on Friday against Kennesaw State and Purdue Fort Wayne. A five-run fourth inning powered Troy past Purdue Fort Wayne, 6-3, after a pair of home runs pushed the Trojans past Kennesaw State, 9-2. Troy handed Kennesaw State its first loss of the season after two Trojans blasted a home run. Candela Figueroa sparked Troy’s offense in the bottom of the first inning sending her first long ball of the season over the left-field wall. Kaylee Chapman continued the scoring tacking on two runs off an infield single. Lexi Solorzano answered with a two-run home run in the top of the second inning for the Owls, but the Trojans added a run in the bottom of the third and fourth inning to advance the lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Jade Sinness blasted a two-run home run to ignite a four-run inning and solidify Troy’s victory. The Trojans kept the momentum rolling into the second game of the day when Troy scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to down the Mastodons. Back-to-back singles by Katie Webb and a Horne walk loaded the bases, setting up a Libby Baker single to score Troy’s first run of the game. Chapman cleared the bases smashing a double to left center and came around to score off a single by Tate Moseley to close out the fourth inning rally. “I thought we were solid today in all aspects of the game,” Mullins said after beating Purdue Fort Wayne. “We pitched well, played great defense, and hit the ball. “We got better at some things we lacked in last week, especially mentally, and that is what I am most proud of. We are just going to continue to take it one game at a time.” Last Saturday, the Trojans dropped their first contest of the day to Southeast Missouri but bounced back to defeat Eastern Illinois in the nightcap. The Redhawks connected on 10 hits for 13 runs to give the Trojans their first loss of the Troy Invitational. Leanna Johnson picked up her fourth win of the season with a three-hit shutout victory where she fanned 13 batters over seven innings of work in the win over Eastern Illinois. The Trojans struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning with back-to-back doubles by Lively and Horne and a sacrifice fly by freshman Mia Jenkins. Troy tacked on another run thanks to a double hit by Webb that scored Figueroa who got on with a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the Trojans sixth win of the season. Due to bad weather and field conditions, the Trojans’ last game of the Troy Invitational against Southern Miss was canceled on Sunday. Troy will return to action on Friday at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic in Orlando, Florida. The Trojans take on Oakland at noon and Clemson at 2:30 p.m. at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports.
Staff Writer
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