The Troy Trojan softball team hosted Texas-Arlington on Saturday and got its first win since March 19, but dropped the series two games to one.
After dropping the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 4-3, Troy bounced back with a five-inning 9-0 win in the nightcap. The Mavericks then won the rubber match on Sunday 5-2.
In game one, Troy got on the board first with a solo home run from senior Becca Hartley. Hartley has homered at least once in each of Troy’s four Sun Belt series and is tied for fourth in the nation with 13 home runs.
Arlington took the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs off an RBI double and a sacrifice fly. The Mavericks extended their lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning when three hits led to two runs.
Troy rallied in the bottom of the seventh and plated two runs. The rally fell short as the Trojans stranded two runners in scoring position.
In the second game, Troy used a monster fourth inning to run-rule the Mavericks. After 2.5 scoreless innings, the Trojans struck first in the third with an RBI double off the bat of Hartley.
In the fourth, the Trojans scored eight runs on seven hits and two errors in 12 at-bats. Freshman Logan Calhoun hit a single with the bases loaded and brought in two runs. The next five batters registered two singles and three doubles, with all but one bringing in a run.
The Mavericks could not extend the game, going down in three batters on eight pitches. Senior pitcher Meg Willis got her first start and win of the season, all while recording her first career complete game.
Arlington clinched the series on Sunday, however, with a late surge in the game’s final two innings. Troy scored first with a sacrifice fly in the first, but was answered immediately with a Maverick run in the second.
The Trojans retook the lead in the third inning when junior Cassidy McDilda was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Arlington took its first lead of the game with two runs in the sixth and added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to bring the score to 5-2.
Troy, which is 2-9 away from home, will try to solve its road woes this weekend in Louisiana when it takes on the Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns. The series doubleheader will be on Saturday with game one scheduled for 2 p.m.
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