Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Long Ball Lifts Troy past Alabama State
MONTGOMERY, Alabama - The Troy softball team hit seven home runs against Alabama State Tuesday night at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex to defeat the Hornets 14-2 in the first game and 10-2 in the second.
Hannah Day accounted for three of the seven Trojan home runs and went 5-for-7 on the day while tallying six RBIs on the night. It was the first time a Troy player hit two home runs in a game since 2011 when Nikki Hollett hit two against Mississippi Valley State.
The Trojans scored 24 runs as they amassed 23 hits in the rout.
Troy (8-7) scored 14 runs off 13 hits in the first game of the doubleheader, three of were home runs while five of them were doubles.
Troy scored seven runs off seven hits in the second inning to break open a 0-0 game. Becca Hartley scored the first run after opening with a single, in thanks to a double by Erica Davis to left center field.
Later in the third, Day blasted a 2-run home run, her first in a Trojan uniform, to left field to make the score 5-0. Amanda Winters hit a two-run home run in the same inning to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.
Troy added six more runs give it an 8-0 advantage in the fifth inning, highlighted by Becca Hartley's first home run of the season, a three run shot to left center field.
The Trojans 3-4-5 hitters combined for eight RBIs on seven hits in the game. Michelle Phelps went 3-for-3 with one RBI, and Hartley went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Amanda Winters went 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
Ashley Rainey (4-1) pitched four innings giving up two earned runs on three hits while walking two.
Alabama State (3-11) scored two runs in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to six, but the Trojans scored six runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
Hannah Day highlighted the nightcap by going 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs, in Troy's come from behind win.
The Trojans (9-7) took the lead in the top of the first inning on a solo shot by Day, her first of the game.
Alabama State (3-12) fought to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a leadoff triple by Jenna Mae Thorne, who tied the game by scoring on a Kendall Core groundout. The Hornets then took its first lead of the day on a single by Aleesa Yanez, 2-1.
Troy never backed down as it scored nine unanswered runs to close out the game, scoring four in the fifth inning and five in the sixth.
Carli Kayler hit a bomb in the fifth inning, the first of her career, to take back the lead for the Trojans, 3-2. Troy added two more in the inning with back-to-back solo home runs from Day and Phelps. The home run was Day's second home run of the game, and third of the night.
The Trojans strung together five hits to score five runs in the sixth inning to make the game 10-2.
Affeldt (5-2) got the win for Troy, giving up two runs on only four hits while striking out two. Affeldt walked one Hornet.
Melissa Christmann (1-3) took the loss for Alabama State pitching 4.2 innings giving up five runs, two earned on four hits and striking out five.
The Trojans and Hornets will face again on Friday in DeLand, Fla., as part of the Stetson Invitational.
For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twitter at @TroyTrojansSB.