Softball Sweeps Doubleheader from No. 25 Texas State

Saturday, March 18

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

Troy University

20-7, 1-0

Texas State

18-10, 0-1

Texas State

Troy

Softball Sweeps Doubleheader from No. 25 Texas State

3/18/2023 6:01:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game One Box Score (PDF)Game Two Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Home runs in the sixth inning of both games of Saturday's doubleheader lifted Troy to a sweep over No. 25 Texas State at the Troy Softball Complex. The wins assured the Trojans of their first series victory over the Bobcats since 2018.

Libby Baker hit a 2-out, 2-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of game one to break a 5-all tie, and Taylor McKinney capped a 5-run sixth inning in the nightcap with a 3-run shot to break a 3-all tie.

The wins mark the second straight season that Troy has multiple victories over Top 25 opponents after defeating No. 21 LSU and No. 25 Ohio State last season.

Troy (21-7, 2-0 SBC) and Texas State (18-11, 0-2) meet Sunday at noon in the series finale. A Troy win would mark its first-ever sweep in the series with Texas State. Leanna Johnson, who picked up a win and a save on Saturday, will head to the circle in search of her Troy-record 94^th career victory.

Troy 7, Texas State 6
Libby Baker hit a 2-out, 2-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, Kennedi Gaton homered and drove in three runs, and Jade Sinness had three hits and robbed a home run to lead Troy past No. 25 Texas State in game one of the doubleheader.

Texas State took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning, taking advantage of one of three Troy errors in the game, but the Trojans responded with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to come out on top in the Sun Belt opener for both clubs.

Gaton, who finished 2-for-3 at the plate, tied the game with a 2-out, 2-run single in the fifth after Sinness, Kelly Horne and Audra Thompson strung back-to-back-to-back singles with two outs.

It was more 2-out magic for the Trojans in the sixth as Anslee Finch drew a 2-out walk, and Baker took preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Jessica Mullins over the center field wall to put Troy up, 7-5.

Anna Jones took the third pitch of the top of the seventh to deep center field, but Sinness went over the wall to pull it back for a harmless out. The play was huge for the Trojans as Karmyn Bass homered two batters later to pull the Bobcats within one, 7-6.

Troy's 14 hits in the game were its second-most of the season, only behind a 15-hit effort against North Florida. The Trojans entered the weekend averaging 8.4 hits and 7.9 runs over their last 10 games.

Leanna Johnson (16-2) didn't have her best stuff in the circle, but it was enough as she tied Troy's all-time wins record with the 93^rd of her career. She struck out nine, walked four, allowed six runs – four earned – and scattered seven hits in the complete game effort.

Mullins (11-6), who earned a pair of Top 10 wins last week over Alabama and Texas, took the loss after she allowed five runs on seven hits over three innings of work. Tori McCann allowed two runs in the middle three innings of the game in early relief of Mullins.

Troy 6, Texas State 3

After being no-hit for the first 4.2 innings of the game, Troy exploded for six runs and five hits in their last two at-bats to rally past No. 25 Texas State, 6-3, in game two of the doubleheader. Taylor McKinney provided the knockout blow with a 3-run home run in the sixth to break a 3-all tie.

D'Aun Riggs tied the game with a 2-run single in the sixth with the bases loaded after Jade Sinness led off the inning with a double, Kelly Horne was hit by a pitch, and Kennedi Gaton rocketed an infield single.

Three pitches later, McKinney hit a no-doubter over the wall in right-center field for her team-leading seventh bomb of the season.

The sixth-inning heroics were made possible by a pair of two-out walks by Riggs and McKinney in the fifth and an RBI single from Anslee Finch after she fell behind in the count 1-2; it was Troy's first hit of the game.

Brookelyn Cannon (1-0) was stellar out of the bullpen for the Trojans as she tossed 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts to bridge the gap between starter Olivia Cato and Leanna Johnson; the victory was the first of her career. The latter closed out the Bobcats in the seventh for her second save of the year.

Texas State scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning on a 2-run single from JJ Smith and a squeeze bunt off the bat of Makayla Hall. Bailee Welsh (0-1) was tagged with the loss after she allowed four runs on three hits in just two-thirds relief innings.