Troy University Athletics
Dwyer's Walk-Off Single Propels Troy to Sun Belt Title Game
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Troy's Stacey Dwyer stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game against Western Kentucky having been unsuccessful in her four previous plate appearances to that point in the Trojans' long-delayed Sun Belt Conference contest against the Hilltoppers Saturday morning.
Dwyer was able to put her earlier at-bats behind her and laced a pitch from Western Kentucky's Jennifer Kempf (21-19) back up the middle to plate Courtney Davis with the winning run, lifting Troy to a 5-4 victory and a berth in the tournament championship game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Trojans will face the winner of Florida Atlantic vs. Middle Tennessee semifinal contest. The top-seeded Owls defeated the host Blue Raiders in Saturday's second game, forcing a deciding game between the two teams at 2 p.m.
Both the Florida Atlantic-Middle Tennessee and championship games will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).
Troy (42-19) led Saturday morning's game heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Western Kentucky's (30-32) Sam Cronk hit a three-run game-tying home run off Trojans' relief pitcher Michelle Grinage.
Angela Lopez (21-8) picked up her third victory of the tournament after starting the game and then re-entering with two outs in the seventh.
She struck out three in seven combined innings of work, allowing just one run on seven hits.
Grinage pitched two innings of relief before allowing Cronk's home run in the seventh inning.
The Trojans were led at the plate by Jessica Lyle with three hits and Rocky Paige with two hits and two runs batted in.
The game originally started Friday afternoon but was delayed, and eventually postponed, because of severe weather, including a hail storm, in the Murfreesboro area.
