New Faces Shine, Trojans Rally to Extend Win Streak

Saturday, February 24

Macon, Ga.

3 p.m.

Troy University

12-4

Morehead State

4-5

Morehead State

Troy

New Faces Shine, Trojans Rally to Extend Win Streak

2/24/2024 9:26:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Athletics Communications

Troy, Ala. – The Troy softball team swept both games on the second day of the Mercer Bear Invitational at Sikes Field. The Trojans dominated Morehead State, 8-0, in the opening game before beating Bryant, 8-7, to end the night.

In the nightcap, Troy found themselves down 7-0 after the top of the fifth inning. Audra Thompson headlined the Trojans' team effort with a two-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning against Bryant. Makaley Boswell walked it off for Troy, scoring from first off a sacrifice bunt by Natalie Turner.

Cassidy Boltz led the Trojans' offense throughout the entire day. The junior transfer finished the day 5-for-6 from the plate with four RBIs, including a two-run bomb against Morehead State.

Alyssa Faircloth continued her impressive freshman campaign. The Northport, Alabama native kept her undefeated season going, improving to a perfect 5-0 from the circle after shutting out Morehead State in the opening game.

Game One: Troy 8, Morehead State 0

The Trojans dominated the opening game the entire way, getting to an early 3-0 lead after Boltz's two-run blast in the first inning. Troy scored a pair of runs in the next frame after Taylor McKinney blasted an RBI single deep to center field.

Boltz delivered the final blow with a single driven through the gap in right-center that plated two more runs for the Trojans in the bottom of the fourth.

Faircloth dominated the Eagles throughout the entire game. The true freshman hurled five shutout innings to improve to 5-0 on the season. Faircloth limited Morehead State to only two hits and set a career-high in strikeouts, punching out eight Eagles.

Game Two: Troy 8, Bryant 7

The first four and a half innings were all about the Bryant Bulldogs. The Bulldogs built a 7-0 lead after mashing multiple doubles along with a pair of homers.

However, once the bottom of the fifth inning came, Troy captured all the momentum. D'Aun Riggs got it all started for the Trojans with an RBI single in the fifth which she followed by mashing a double to plate another run in the next frame.

Troy capitalized on a crucial error by the Bulldogs when their center fielder dropped a pop fly that would have ended the inning. Instead, the Trojans plated two runs to bring Bryant's lead to just two runs at 7-5.

Thompson tied the game after blasting a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Trojans walked it off with a little bit of magic. Boswell knocked a one-out single to right field before Turner stepped into the box.

Turner bunted to advance Boswell to second, however, she noticed that the catcher was late to cover third base, so Boswell swiped that as well. After the catcher came to third base, nobody rotated home and Boswell took off for the plate and beat the pitcher in a footrace to give the Trojans the 8-7 comeback win.

Thoughts from Coach Newell

"We won a couple of ballgames and walked the last one off in style. It was one of the more memorable ones of my career and it was a good day for Troy softball. Boswell has great speed and great instincts. You never know how many runs it will take to win the ballgame. If you keep grinding and keep giving yourselves a chance and that's what we did today."

Notables

Alyssa Faircloth set a new career high in strikeouts with eight in a single game. The freshman improves to 5-0 after her five-inning shutout against Morehead State. Her outing today was her first collegiate complete game.
Audra Thompson's two-run blast was her second of the season and the eighth of her career.
Cassidy Boltz set a new career high with three hits in a single game against Bryant. She also set a career-high four RBIs in the opening game against Morehead State.
Makaley Boswell set new career highs with two hits and two runs scored in a single game, including the winning run against Bryant.
D'Aun Riggs set multiple single-game season highs: three runs scored and two stolen bases against Morehead State, two RBIs and three putouts against Bryant. Riggs mashed her first double of the season against Bryant which was her fourth double in a Trojan uniform.