Troy Falls to No. 23 Mississippi State in Final Midweek

Wednesday, April 25

Troy, Ala.

6 PM

Troy University

28-21

Mississippi State

34-15

Mississippi State

Troy

Troy Falls to No. 23 Mississippi State in Final Midweek

4/25/2018 9:32:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Grace Bolin

TROY, Alabama- Mississippi State's Holly Ward threw a one-hitter as Troy (28-21) fell to the Bulldogs (34-15) 7-0 on Wednesday night at the Troy Softball Complex.

Madeline Porter picked up Troy's lone hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth, an infield single to the shortstop.

The Bulldogs began their scoring campaign with two runs in the second inning, a two-RBI double from Emily Heimberger. Troy held the Bulldogs scoreless in the third and fourth innings, but three back-to-back singles and a double plated four runs for the Bulldogs in the fifth.

The final run of the game was plated for Mississippi State in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly in foul territory. Steph Snyder made the catch, but Heimberger was able to score from third before the Trojans could end the frame.

Ward (13-6) only allowed one hit and walked her first batter, sophomore Katie Webb, in the final inning of the game.

Peyton Glover (9-6) made the start in the circle for the Trojans, but after giving up six runs, she was relieved by Claire Graves. Graves threw three innings and did not allow a hit. She walked two batters and struck out a pair, while only allowing one run to cross the plate.

QUOTABLE
"Anytime you can play a game that reminds the kids that we play for something so much bigger than ourselves, it's great," head coach Beth Mullins said regarding the #NoOneFightsAlone cancer awareness game. "Alex Wilcox lives right down the road in Brantley (Ala.) and I have known her a long time, this whole community knows her and supports her. It was a really good opportunity for us to support her and her cause and anyone else that is fighting this disease."

"We knew heading into the game that we were going to face one of the best pitching staffs in the country and we had to grind it out," Mullins said. "I don't think we started very fast, we had to sit in there and see what is was for a while, but we started having some really good at-bats in the middle innings that didn't quite fall for hits, but we hit the ball a lot harder. Props to them for throwing a really good game and putting the runs on the board."

NOTEWORTHY

Porter continues to be solid at the plate for Troy. She entered the game ranked 17^th nationally in toughest player to strikeout.
Mississippi State improves to 9-0 overall in the series.
The Bulldogs were the fourth ranked opponent Troy has faced this season. The Trojans are 1-6 against ranked teams. They defeated No. 21 Louisiana 2-1 in the final game of the series on March 25.

UP NEXT
Troy will face another ranked opponent as No. 21 Texas State travels to Troy for the final home series of the season, April 28 and 29. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 and 3 p.m., and first pitch on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday will be Senior Day as Erica Davis, Carli Kayler, and Cassidy McDilda will be honored.

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