Trojans Fall in Rubber Match

Sunday, April 13

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

Troy University

27-19, 6-9

Georgia Southern

27-16, 11-4

Georgia Southern

Troy

4/13/2025 2:59:00 PM | Softball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy softball fell 8-4 in Sunday's rubber match against Georgia Southern. The Eagles (27-16, 11-4 SBC) used a three-run fifth inning to take the series over the Trojans (27-19, 6-9 SBC).

Taylor McKinney and Annie Orman both continued hot streaks from the plate. McKinney bashed a first inning home run to reach double digits on the season, and Orman hit her sixth home run of the season in the third inning. McKinney finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk, and Orman went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Georgia Southern scored two runs in the first inning, drawing a bases-loaded walk and scoring another on a passed ball. Troy fought right back in the bottom of the inning.

McKinney cut into the lead, crushing her 11th home run of the season to left-center field. Caiden Oliva reached on a hit by pitch and Orman smacked a double to put runners in scoring position before Cassidy Boltz tied it up 2-2 with a ground ball to shortstop.

In the second, the Eagles scored another run on an RBI single. Following a quick Troy half inning, Faircloth went back out and spun a scoreless third inning.

Orman tied the game with a moonshot to left, knotting the score at 3-3. It was her sixth home run in the last 10 games, and third in the last four.

Esmee Ames entered the game in the fourth inning and got two outs to keep the game tied. Dailynn Motes lined a double to right field in the bottom of the frame, but the Trojans couldn't take their first lead of the game.

Georgia Southern broke it open in the fifth inning, driving an RBI double into the gap to score a run. The Eagles made it 5-3 after scoring on a fielder's choice and pushed across another on a wild pitch.

The Trojans came out swinging in the bottom of the fifth, with Makaley Boswell and McKinney hitting back-to-back singles. With two on and one out, Orman hit a sacrifice fly to the deepest part of the ballpark to cut the lead to two.

Georgia Southern widened the lead to 7-4 in the sixth inning, scoring on a fielder's choice after a leadoff double set the table. The Trojans couldn't cut the lead down after reaching on an error.

The Eagles pushed across an insurance run in the top of the seventh with an RBI double.

Boswell led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and McKinney followed it by taking a walk. However, the Trojans went down in order and couldn't push across a run.

Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a disappointing day for sure, there were a couple mental mistakes defensively and a lot of passed balls and wild pitches. We let the ball get to the backstop a little bit too much. We didn't pitch it poorly but it wasn't sharp either. Hats off to Georgia Southern, there's a reason they're top of the conference. Their pitching is really good – offensively, even though it seemed like we struggled, Annie Orman was really swinging a hot bat the whole weekend. I was optimistic even at the end, if we could get Annie to the plate we have a chance."

Notables

Taylor McKinney extended her on-base streak to 29 games with her first inning home run
McKinney is now tied for 10th place in single-season home runs in Troy history
Troy falls to 2-6 when its opponent scores in the first inning
Annie Orman has hit six homers in the last 10 games