Nick Duke

Staff Writer

Since the last issue of the Tropolitan, many things have gone well for the Troy softball team, including a walk-off home run win, two series sweeps of conference opponents, and a win streak that now stands at 10 games.
This series of events began back on March 14, when the Trojans hosted in-state rival UAB for a doubleheader.
The first game was tied going into the seventh and final inning of play, but senior Amanda Ragans blasted a two-run walk-off home run to give Troy a 4-2 victory.
Junior Angela Lopez took the complete game win for Troy, striking out seven Blazers en route to earning her sixth win of the year.
The second game was much like the first, as it was tied heading into the seventh inning.
Neither team would score, however, sending the game into extra innings.
An RBI triple by UAB’s Allison Davis put the Blazers ahead in the top of the eighth, and UAB added another run to take a 3-1 lead.
Troy was unable to score in their half of the inning, giving UAB the 3-1 win.
The Trojans’ only run of the game came by virtue of an RBI double off the bat of junior Jessica Lyle.
Troy sophomore Heather Rush took the loss despite pitching eight strong innings, as she gave up just six hits and two earned runs over those eight innings.
Troy would face off next against conference foe Louisiana-Monroe in the home conference opener for Troy in a three-game series.
Troy’s pitching was dominant throughout the series, as they won two of the three games by shutout.
The first game was an 8-0 Troy shutout victory that lasted just five innings due to the mercy rule.
Troy’s offense was led by Ragans and senior Stacey Dwyer, who both had two RBIs, with one of Ragans’s RBIs coming off a solo home run.
Lopez took another win for Troy, shutting out the Monroe offense and holding it to just one hit while striking out four.
The second game was much closer than the first, but still another shutout victory for Troy, this time by the score of 2-0.
Junior Courtney Davis drove in Troy’s first run in the third inning with an RBI bunt single that plated Dwyer.
Freshman Tanya McLean added Troy’s other run by hitting a solo home run, the first of McLean’s young career.
Troy’s pitching provided another one-hit complete game shutout, this time by Rush, who struck out seven over seven innings.
Troy completed the series sweep on Sunday by beating Louisiana-Monroe 8-4.
Troy trailed 1-0 in the third inning, but sophomore Heidi Johnson took the lead for Troy with a two-run home run, which was then followed up by a solo shot from Ragans to give Troy a 3-1 lead.Johnson was not done doing damage, however, as she hit another home run in her next at-bat, this time a three-run shot over the porch behind the left field fence.
Johnson finished the day 2-4 with five RBIs.
Rush took her second win of the series for Troy, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one hit and one run in that time.
Next up for Troy was a doubleheader against in-state rival Alabama A&M.
Troy would completely dominate the doubleheader both offensively and defensively, winning the two games by the scores of 9-0 and 18-0.
Freshman Rocky Paige led the offensive effort in game one by going 3-3 with four RBIs, including a three-run triple in the first inning.
More impressive than the offensive output by Troy was the effort by Lopez, who recorded a no-hitter.
Lopez pitched the full five innings, while striking out eight.
The no-hitter was the first for a Troy pitcher since February of last year, when former Trojan Laine Harcourt recorded a no-hitter against the same Alabama A&M team.
Troy’s offense exploded again in game two, giving Troy an 18-0 blowout win.
Davis led the Trojan offense this time, going 2-5 with five RBIs.
Paige earned the win for Troy by pitching three scoreless innings before giving way to Rush, who pitched the final two shutout innings for Troy.
After dismantling Alabama A&M, the Trojans turned their attention to conference opponent Florida International.
The Trojans headed to Miami over the spring break for a three-game series against FIU.
The first game saw Troy use a balanced offensive attack, in which senior Brooke Powell, Lyle, Johnson, and sophomore Felicia Hammer each drove in a run to give Troy the 4-1 victory.
Lopez was impressive once again, as she picked up her ninth win by virtue of a complete game effort in which she gave up just one run and six hits.
The second game was tied at zero at the end of seven innings, sending the game into extra innings.
Troy was unable to gain any earned runs, but sophomore Kim Kelley and freshman Kala Moore scored Troy’s only two runs of the game by scoring off a wild pitch.
Paige was impressive in the circle, pitching the full eight innings and even working her way out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth to give Troy the 2-1 win.
Troy completed the sweep the next day by utilizing another strong pitching performance to gain a 2-1 victory.
Troy’s scoring came in the third inning, when Johnson drove in Lyle and Ragans drove in Dwyer.
Troy’s pitching performance was a joint effort from both Rush and Lopez.
Rush gained the win by pitching five innings and giving up just one run, while Lopez pitched the final two innings to earn her second save of the season.
The Trojans followed up their impressive conference showing this past Tuesday by sweeping a doubleheader in Tallahassee against Florida A&M.
The first game saw Troy hold a 2-0 lead heading into the sixth inning, where the Trojans exploded for eight runs in the frame, with three of those coming off of a three-run home run by Powell.
Troy would go on to win the first game by a final score of 10-1.
Powell’s three RBIs led the Trojan offense, while Lopez picked up her 10th win of the year for Troy in the circle.
The second game was much the same as the first, as Troy completely dominated both at the plate and in the field, this time winning by the score of 13-2.
Troy used a five-run first inning and an eight-run seventh inning to account for all 13 of their runs.
Hammer led the Trojan offense this time, as she went 3-4 with five RBIs, three of which came off of a home run in the seventh inning.
Rush picked up the win for the Trojans, as she pitched the first 2 2/3 innings.
Paige finished off the game for Troy to earn her first save of the season.
The win pushed Troy’s current winning streak to an impressive ten games.
The Trojans’ record now stands at 27-8 overall and 7-2 in Sun Belt play, which places Troy in a tie for first place in the conference.
Troy softball will be back in action this Saturday for a home doubleheader against Western Kentucky at 1 p.m..
The two teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m..
The Trojans will wrap up the week’s play on Tuesday, April 3 with a doubleheader in Atlanta against Georgia State.