Troy Suffers Heartbreakers Against No. 21 Louisiana

Saturday, March 24

Troy, Ala.

1 PM

Troy University

17-13, 3-4

Louisiana

19-6, 6-1

Louisiana

Troy

Troy Suffers Heartbreakers Against No. 21 Louisiana

3/24/2018 8:33:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Grace Bolin

TROY, Alabama- The 21^st-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (20-6, 7-1 SBC) came from behind in both games of the doubleheader 4-2 and 8-7 on Saturday at the Troy Softball Complex. Troy (17-14, 3-5 SBC) put up a great fight going 11 innings in game one, but fell just short.

Game one featured a battle of the defenses, with just six combined runs, while a three-run home run lifted Louisiana over Troy in game two.

Game one: Troy 2, Louisiana 4
Troy battled in its longest game of the season, 11 innings, but struggled late as the Ragin' Cajuns were able to plate two runs in the top of the 11^th that Troy's offense could not find an answer to.

Neither team was able to score in the first two innings as pitchers Annie Willis and Summer Ellyson duked it out in the circle in a tight pitcher's duel.

Troy plated its lone two runs in the game in the bottom of the third, with an RBI-single from Katie Webb and an obstruction call as Logan Calhoun slid into home.

Louisiana answered back and pulled within one in the fifth innings as a rare Troy fielding error allowed the runner to cross the plate. An RBI in the top of the sixth from the Ragin Cajuns tied the game at 2-2.

Troy, the top defensive team in the league, and Louisiana, the third best defensive team in the league both showed their skillset as neither team could get a run across in the next four innings.

A single up the middle put a runner on for Louisiana and an RBI-double from Beth Ashley gave the Ragin Cajuns a one-run, 3-2 lead in the top of the 11^th inning. Aeriyl Mass followed with a triple into left field, scoring Ashley before the Trojans could find their way out of the inning.

The rally caps were in full force in the Trojan dugout, but three easy outs for Louisiana handed Troy the first loss of the weekend.

Katie Webb continued to be impressive at the plate, batting .398 and going 2-for-3 with one RBI. She also added a team-high eight putouts. Annie Willis threw a complete game, striking out six, and only allowing here earned runs.

Game Two: Troy 7, Louisiana 8
Troy seemed to be in command of game two until the Ragin Cajuns slowly crept back in and slammed the door with a three-run home run in the top of the sixth, giving them the 8-7 win and the series win over the Trojans.

Troy once again struck first, with two runs in the first inning, before even putting a hit on the board. Back-to-back errors on Louisiana and a walk loaded the bases for Brooke Echols. A sacrifice fly from Stephanie Snyder allowed Calhoun to score the first run of the game. A wild pitch advanced all runners and scored Madeline Porter for the second run of the inning.

Louisiana responded with a two-run inning of its own, but Troy quickly shut them down with a five-run second inning. Taylor Corbett led-off with Troy's first hit of the game, an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Calhoun put runners on the corners with a base-hit of her own and Porter loaded the bases taking a hit by pitch. Some defensive miscues allowed a run to come and the bases remained juiced. With two outs, Echols took a base getting hit by pitch, plating the second run of the inning and another wild pitch brought home Porter, before Louisiana made the call to the bullpen to relieve Casey Dixon.

A single into left field from senior Erica Davis plated two more runs for the Trojans giving them an early 7-2 lead.

Louisiana inched back into the game scoring two runs in the third and one run in the fourth. The Ragin Cajun defense shut Troy out for the next five innings, as the Trojans struggled to produce at the plate.

A double and a walk in the top of the sixth put the go-ahead run at the plate for Louisiana and Lexie Comeaux blasted a three-run shot over the left field wall, as the Ragin Cajuns took an 807 lead that Troy could not answer.

Calhoun led at the plate for Troy going 2-for-4 with two runs, while Echols, Corbett and Davis added Troy's other three hits. Peyton Glover earned the start in the circle, but was relieved by Graves after 2.1 innings, who took the loss. Graves moves to 4-6 on the year.

NOTEWORTHY

Louisiana has not lost a conference series dating all the way back to 2013.
Six of Troy's 14 losses have come by just one run.
Willis set a new career-high of 167 pitches in a game. Her previous high was 129 that she threw against Georgia Southern.

UP NEXT
Troy will close the series with a single game tomorrow at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Graham Doty on the call.

For more on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com and follow @TroyTrojansSB on Twitter.