Troy University Athletics
Friday, February 26
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
11 a.m.
Troy University
11-1
2
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North Carolina
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5
6
7
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H
E
Troy
0
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2
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5
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North Carolina
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2
0
Johnson Blanks North Carolina, Trojans Fall in Game Two
2/26/2021 5:41:00 PM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Leanna Johnson fired a two-hit shutout to drop North Carolina, 2-0, before the Trojans fell in game two of the Friday doubleheader, 8-2, in the opening day of the Easton Crimson Classic at Rhoads Stadium.
Troy's 11-2 start matches the program's best 13-game start set in 2012 where the Trojans opened up at 11-2 and later bolstered the historic opening to 15-3.
The Trojans' shutout victory over North Carolina (5-2) marked the first time Troy has shutout a Power Five opponent since February 27, 2008 where Troy downed Florida State, 3-0.
Troy 2, North Carolina 0
Leanna Johnson (6-1) caught her stride early, firing five strikeouts through the first two frames.
After a pair of quiet plate appearances for the Trojans, Jade Sinness' kickstarted the eventual deciding frame with a bunt single in the top of the third.
After a groundout put Sinness in scoring position, Katie Webb smashed a doubled to deep left-center field plating the first run of the ballgame.
Kelly Horne followed right behind Webb blasting a double in the same left-center gap to plate the final run of the contest.
Johnson retired 10 of the next 11 Tar Heels she faced, holding a no-hitter through 5.1 innings of action.
North Carolina found its first hit of the contest in bottom of the sixth with an in-field single. A hit by pitch put a pair of runners on and bringing the go ahead run to the plate. In her usual fashion, Johnson calmly forced a fly out to remain unscathed.
After a scoreless top half of the seventh, Johnson returned to the circle to close out the contest. A walk and an Alyssa Stanley single brought the game-winning run to the plate with one out. The sophomore remained unphased and forced back-to-back outs to secure the shutout over the Tar Heels.
Hannah George (1-2) suffered the loss for North Carolina allowing four hits, two runs and a pair of walks.
North Carolina 8, Troy 2
The Trojans hopped on the board first in the bottom of the opening frame when Webb doubled to left field scoring Candela Figueroa, who got on board with a triple.
In the top of the second, North Carolina's Brittany Pickett hit a two-run home run to give the Tar Heels the lead. A double hit by Skyler Brooks and a Bri Stubbs double scored the third run of the frame.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Tar Heels' Kiersten Licea hit a two-run long ball to give North Carolina a four-run advantage in the top of the fifth.
Logan Calhoun led off the bottom of the frame with a single up the middle. Back-to-back ground outs moved Calhoun over to third setting her up to score on a wild pitch.
Kynsley Rae Blasingame entered in the top of the sixth inning and retired the side, bringing Troy's offense back to the plate.
Horne led off with a double to left field. An error and a walk loaded the bases with no outs, but the Trojans couldn't scratch a run across.
A three-run seventh inning secured the win for the Tar Heels.
Libby Baker (2-1) suffers her first loss of the season allowing three runs, five hits and a walk.
Pickett (4-0) picked up the win scattering six hits and two runs.
NOTABLE
Troy's 11-2 start matches the program's best 13-game start set in 2012 where the Trojans opened up at 11-2 and later bolstered the historic opening to 15-3.
The Trojans' shutout victory over North Carolina (5-2) marked the first time Troy has shutout a Power Five opponent since February 27, 2008 where Troy downed Florida State, 3-0.
Troy 2, North Carolina 0
Leanna Johnson (6-1) caught her stride early, firing five strikeouts through the first two frames.
After a pair of quiet plate appearances for the Trojans, Jade Sinness' kickstarted the eventual deciding frame with a bunt single in the top of the third.
After a groundout put Sinness in scoring position, Katie Webb smashed a doubled to deep left-center field plating the first run of the ballgame.
Kelly Horne followed right behind Webb blasting a double in the same left-center gap to plate the final run of the contest.
Johnson retired 10 of the next 11 Tar Heels she faced, holding a no-hitter through 5.1 innings of action.
North Carolina found its first hit of the contest in bottom of the sixth with an in-field single. A hit by pitch put a pair of runners on and bringing the go ahead run to the plate. In her usual fashion, Johnson calmly forced a fly out to remain unscathed.
After a scoreless top half of the seventh, Johnson returned to the circle to close out the contest. A walk and an Alyssa Stanley single brought the game-winning run to the plate with one out. The sophomore remained unphased and forced back-to-back outs to secure the shutout over the Tar Heels.
Hannah George (1-2) suffered the loss for North Carolina allowing four hits, two runs and a pair of walks.
North Carolina 8, Troy 2
The Trojans hopped on the board first in the bottom of the opening frame when Webb doubled to left field scoring Candela Figueroa, who got on board with a triple.
In the top of the second, North Carolina's Brittany Pickett hit a two-run home run to give the Tar Heels the lead. A double hit by Skyler Brooks and a Bri Stubbs double scored the third run of the frame.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Tar Heels' Kiersten Licea hit a two-run long ball to give North Carolina a four-run advantage in the top of the fifth.
Logan Calhoun led off the bottom of the frame with a single up the middle. Back-to-back ground outs moved Calhoun over to third setting her up to score on a wild pitch.
Kynsley Rae Blasingame entered in the top of the sixth inning and retired the side, bringing Troy's offense back to the plate.
Horne led off with a double to left field. An error and a walk loaded the bases with no outs, but the Trojans couldn't scratch a run across.
A three-run seventh inning secured the win for the Tar Heels.
Libby Baker (2-1) suffers her first loss of the season allowing three runs, five hits and a walk.
Pickett (4-0) picked up the win scattering six hits and two runs.
NOTABLE
- Leanna Johnson tossed a season-high 13 strikeouts in game one of today's doubleheader. The 13 strikeouts move Johnson into second place in Troy's career strikeout records.
- The shutout victory in game one moves Johnson into sole third place in Troy's career shutout record (15).
- With the win over Ole Miss to open the season, the Trojans have now downed a pair of Power Five opponents in the same season for the first time since 2015, where Troy beat Georgia Tech and Florida State.
- Katie Webb led the Trojans' offensively going 3-for-7 with 2 RBIs at the plate. Webb recorder her third multi-hit game of the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brittany Pickett (4-0)
L: Baker, Libby (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Kristina Burkhardt 1 ; Skyler Brooks 1
HR: Kiersten Licea 1 ; Brittany Pickett 2
RBI: Kiersten Licea 3 ; Brittany Pickett 4 ; Bri Stubbs 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shayla Thompson 1 ; Kristina Burkhardt 1 ; Kiersten Licea 2 ; Brittany Pickett 2 ; Skyler Brooks 1 ; Campbell Hutcherson 1
SB: Aneshia Jordan 1
CS: Bri Stubbs 1
HBP: Kiersten Licea 1
Batting:
2B: Webb, Katie 1 ; Horne, Kelly 1
3B: Figueroa, Candela 1
RBI: Webb, Katie 1
SH: Baker, Libby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Figueroa, Candela 1 ; Calhoun, Logan 1
HBP: Horne, Kelly 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF/C
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