Trojans Open Florida Invitational with Split

Friday, February 28

Gainesville, Fla.

9 a.m.

Troy University

10-6

Western Michigan

5-9

Western Michigan

TROY

Trojans Open Florida Invitational with Split

2/28/2025 5:35:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF) - Western Michigan Box Score (PDF) - Samford

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Gainesville, Fla. – Troy softball started out the Florida Invitational with a win and a loss, topping Western Michigan in the first game before falling to Samford in the second.

Behind a potent offense, the Trojans (10-7) zoomed past the Broncos (5-9) with a 7-4 win to start the day. However, Samford (10-5) improved to 2-0 against Troy with a 5-4 win.

Caiden Oliva paced the offense with a 5-for-7 day, smacking two home runs and driving in five runs. The true freshman also stole two bases and drew a walk.

Also performing well on the day was McKinnon Howard, who continued to get on base at a dizzying rate. She went 5-for-6 and scored two runs – her batting average sits at .605 this season.

Troy 7, Western Michigan 4
After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning, Troy's bats exploded in a 7-4 win over Western Michigan. Mya Holt (4-2) entered the game in the first inning and trampled the Broncos lineup for five innings.

Holt surrendered only one run over five innings of work out of the bullpen, earning the win behind Troy's bats.

Caiden Oliva led the charge, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a stolen base. She quickly erased Troy's 3-0 deficit with a three-run blast to left field, knotting the game up at 3-3 with her third homer of the season. The true freshman logged the first three-hit game of her career.

McKinnon Howard also had a three-hit ballgame, going 3-for-3 from the nine hole and scoring two runs. She set the table for the top of the lineup – Makaley Boswell and Taylor McKinney each had an RBI.

The game started off with a huge inning from Western Michigan – the Broncos knocked Esmee Ames out of the game with five hits and three runs. However, Oliva's home run quickly tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning.

Holt sat down the Broncos in order in the second, and Sarah Beth Brake led off the second inning with a double down the line. Pinch running for the catcher, Megan Loftis wreaked havoc on the basepaths – she stole third base and scored on a Broncos throwing error to give Troy the lead.

Troy expanded the lead to 5-3 in the inning with more small ball. Natalie Turner took a walk and stole second, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt. McKinney hit a sacrifice fly for the second game in a row to widen the lead.

Oliva knocked in another run in the fourth inning, with her single to second base scoring Howard. The Broncos got the run back in the top of the fifth inning but couldn't score any more in the contest. Kate Peters got a crucial out in the sixth inning, stepping into the circle with runners on first and second and two outs.

In the bottom of the sixth, Troy added an insurance run as a single from Boswell scored Howard. Alyssa Faircloth entered in relief of Peters in the seventh inning.

While Faircloth did walk a batter, she struck out three to end the game and earn her first career save. She increased her K/7 ratio to 8.72 after she struck out three Broncos in her lone inning of work.

Samford 5, Troy 4
The Trojans fell short in the second game of the day, with a late home run by Samford propelling them past Troy 5-4.

Caiden Oliva led the offense again, going 2-for-3 with another home run and a walk – she now leads Troy with four home runs this season. From the leadoff spot, Makaley Boswell also had a stellar game. She went 1-for-2, swatting her first career home run and drawing two walks.

Alyssa Faircloth (4-2) struck out seven batters over six innings, pitching a great game until the sixth inning where Samford scored three runs.

The Trojans wasted no time scoring on the Bulldogs after failing to get on the board in the last meeting between in-state rivals. Following a walk and a single from Caiden Oliva, Cassidy Boltz slapped one out to center field to score a run.

Samford took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning, scoring two runs on a Troy error.

Troy tied the game in the third inning, with Oliva drawing a walk before two straight flyouts. Reaghan Oney delivered an RBI double to left-center field, evening the game at 2-2.

Boswell gave Troy a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, crushing a solo homer to center field. Faircloth kept the Bulldogs in check until the sixth inning.

Although Samford started the inning with a groundout, two singles set the table for Grier Bruce. Her three-run home run gave the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead late in the game. While Faircloth bounced back with two straight strikeouts, Troy faced a tough task in the top of the seventh.

With their backs against the wall, the Trojans fought back in the seventh inning but fell short. Oliva drilled a home run to left-center field to cut the lead to one, but Troy couldn't get another baserunner.

Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"We were happy to get the win against Western Michigan and we took care of business there. It was a disappointing loss here in the second game. It was a tough one to swallow. Just one pitch, one play and that game goes our way. We're playing much better softball than we were earlier. We're taking steps forward but we're disappointed in the outcome of that game."

Notables

Caiden Oliva's three-hit game against Western Michigan was the third time this season a Troy freshman has had 3+ hits in a game
Reaghan Oney extended her hit streak to seven games on Friday, the longest streak by a Trojan this season
The Trojans stole four bases against Western Michigan and three against Samford, increasing their Sun Belt Conference leading total to 33
Alyssa Faircloth earned her first career save against Western Michigan
Makaley Boswell hit her first career home run against Samford
Caiden Oliva's two home runs put her season total at four – she now leads the team in home runs
Alyssa Faircloth reached 51 strikeouts on the season with seven against Samford