Troy Finishes Road Trip With Split

Sunday, February 23

Tampa, Fla.

10:30 a.m.

Troy University

9-5

Kent State

3-11

Troy

Kent State

2/23/2025 5:55:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF) - Kent State

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Tampa, Fla. – Troy softball closed out the South Florida Showdown on Sunday with another 1-1 day, beating Kent State before falling to South Florida in a tight battle.

After going back-and-forth for much of their matinee against the Golden Flashes (3-11), the Trojans (9-6) used a three-run sixth inning to top Kent State 6-4. Against South Florida (13-4), Troy couldn't quite get the runs needed in a 10-8 loss.

Cassidy Boltz had a stellar 4-for-8 day from the dish – she homered in each game and had four RBIs. She's the second Trojan this season to homer in both games of a doubleheader after Taylor McKinney did it on opening day.

Troy 6, Kent State 4
Staring down a 3-2 deficit in the sixth inning, the Troy bats got hot late to beat Kent State 6-4. The Trojans used a three-run sixth to beat the Golden Flashes in their first game of the day.

Following a 4-for-5 performance on Saturday, Reaghan Oney had a perfect 4-for-4 game against Kent State to keep her momentum going. Cassidy Boltz went 2-for-4, hitting a solo home run and an RBI single to fuel Troy's offense in the slower early innings.

Alyssa Faircloth (4-1) surrendered three earned runs in 4.2 innings, but Esmee Ames (2-1) who earned the win after locking down the Golden Flashes in the late stages of the game. Although Ames allowed an earned run, the offense's four runs in the last two innings gave her the run support she needed.

Kent State took an early lead, pushing across a run in the first inning. While Troy was able to get a few hits, it didn't get on the board until the fourth inning.

After taking the first pitch of the at-bat, Boltz launched a ball to left-center field to knot the game up at 1-1. The Trojans loaded the bases off an Oney single and two walks but couldn't take the lead in the frame.

Troy took the lead in the fifth inning – Taylor McKinney reached on an error, and Boltz punished the Golden Flashes with an RBI single to left field. However, Kent State fought right back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to take a 3-2 lead.

Despite a single from Reese Green in the sixth inning, the Trojans were staring down a two-out situation with a runner on second base. McKinney came up clutch, igniting a rally with a single through the right side to tie the game at 3-3.

Troy added two more runs with RBI singles from Caiden Oliva and Sissy Dunn, taking a 5-3 lead. The Golden Flashes scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Mia Tidmore extended the lead back to two in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI single.

Esmee Ames shut the door in the seventh as Troy earned its ninth win of the season.

USF 10, Troy 8
The Trojans dropped the second game of the day in a 10-8 shootout with South Florida. A five-run fourth inning from the Bulls proved too much for Troy to overcome late in the game.

Makaley Boswell, Cassidy Boltz and Sissy Dunn all had two-hit, two-RBI games in the loss. Boltz hit her second home run of the day and Boswell earned her first multi-RBI game of the season.

Troy started off the game strong – Boswell led off the contest with a single, and Boltz tattooed a ball to right field to give Troy a 2-0 lead. However, South Florida tied the game right back up with a two-run first inning of its own.

Leading off the second inning, Dunn hit a double and advanced to third on a Mia Tidmore groundout. Troy loaded the bases on a Natalie Turner walk and a McKinnon Howard single, and Boswell drove in two more runs with a double to left-center field.

The Bulls scored three unanswered runs in the second and third innings, taking a 5-4 lead heading into the fourth inning. Taylor McKinney tied the game up in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, scoring Tidmore after she reached on a single.

South Florida broke the game open in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs. Troy tried to claw back into the game in the final innings, starting with a two-run shot from Dunn in the fifth.

While the Trojans had the tying run at the plate down 10-7 in the seventh, all they could manage was a sacrifice fly to make it a 10-8 final.

Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a long day here in Tampa. To sum it up, we were 1-1 but I really feel like we grew as a team today. The South Florida bunch in the second game really hit the ball well, but we competed toe-to-toe, batter-for-batter and girl-for-girl. There were a lot of crazy things that happened in the first game to get the win over Kent State. As a group, we showed a lot of resilience today."

Notables

Reaghan Oney got hits in seven straight at-bats between the Wisconsin and Kent State games, becoming the first Trojan to have six or more consecutive hits since D'Aun Riggs in Feb. 2024.
Troy is now 17-6 under Eric Newell when playing in the state of Florida
Cassidy Boltz is the second Trojan this season to hit a home run in both games of a doubleheader after Taylor McKinney did it on opening day
Sissy Dunn hit her second home run of the season against South Florida, matching her total from 2024
The Trojans won their first ever meeting with Kent State