Troy University Athletics
Friday, April 25
Atlanta, Ga.
5 p.m.
Troy University
30-21, 0
13
at
6
Georgia State
11-37, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
TROY
0
0
2
3
0
5
3
13
9
1
GEORGIA STATE
2
0
0
2
0
0
2
6
11
4
Five Home Runs Coast Troy Over Georgia State
4/25/2025 8:38:00 PM | Softball
ATLANTA, Ga. – Troy stopped Georgia State's hot start early Friday night with a season-high of five home runs to secure game one, 13-6, at the Bob Heck Softball Complex – the five bombs marked the most for Troy since March 19, 2021, at Georgia State.
The Trojans (30-21, 9-10 SBC) put themselves in a position to clinch a Sun Belt Tournament slot as South Alabama fell to ULM, needing to sweep the series over the Panthers (11-37, 2-17 SBC).
Nine Trojans had a hit as Taylor McKinney extended her reached base streak to 34 with her 199th career hit via the senior's 39th career home run. She also had a sac fly to secure a 3-RBI game – her 18th career game with three or more RBIs. Caiden Oliva matched her with one swing of the bat for her first career 3-RBI game, followed by Natalie Turner with two RBIs.
For Georgia State, Ryleigh Garrett led the way with a 2-for-3 showing with three RBIs. Kiki Edwards also tallied a pair of hits as the Panthers outhit the Trojans 11-9. Despite being outhit, Troy's win put it at 3-16, 2-7 SBC in that scenario.
Bombs Away
The Panthers struck first in the bottom of the first, 2-0, as they capitalized on back-to-back hit-by-pitches. A sac bunt put runners on second and third, allowing a 1-0 single to right field by Garrett to score both.
Troy stayed silent until the top of the third. After suffering two outs, Makaley Boswell delivered a deep shot to center field to claim her 12th double of 2025, sending McKinney to the plate. McKinney battled with a seven-pitch duel before delivering her 39th career home run over the left field wall to tie the game at two – she tied Becca Hartley (2014-17) for the third-most homers in a Troy career.
Georgia State neared the lead again in the bottom of the third as a pair of singles and a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with two outs. With Payton O'Conner at the plate, Alyssa Faircloth delivered the pitch, and Garrett stole second. A heads-up play by Turner saw her pump fake it to second and deliver it home to Mia Tidmore, who tagged out Edwards at home to end the inning.
The Trojans continued their long-ball attack after an error and double by Tidmore. The Panthers made a pitching change, and head coach Eric Newell matched by pinch-hitting Oliva. On her first pitch, Oliva delivered a three-run shot over the left-center wall to take the 5-2 advantage.
A three-hit bottom of the fourth for the Panthers allowed them to cut the margin to one, 5-4. Troy kept Georgia State from tying the game as they caught Zoey Defoor en route home. Kate Peters, Tidmore, Cassidy Boltz and Turner connected to pick her off and keep the lead.
Back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth from Dailynn Motes and Kayden Dunn pushed the lead to three, 7-4 – the first time Troy went back-to-back with home runs since May 9, 2024, in the SBC Tournament. The Trojans weren't done as they capitalized on a walk, two errors, an obstruction call and a sacrifice fly by McKinney to score three more, 10-4.
Troy put some insurance on their lead, boosting it to nine, 13-4, in the top of the seventh when Boltz scored on a wild pitch, and Turner hammered Troy's fifth home run of the game via a two-run shot – Georgia State responded with two runs in the bottom half to end the game at 13-6.
Head Coach Eric Newell
"It's nice to take care of business via the long ball. In the middle part of the game, we were in peril, and Taylor did Taylor things and tied the game. There were a lot of big moments, big hits and big plays. I didn't love how we finished the game, but luckily, we had the cushion to make those errors. But anytime you hit five homers, it's hard to lose. The ball carries well here at Georgia State, and I look forward to continuing that through the weekend. We've worked on making decisions defensively. It's continued to be an emphasis at practices leading up to this, and we saw Natalie and Mia make some big plays. Now, we need to show up each and every day. Anyone can beat anyone in this league. We need to keep our heads on straight."
Notables
• McKinney tied Becca Hartley (2014-17) for the third-most home runs in Troy program history with a two-run shot in the top of the third.
• Oliva's three-run shot in the top of the fourth pushed her season total to eight and her first multi-RBI homer.
• For the first time since May 9, 2024, in the SBC Tournament, the Trojans went back-to-back with home runs via Motes and Dunn.
• Motes' bomb in the top of the sixth marked her first career home run – she became the 10th active Trojan with a homer.
• Troy stole two bases in the top of the sixth to push its season total to 72. It was Troy's first stolen base since West Georgia (April 2).
• Troy's five home runs mark a season-high by the Trojans – the most since they hit four against UMass on March 8 and the first time with five since March 19, 2021, at Georgia State.
The Trojans (30-21, 9-10 SBC) put themselves in a position to clinch a Sun Belt Tournament slot as South Alabama fell to ULM, needing to sweep the series over the Panthers (11-37, 2-17 SBC).
Nine Trojans had a hit as Taylor McKinney extended her reached base streak to 34 with her 199th career hit via the senior's 39th career home run. She also had a sac fly to secure a 3-RBI game – her 18th career game with three or more RBIs. Caiden Oliva matched her with one swing of the bat for her first career 3-RBI game, followed by Natalie Turner with two RBIs.
