Troy University Athletics
Saturday, April 26
Atlanta, Ga.
1 p.m.
Troy University
30-22, 0
2
at
6
Georgia State
12-37, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
TROY
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
4
1
GEORGIA STATE
4
0
0
0
0
2
X
6
12
0
Series Tied at One as Troy Drops Game Two to Georgia State
4/26/2025 3:57:00 PM | Softball
ATLANTA, Ga. – Troy fell early in the first inning, 4-0, and couldn't capitalize on a pair of solo shots from Cassidy Boltz as it fell to Georgia State in game two, 6-2, at the Bob Heck Softball Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The loss puts Troy (30-22, 9-11 SBC) in a two-way tie with James Madison for the No. 9 seed with four games remaining. Meanwhile, the Panthers (12-37, 3-17 SBC) pick up their third league despite being eliminated from postseason contention after a win by JMU.
Of the four hits for Troy, two came from Boltz and a pair more from Caiden Oliva as they claimed their ninth and seventh two-hit games of 2025. The Tallahassee, Fla. native hit a pair of solo home runs for her first multi-home run game in her Troy career. She also moved her season total to seven, one off from her career-high of eight last season. Kate Peters came in for Savannah Money (4-6) at the bottom of the third and pitched four innings with a strikeout. She held the Panthers silent until the sixth.
Lead-off hitter Chloe Middlebrooks had a 3-for-4 showing with a double, as Ryleigh Garrett and Payton O'Conner had a pair of RBIs for the Panthers. Emily Hodnett (3-7) pitched a complete game to victory with three strikeouts and two earned runs through 26 batters.
Game Summary
Like yesterday, the Panthers got the early advantage with a quartet of runs, 4-0, after they played the small ball to load the bases with one out on the board. From there, Ryleigh Garrett and Payton O'Conner capitalized on singles to right and left field, respectively, to score a pair each.
Cassidy Boltz responded quickly for the Trojans as she found herself up 3-1 in the count in the top of the second and found her pitch. The senior third baseman sent her sixth homer of 2025 over the left field wall to cut the deficit to three, 4-1.
Jordan Rayner got the Panthers going again in the bottom of the third when she sent an 0-2 double down the left field line – Zoey Defoor followed with a single to left field to put runners on the corners. Defoor got greedy and, en route to a stolen base, was picked up with a Mia Tidmore to Natalie Turner connection, allowing a foul out to Taylor McKinney to end the inning. Boltz went to work again at the top of the fourth when she sent her seventh homer and second of the game over the right-center wall to score 4-2.
Both sides remained silent until Georgia State opened it up in the sixth, 6-2, via a single by pinch hitter Morgan Willingham and a 1-2 double by Chloe Middlebrooks. With runners in scoring position, Maia Mumpfield grounded out to second, allowing Willingham to score, 5-2, and Middlebrooks to reach third – Kiki Edwards proceeded to hit her first pitch to right field for an RBI single, 6-2.
The Trojans had one last shot in the top of the seventh when Caiden Oliva sent her first pitch to right field for a lead-off double. A ground out by McKinnon Howard put Oliva on third, but Emily Hodnett finished the job with a ground out to her and punch out.
Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a disappointing day for sure. We couldn't get the hits strung together at the right time. We always talk about putting the hits together and putting it on the next person, but we just couldn't get it going. We got down 4-0 in the first inning, which set the tone for the rest of the game. But we need to forget it, flush it and move on to winning on Sunday. Tomorrow is a very important conference game for us, so we need to get the job done. You won't find a better kid than Cassidy. She did her job and hit a pair of solo shots. Wish we had runners on the bags when she did that, but she did her job."
Notables
• Boltz went back-to-back with home runs to bring her season tally to seven, becoming the second Trojan (McKinney) to hit home runs in consecutive at-bats – McKinney hit a pair at West Georgia on April 2.
• Troy's hits came from Boltz and Oliva, who claimed a pair for their ninth and seventh two-hit games.
• Boltz's two RBIs led the Trojans as she secured her ninth multi-RBI game and seventh with two RBIs.
The loss puts Troy (30-22, 9-11 SBC) in a two-way tie with James Madison for the No. 9 seed with four games remaining. Meanwhile, the Panthers (12-37, 3-17 SBC) pick up their third league despite being eliminated from postseason contention after a win by JMU.
