Troy University Athletics
Sunday, February 8
Troy, Ala.
2:30 p.m.
Troy University
4-1
10
vs
0
Southern
0-4
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Southern
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
Troy
2
0
1
7
10
10
1
Ames Strikes out Eight in Run-rule Win over Southern
2/8/2026 5:07:00 PM | Softball
TROY, Ala. – Making her first start of the season, senior pitcher Esmee Ames set a career high of eight strikeouts in Troy softball's 10-0 run-rule win over Southern. The Troy (4-1) offense erupted for seven fourth-inning runs against the Jaguars (0-4).
Four Trojans extended their hit streaks to five games in the win – Kyye Ricks, Kiley Huffman, Ella Cunningham and Dailynn Motes collected a base hit in every game of the Trojan Classic. Huffman finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Makaley Boswell went 2-for-3 with an RBI and her third career triple.
Ames spun a clean first inning with two strikeouts. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Trojans offense put together a rally to strike first and make it 2-0.
Huffman slapped a single through the right side to ignite the offense in the first. Cunningham extended her own hit and RBI streaks to five games with a screamer over the left fielder's head to make it 1-0.
With two outs in the inning, Mia Tidmore created chaos with an infield single that forced an error and allowed Cunningham to scramble home.
Ames tied her career high of three strikeouts in the top of the second inning and broke it in the third after freezing a Jaguar batter with a pitch at the bottom of the zone.
The Trojans added on in the bottom of the third after Boswell roped a triple to right-center field. Cunningham brought her home with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Ames added two more punchouts to the tally before Dailynn Motes got the bats rolling with a double to right-center field. The Trojans loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch and Sophia Jenkins' sixth walk of the weekend.
Troy started the scoring with a fielding error on a ball in play from McKinnon Howard. After back-to-back singles from Megan Loftis and Boswell, Huffman bounced a single up the middle to score two more and make it an 8-0 game.
Tidmore hit a sacrifice fly to score another, and Lydia Kirby earned her first hit as a Trojans with a pinch-hit RBI triple to right. Ames struck out two more in the fifth to close out the win and earn her first complete game as a Trojan.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a fun day at the park and we took care of business both today and this weekend, minus a one-run loss yesterday. The girls were running on fumes a little bit today, with a few of them battling illness and nickel-and-dime injuries, but all-in-all to get a run-rule victory today was great for us."
Notables
Four Trojans extended their hit streaks to five games in the win – Kyye Ricks, Kiley Huffman, Ella Cunningham and Dailynn Motes collected a base hit in every game of the Trojan Classic. Huffman finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Makaley Boswell went 2-for-3 with an RBI and her third career triple.
Ames spun a clean first inning with two strikeouts. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Trojans offense put together a rally to strike first and make it 2-0.
Huffman slapped a single through the right side to ignite the offense in the first. Cunningham extended her own hit and RBI streaks to five games with a screamer over the left fielder's head to make it 1-0.
With two outs in the inning, Mia Tidmore created chaos with an infield single that forced an error and allowed Cunningham to scramble home.
Ames tied her career high of three strikeouts in the top of the second inning and broke it in the third after freezing a Jaguar batter with a pitch at the bottom of the zone.
The Trojans added on in the bottom of the third after Boswell roped a triple to right-center field. Cunningham brought her home with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Ames added two more punchouts to the tally before Dailynn Motes got the bats rolling with a double to right-center field. The Trojans loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch and Sophia Jenkins' sixth walk of the weekend.
Troy started the scoring with a fielding error on a ball in play from McKinnon Howard. After back-to-back singles from Megan Loftis and Boswell, Huffman bounced a single up the middle to score two more and make it an 8-0 game.
Tidmore hit a sacrifice fly to score another, and Lydia Kirby earned her first hit as a Trojans with a pinch-hit RBI triple to right. Ames struck out two more in the fifth to close out the win and earn her first complete game as a Trojan.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a fun day at the park and we took care of business both today and this weekend, minus a one-run loss yesterday. The girls were running on fumes a little bit today, with a few of them battling illness and nickel-and-dime injuries, but all-in-all to get a run-rule victory today was great for us."
Notables
- Troy is 4-0 all-time against Southern
- The Trojans are now 25-11 in home tournament games under head coach Eric Newell
- Dailynn Motes extended her hit streak to five games
- Kyye Ricks extended her hit streak to five games
- Kiley Huffman extended her hit streak to five games
- Ella Cunningham recorded her fifth straight game with a hit and an RBI
- Esmee Ames set a new career high with 8 strikeouts, shattering her previous best of 3 against Tennessee State on Feb. 9, 2025
- Makaley Boswell hit Troy's first triple of the season, her third career triple
- Boswell logged her third multi-hit game of the season
- Lydia Kirby got her first hit as a Trojan with a pinch-hit RBI triple to right field in the fourth
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ames, Esmee (1-0)
L: Zabala, Aaliyah (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Cunningham, Ella 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1
3B: Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Kirby, Lydia 1
RBI: Howard, McKinnon 1 ; Loftis, Megan 1 ; Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Kirby, Lydia 1 ; Tidmore, Mia 1 ; Huffman, Kiley 2 ; Cunningham, Ella 2
SH: Howard, McKinnon 1
SF: Tidmore, Mia 1 ; Cunningham, Ella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Munson, Kam 1 ; Howard, McKinnon 1 ; Loftis, Megan 1 ; Jenkins, Sophia 1 ; Boswell, Makaley 2 ; Huffman, Kiley 2 ; Cunningham, Ella 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1
SB: Munson, Kam 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1
HBP: Munson, Kam 1
Game Leaders
2b/ss
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballPlayer Postgame Press Conference (Esmee Ames, Makaley Boswell) - Southern
Sunday, February 08
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (Southern)
Sunday, February 08
Troy vs. Southern Highlights
Sunday, February 08
Troy vs. Akron (Full Highlights)
Sunday, February 08