For Georgia State, Ryleigh Garrett led the way with a 2-for-3 showing with three RBIs. Kiki Edwards also tallied a pair of hits as the Panthers outhit the Trojans 11-9. Despite being outhit, Troy's win put it at 3-16, 2-7 SBC in that scenario.
Bombs Away
The Panthers struck first in the bottom of the first, 2-0, as they capitalized on back-to-back hit-by-pitches. A sac bunt put runners on second and third, allowing a 1-0 single to right field by Garrett to score both.
Troy stayed silent until the top of the third. After suffering two outs, Makaley Boswell delivered a deep shot to center field to claim her 12th double of 2025, sending McKinney to the plate. McKinney battled with a seven-pitch duel before delivering her 39th career home run over the left field wall to tie the game at two – she tied Becca Hartley (2014-17) for the third-most homers in a Troy career.
Georgia State neared the lead again in the bottom of the third as a pair of singles and a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with two outs. With Payton O'Conner at the plate, Alyssa Faircloth delivered the pitch, and Garrett stole second. A heads-up play by Turner saw her pump fake it to second and deliver it home to Mia Tidmore, who tagged out Edwards at home to end the inning.
The Trojans continued their long-ball attack after an error and double by Tidmore. The Panthers made a pitching change, and head coach Eric Newell matched by pinch-hitting Oliva. On her first pitch, Oliva delivered a three-run shot over the left-center wall to take the 5-2 advantage.
A three-hit bottom of the fourth for the Panthers allowed them to cut the margin to one, 5-4. Troy kept Georgia State from tying the game as they caught Zoey Defoor en route home. Kate Peters, Tidmore, Cassidy Boltz and Turner connected to pick her off and keep the lead.
Back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth from Dailynn Motes and Kayden Dunn pushed the lead to three, 7-4 – the first time Troy went back-to-back with home runs since May 9, 2024, in the SBC Tournament. The Trojans weren't done as they capitalized on a walk, two errors, an obstruction call and a sacrifice fly by McKinney to score three more, 10-4.
Troy put some insurance on their lead, boosting it to nine, 13-4, in the top of the seventh when Boltz scored on a wild pitch, and Turner hammered Troy's fifth home run of the game via a two-run shot – Georgia State responded with two runs in the bottom half to end the game at 13-6.
Head Coach Eric Newell
"It's nice to take care of business via the long ball. In the middle part of the game, we were in peril, and Taylor did Taylor things and tied the game. There were a lot of big moments, big hits and big plays. I didn't love how we finished the game, but luckily, we had the cushion to make those errors. But anytime you hit five homers, it's hard to lose. The ball carries well here at Georgia State, and I look forward to continuing that through the weekend. We've worked on making decisions defensively. It's continued to be an emphasis at practices leading up to this, and we saw Natalie and Mia make some big plays. Now, we need to show up each and every day. Anyone can beat anyone in this league. We need to keep our heads on straight."
Notables
• McKinney tied Becca Hartley (2014-17) for the third-most home runs in Troy program history with a two-run shot in the top of the third.
• Oliva's three-run shot in the top of the fourth pushed her season total to eight and her first multi-RBI homer.
• For the first time since May 9, 2024, in the SBC Tournament, the Trojans went back-to-back with home runs via Motes and Dunn.
• Motes' bomb in the top of the sixth marked her first career home run – she became the 10th active Trojan with a homer.
• Troy stole two bases in the top of the sixth to push its season total to 72. It was Troy's first stolen base since West Georgia (April 2).
• Troy's five home runs mark a season-high by the Trojans – the most since they hit four against UMass on March 8 and the first time with five since March 19, 2021, at Georgia State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Faircloth, Alyssa (14-6)
L: Boulware, Sydney (3-13)
Batting:
2B: Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Tidmore, Mia 1
HR: McKinney, Taylor 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1 ; Dunn, Kayden 1 ; Turner, Natalie 1 ; Oliva, Caiden 1
RBI: McKinney, Taylor 3 ; Motes, Dailynn 1 ; Dunn, Kayden 1 ; Turner, Natalie 2 ; Oliva, Caiden 3 ; Oney, Reaghan 1
SF: McKinney, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Boswell, Makaley 1 ; McKinney, Taylor 1 ; Boltz, Cassidy 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1 ; Dunn, Kayden 1 ; Ferro, Emily 1 ; Tidmore, Mia 2 ; Williams, Laney 1 ; Turner, Natalie 2 ; Oliva, Caiden 1 ; Oney, Reaghan 1
SB: Turner, Natalie 1 ; Oney, Reaghan 1
Batting:
RBI: Middlebrooks, Chloe 1 ; Garrett, Ryleigh 3 ; Morton, Bella 1
SH: Schroyer, Ashton 1
SF: Garrett, Ryleigh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Middlebrooks, Chloe 1 ; Mumpfield, Maia 1 ; Thomas, Alice 1 ; Walker, McKenzie 1 ; OConnor, Payton 1 ; Rayner, Jordan 1
SB: Garrett, Ryleigh 1
HBP: Mumpfield, Maia 1 ; Edwards, Kiki 1
PO: Edwards, Kiki 1 ; Garrett, Ryleigh 1 ; Defoor, Zoey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUTL
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
C / UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
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