Of the four hits for Troy, two came from Boltz and a pair more from Caiden Oliva as they claimed their ninth and seventh two-hit games of 2025. The Tallahassee, Fla. native hit a pair of solo home runs for her first multi-home run game in her Troy career. She also moved her season total to seven, one off from her career-high of eight last season. Kate Peters came in for Savannah Money (4-6) at the bottom of the third and pitched four innings with a strikeout. She held the Panthers silent until the sixth.
Lead-off hitter Chloe Middlebrooks had a 3-for-4 showing with a double, as Ryleigh Garrett and Payton O'Conner had a pair of RBIs for the Panthers. Emily Hodnett (3-7) pitched a complete game to victory with three strikeouts and two earned runs through 26 batters.
Game Summary
Like yesterday, the Panthers got the early advantage with a quartet of runs, 4-0, after they played the small ball to load the bases with one out on the board. From there, Ryleigh Garrett and Payton O'Conner capitalized on singles to right and left field, respectively, to score a pair each.
Cassidy Boltz responded quickly for the Trojans as she found herself up 3-1 in the count in the top of the second and found her pitch. The senior third baseman sent her sixth homer of 2025 over the left field wall to cut the deficit to three, 4-1.
Jordan Rayner got the Panthers going again in the bottom of the third when she sent an 0-2 double down the left field line – Zoey Defoor followed with a single to left field to put runners on the corners. Defoor got greedy and, en route to a stolen base, was picked up with a Mia Tidmore to Natalie Turner connection, allowing a foul out to Taylor McKinney to end the inning. Boltz went to work again at the top of the fourth when she sent her seventh homer and second of the game over the right-center wall to score 4-2.
Both sides remained silent until Georgia State opened it up in the sixth, 6-2, via a single by pinch hitter Morgan Willingham and a 1-2 double by Chloe Middlebrooks. With runners in scoring position, Maia Mumpfield grounded out to second, allowing Willingham to score, 5-2, and Middlebrooks to reach third – Kiki Edwards proceeded to hit her first pitch to right field for an RBI single, 6-2.
The Trojans had one last shot in the top of the seventh when Caiden Oliva sent her first pitch to right field for a lead-off double. A ground out by McKinnon Howard put Oliva on third, but Emily Hodnett finished the job with a ground out to her and punch out.
Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a disappointing day for sure. We couldn't get the hits strung together at the right time. We always talk about putting the hits together and putting it on the next person, but we just couldn't get it going. We got down 4-0 in the first inning, which set the tone for the rest of the game. But we need to forget it, flush it and move on to winning on Sunday. Tomorrow is a very important conference game for us, so we need to get the job done. You won't find a better kid than Cassidy. She did her job and hit a pair of solo shots. Wish we had runners on the bags when she did that, but she did her job."
Notables
• Boltz went back-to-back with home runs to bring her season tally to seven, becoming the second Trojan (McKinney) to hit home runs in consecutive at-bats – McKinney hit a pair at West Georgia on April 2.
• Troy's hits came from Boltz and Oliva, who claimed a pair for their ninth and seventh two-hit games.
• Boltz's two RBIs led the Trojans as she secured her ninth multi-RBI game and seventh with two RBIs.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hodnett, Emily (3-7)
L: Money, Savannah (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Oliva, Caiden 1
HR: Boltz, Cassidy 2
RBI: Boltz, Cassidy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Boltz, Cassidy 2
Batting:
2B: Middlebrooks, Chloe 1 ; Rayner, Jordan 1
RBI: Mumpfield, Maia 1 ; Edwards, Kiki 1 ; Garrett, Ryleigh 2 ; OConnor, Payton 2
SH: Mumpfield, Maia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Middlebrooks, Chloe 2 ; Thomas, Alice 1 ; Schroyer, Ashton 1 ; Garrett, Ryleigh 1 ; Willingham, Morgan 1
SB: Thomas, Alice 1 ; Garrett, Ryleigh 1
CS: Defoor, Zoey 1
HBP: Schroyer, Ashton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC / UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballGerad Parker - SBC Media Zoom
Monday, September 22
Gerad Parker Postgame Press Conference - Buffalo
Saturday, September 20
Player Postgame Press Conference - Evan Crenshaw, Jordan Stringer, Tucker Kilcrease
Saturday, September 20
Troy at Buffalo (Full Highlights)
Saturday, September 20