Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Troy Splits in Doubleheader Against UAB
TROY, Alabama – The Troy softball team split in a doubleheader against in-state rival UAB on Tuesday at the Troy Softball Complex, as they dropped the first game, 5-1, and won, 6-1, in the nightcap.
Becca Hartley and Hannah Day both had a hit in each game, as Day went a combined 2-for-5 with a double and an RB and Hartley went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.
UAB 5, Troy 1
UAB had dominant pitching from Megan Smith (10-4), who only gave up one earned run on four hits and stuck out three, as she picked up the win and pitched a complete game.
Troy's (18-17) only run in the game came in the sixth inning thanks to Becca Hartley's seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to left center field, that tied the game at one.
UAB (23-7) broke out with a four run seventh inning to go up, 5-1. The Blazers had runners on first and second with one out, but took the lead, 3-1, as they pushed two runs across as two Trojan errors occurred on the play. After the second out of the inning, Hayley Davis hit a two-run home run to left field to score the final two runs of the game.
Troy was cooking with gas early as it had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the first, but could not get a run to score.
Jaycee Affeldt (9-6) suffered the loss for the Trojans as she pitched seven innings, allowed five runs, one earned, on nine hits and stuck out four.
Troy 6, UAB 1
Troy (19-17) scored the go-ahead run in the third inning when Carli Kayler scored on a Hartley ground out to first base. Kate Benton, who advanced to third on the groundout, scored on a wild pitch to give Troy a 3-1 lead.
The Trojans scored first in the bottom of the first inning when Day doubled to left center field to score Benton, who reached with a lead off single.
UAB (23-8) tied the game in the third inning as SaraBeth Williamson singled up the middle to score Amy Dennis, which give the Blazers their first and only run of the game.
The Trojans added to their lead in the fifth inning as Hartley hit an RBI double to center field for her third RBI of the night to make the score, 4-1. The next batter, Ashley Rainey bombed a two-RBI home run over the left center field wall to score the final two runs of the game.
All of Troy's six hits came from six individual players. Benton and Kayler each had a single in the game; Day, Hartley and Khadija Neely had doubles and Rainey had the lone home run of the game.
Rainey (7-3) got the win for Troy as she allowed just one earned run on seven hits and only walked one in five innings of work. Affeldt came in to pitch two innings of relief work and only gave up two hits and two walks. Affeldt struck out three, which brought her season total of strikeouts to 83.
Troy will host Sun Belt opponent ULM for a weekend series that will begin with a doubleheader on Friday and end with a game on Saturday. The first game of the doubleheader on Friday is slated for 3 p.m. and the second is set to begin at 5 p.m. The series finale will begin at noon on Saturday.
For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twitter at @TroyTrojansSB.
----
Late Rally Not Enough as Warhawks Fall to LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Warhawks brought the tying run to the plate in seventh inning, but the #2 LSU Tigers held on to take a 3-7 victory on Tuesday night at Tiger Park.
The Warhawks (24-9) took an early first inning lead with a two-RBI single from sophomore Vanessa Garcia, but the Tigers (33-3) would pick up seven runs off seven hits to retake the lead.
The Warhawks loaded the bases in the seventh inning and brough the tying run to the plate, but the last-inning rally was not enough to overtake the Tigers.
The Warhawks out hit the Tiger nine hits to seven, as LSU ranks as one of the top-hitting teams in the nation.
Junior Faith Bohack went 2-for-4 on the day with one RBI and scoring a run to add to the Warhawk offense.
Sophomore Melanie Coyne got the start in the circle as she went three innings, giving up six runs on six hits. Coyne was charged with the loss and moves to 9-5 on the season.
Senior Jessica Collver and freshman Paige Porter combined for three innings of relief, allowing just one hit, one run and striking out two.
The Warhawks started the game hot with Bohack and redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete knocking back-to-back, one-out doubles to put runners at second and third.
After the Tigers picked up an out in foul territory, junior Amye Barre loaded the bases with two outs after taking a pitch off her foot.
Garcia delivered a two-out double to left center field to bring home two runs and give the Warhawks an early 2-0 lead.
LSU used three walks to load the bases with two-outs in the bottom of the first, but the Warhawk defense held strong and stranded the runners.
The Tigers knocked a one-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the second to record their first hit. A two-out walk and steal put runners on the corners for LSU.
Bailey Landry knocked a single up the middle to bring home two and lock the game at a 2-all tie through two innings.
LSU took a 2-3 lead with a third-inning, lead off home run to center field from Sahvanna Jaquish. The Tigers used three hits, an error and a walk to load the bases with two outs to score three more runs to give LSU a 6-2 lead through three innings.
Colliver made her 18th relief appearance on the season as she retired the first six batters she face, but the Tigers would add one run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.
The Warhawks would not go now quietly as they used three straight singles to lead off the seventh inning and cut the lead to 3-7. The Warhawks loaded the bases with one-out to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Tiger defense held strong to take the game.
The Warhawks return to conference play on Friday, April 3-4 as they travel to Troy, Ala., to face the Trojans in a three-game series.
For the latest on ULM softball, visit ULMWarhawks.com and follow the team on Twitter (@ULM_Softball) and Facebook (facebook.com/ULMSoftball).