Softball Falls 2-1 in Defensive Battle against Mississippi State

Tuesday, March 7

Starkville, Miss.

6:30 PM

Troy University

11-12

Mississippi State

19-3

Troy

Mississippi State

Softball Falls 2-1 in Defensive Battle against Mississippi State

3/7/2017 10:12:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Grace Bolin

Softball Falls 2-1 in Defensive Battle against Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Troy (11-12) traveled to Starkville, Miss., for a mid-week match up with Mississippi State (19-3). The Trojans rallied late, but dropped 2-1 in a defensive battle.

After walking and scoring the first two batters in the first inning, Troy made adjustments to hold the Bulldogs scoreless through five straight innings. The Trojans posted six hits on the night, but were unable to overcome the strong fielding of the Bulldogs.

Becca Hartley got on base with a lead-off walk and Stephanie Snyder followed with a base hit into right field, but Troy couldn't bring in any runs in the first inning. The Trojan defense posted three three up, three down innings to keep the Bulldogs off the board.

Down 2-0, Erica Davis stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning with one out. She singled down the right field line and stole second to be put in scoring position. A Brooke Echols walk, put two runners on for Kaylee Hussey. Hussey got a base hit to load the bases. Jordan Gray pinch hit for Madeline Porter and hit an RBI single to score Davis.

Defense held the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth to give the Trojans one last chance iin the top of the seventh. With a walk and a reach on an error, the Trojans fought back to tie the game, but a strikeout from Holly Ward ended the rally for Troy.

Claire Graves got her ninth start in the circle, but after getting in an early jam, Peyton Glover came in as relief. Glover made her longest appearance in the circle this season at six innings and tied her season-high four strikeouts.

NOTEWORTHY
• Stephanie Snyder now leads the team with a .320 after going 2-4 in tonight's game.

• Erica Davis is on a four game hitting streak after recording a single to right field against Mississippi State.

• Freshman Brooke Echols has reached base in seven consecutive games; a career-high and the longest current streak on the team

• Senior Jordan Gray got her first hit since Troy defeated No. 19 Pittsburgh 7-5 on Feb. 25.

•Mississippi State is averaging 4.5 runs per game, but the Trojans held them to just two.

QUOTABLE
"We have got to do a better job of taking advantage of the opportunities we are given on offense," head coach Beth Mullins said. "I thought Peyton Glover threw a great game, and we played great defense behind her. Conference starts this weekend and we are going take what we learned this preseason and use it to to get better."

UP NEXT
Troy will finish their 11-game road swing with a three-game series against Georgia Southern on March 11 and 12. This will be the first conference series of the season. Game times are set for 12 and 2 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

For more on Troy softball, visit TroyTrojans.com and follow @TroyTrojansSB and @TroyAthletics on Twitter, and follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.