TROY Opens Tournament with Victory

Wednesday, May 11

Lafayette, LA

3:00 p.m.

Troy University

Florida International University

Photo by: Sun Belt Conference

5/11/2011 5:52:20 PM | Softball

Trojans score three runs in third inning to pull away

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

LAFAYETTE, La. (TroyTrojans.com) – The fifth-seeded Troy University softball team used a three-run third inning to run past fourth-seeded FIU Panthers 4-0 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championships at Lamson Park.

TROY (36-20) rode the arm of senior Ashlyn Williams (18-13), as she threw her 23rd complete game of the season. The senior allowed just one hit in the contest, that being by Beth Pellar in the first inning, a two-strike single. Williams walked three and struck out seven batters, as she has now won 10 of her last 12 decisions.

The Trojans got to FIU (35-21) starter Jenn Gniadek (14-13) in the third inning after being held scoreless for the first two of the contest.

Senior Kortney Cooper started the inning with a single, which was followed by Kacie McAllister starting a sequence of four consecutive bunts in the inning by the Trojans. The freshman laid down a bunt back to Gniadek, who fired to second but was unable to get Cooper at second. With runners at first and second, Kelly Luquette laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Cooper and McAllister to second and third with one out.

After the Luquette bunt, things got interesting for the Trojans in the top of third. Junior Michelle Hewett laid down the third consecutive bunt of the inning, scoring Cooper from third to give TROY a 1-0 lead. The lead was extended on the same play, as McAllister scored when FIU third baseman Jessy Alfonso threw the ball to the backstop. The final bunt of the string came off the bat of junior Nikki Hollett as laid down a bunt to Gniadek that scored Hewett after getting caught in a rundown at third, giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead.

TROY added another run in the fifth inning when Sarah Harris singled home Hewett from third, who reached on a one-out single and advanced to third on a single by Hollett.

Harris, Cooper and Hollett led the Trojans with a pair of hits in the contest, while Hewett scored a pair of runs in the win for TROY.

The Trojans advance through the winner's bracket to face the winner of top-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette and eighth-seeded Middle Tennessee at 5:30 pm on Thursday night at Lamson Park.

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