Troy University Athletics
Saturday, March 4
Jacksonville, Fla.
4 p.m.
Troy University
13-6
12
at
1
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North Florida
9-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Troy
0
1
1
0
1
1
8
12
15
0
North Florida
0
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1
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1
6
3
Softball Splits Doubleheader at North Florida
3/4/2023 9:48:00 PM | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Troy hit four home runs, and Libby Baker hit three doubles and a homer as the Trojans split a doubleheader Saturday evening at North Florida. Troy won the opener 12-1 behind the strength of six extra-base hits, and North Florida rebounded for an 8-6 win in the nightcap despite three Trojan homers.
In addition to Baker's big night, Taylor McKinney had four hits with a double, a triple and a home run plus four RBIs, while Kennedi Gaton had three hits and a homer in the opener.
Troy (13-7) had 11 extra-base hits in the two games, 28 percent of its season output coming into the day. North Florida (10-6) used a five-run fifth inning in the second game to erase an early Troy lead and avoid the sweep.
Troy closes play at the JU/UNF Spring Break Challenge at 11 a.m. Sunday against Charleston Southern.
Troy 12, North Florida 1
Troy exploded for eight runs in the seventh inning en route to a 12-1 victory over North Florida in game one of the doubleheader. The Trojan offense finished with a season-high 15 hits in the game with six, also a season-high, going for extra-bases.
The Trojans scored single runs in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings to build a 4-0 lead before the explosion of runs in the seventh. Kennedi Gaton led the charge with a 3-for-3 game, including her second home run of the season, while Libby Baker had a pair of doubles and Taylor McKinney drove in three.
Leanna Johnson (9-2) moved one step closer to history as she struck out seven, walked two and scattered six hits over seven innings with just one run allowed. Her ninth win of the season closes the gap between Johnson and the Troy all-time wins record to eight.
Audra Thompson put Troy on the board, scoring on a UNF throwing error in the second after she kept the inning alive with a two-out double. Baker and Jade Sinness doubled back-to-back with two outs in the third for Troy's second run, and Baker doubled home a McKinney walk in the fifth.
Gaton homered on a 2-1 offering with one out in the sixth to push Troy's advantage to 4-0 before Shannon Glover put the Ospreys on the board with a one-out homer in their half of the frame.
Thompson, Katelynn de Leon and D'Aun Riggs had RBIs in Troy's big seventh inning before McKinney hit a bases-clearing triple, her third triple of the season.
Ashley Conner (2-3) was charged with the loss for North Florida as she allowed three runs – two earned – on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work.
North Florida 8, Troy 6
A five-run third inning was the difference as North Florida bounced back to defeat Troy, 8-6, in the nightcap and split the doubleheader.
Troy took leads of 2-0 and 5-2 after home runs by Libby Baker and Anslee Finch, respectively, but the Ospreys bounced back each time. UNF scored two in the first on a three-base error following a bunt single and a solo home run by Savannah Glover, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
Following Finch's third homer of the weekend, UNF opened its half of the third with three straight doubles to chase Troy starter Olivia Cato from the circle. The Ospreys added three more in the frame to build a 7-5 lead and added a sac fly in the fourth.
Taylor McKinney hit her team-leading fifth home run of the season to close the gap to 8-6 in the fifth.
Cato (1-2) was charged with the loss for the Trojans after allowing five runs on five hits in just two innings of work. Brookelyn Cannon kept UNF at bay with three scoreless innings to close out the game.
Izzy Kelly (7-1) picked up the win despite allowing six runs in 4.2 innings of work, while Ashley Conner earned her second save with 2.1 scoreless innings.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Leanna (9-2)
L: CONNOR, Ashley (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Baker, Libby 2 ; Sinness, Jade 1 ; Thompson, Audra 1
3B: McKinney, Taylor 1
HR: Gaton, Kennedi 1
RBI: Riggs, D'Aun 1 ; McKinney, Taylor 3 ; Baker, Libby 1 ; Sinness, Jade 1 ; Thompson, Audra 1 ; Gaton, Kennedi 1 ; de Leon, Katelynn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Riggs, D'Aun 1 ; McKinney, Taylor 2 ; Finch, Anslee 1 ; Baker, Libby 1 ; Dunn, Kayden 1 ; Sinness, Jade 1 ; Thompson, Audra 2 ; Gaton, Kennedi 2 ; de Leon, Katelynn 1
SB: Sinness, Jade 1 ; Thompson, Audra 1
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Batting:
HR: GLOVER, Shannon 1
RBI: GLOVER, Shannon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GLOVER, Shannon 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
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P
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P
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/ SoftballOF
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UTIL
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OF
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INF
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