The Trojan softball team traveled once again to the sunshine state and lost 3 out of 5 in the Lipton Invitational hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville last weekend ending the series with a tie game.
In game one of the tournament, the Lady Trojans faced the Lady Eagles of Georgia Southern University on Friday, Feb. 21.
The game saw an early lead for Troy with a single from senior utility player Kacie McAllister in the bottom of the first, keeping the bats hot and seeing a solid lead for the Trojans through the bottom of the fourth.
Unfortunately, the top of the fifth saw the end of the Trojan reign and the start of the Eagle rally as they came back with a 4-run lead, thanks to a grand slam.
Although the Lady Trojans were able to score once again in the bottom of the fifth, it wasn’t enough, and the game ended in a 4-3 loss.
For their next game, Troy went up against No. 1 ranked Florida.
Despite obviously intimidating circumstances, the Lady Trojans more than held their ground in the field, keeping the Lady Gators to only three runs in seven innings of play.
However, Troy just was not able to compete at the plate, and took a 3-0 loss.
Saturday, Feb. 22, was a new day for the Trojans as they opened play against Coastal Carolina University with a vengeance, winning 4-1.
Despite a slow start in the first inning, the bats were swinging in the top of the second, and Troy gained a 4-run lead that they would maintain throughout the game, only allowing Coastal Carolina to score once in the bottom of the sixth.
This win was made possible largely in part by senior outfielder Ebony Wright, who was a driving force for the Trojans with her three hits, one stolen base, and contributing one run to the scoreboard.
In their next game of the day, the Lady Trojans were once again pitted against the intimidating Florida Gators who, coming off of the close game the day before, now had something to prove.
The game got off to a fair start, with both teams canceling one another out and maintaining a stalemate until the top of the third when the Gators put themselves on the board with a 2-run lead.
It was all downhill for Troy from there as Florida continued their forward momentum into the next inning, adding five more runs in the fourth and then five runs on top of that in the seventh.
By the time the Lady Trojans began their scoring game in the bottom of the seventh, it was too late, and they took the 12-2 loss.
For the final game of the tournament, the Trojans battled bad weather as well as Indiana and subsequently came home with a 3-3 tie, marking a game of intense play due to Troy forcing the game into extra innings.
Next, the Troy softball team will be traveling to Statesboro, Ga., where they will be competing once again in tournament play in the Eagle Classic, kicking off play with Middle Tennessee at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28.
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