Troy University Athletics
Tuesday, March 10
Montgomery, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
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Alabama State
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Troy
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Alabama St.
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Cunningham Strikes out 17 in Win over Alabama State
3/10/2026 9:12:00 PM | Softball
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Behind a historic performance from Ella Cunningham in the circle, the Troy softball team took down Alabama State 6-1 on the road on Tuesday night. Cunningham finished the game with 17 strikeouts, tying a school record, and became the first Trojan in recorded school history to strike out 12 batters in a row.
Cunningham's 17 punchouts tie Ashlyn Williams for the most in a game since at least 2009. From the dish, Cunningham also fueled the Troy (16-7) offense with a home run as part of a 2-for-4 game.
After heading into the sixth inning tied 1-1, Kalee Rochinski broke the stalemate with a sacrifice fly. Jasmine Lawrence entered the game as a pinch-hitter and slapped a two-RBI single to right field to hand Troy a 4-1 lead. In the seventh inning, Makaley Boswell destroyed a two-run homer to left to put the game out of reach.
The Hornets (9-17) got on the board first, scoring one in the first inning off an RBI single. However, Cunningham got the run back for herself on the first pitch of the second inning, blasting a solo homer to right-center field to tie it at 1-1. The Trojans loaded the bases with two outs in the inning but weren't able to take the lead.
Alabama State quickly threatened again in the second inning, putting runners on second and third with none gone. Cunningham struck out three straight batters to end the danger. In the bottom of the third, Cunningham struck out the side to get to eight strikeouts in the game.
The Trojans worked small ball in the fourth inning to put the pressure on, as walks from Dailynn Motes and Rochinski put the pressure on after a sacrifice bunt from Megan Loftis and a steal by pinch-runner Amity White. Alabama State got out of the jam after nabbing a runner trying to tag from third.
Yet again, Cunningham struck out the side to get to 11 total strikeouts and become the first Trojan in recorded school history to strike out nine batters in a row. She added three more punchouts in the fifth inning to bring her total to 14.
In the sixth inning, a Kam Munson walk and singles from Cunningham and Dailynn Motes helped the Trojans threaten again. Rochinski hit a sacrifice fly to give Troy the lead, and Lawrence came through as a pinch-hitter with a two-RBI single to make it 4-1.
Cunningham's strikeout streak ended with a groundout in the sixth, but she quickly started another with a strike 'em out, throw 'em out to end the frame.
The Trojans extended their lead in the seventh, as Boswell annihilated a home run to left field for the second straight game. McKinnon Howard set the blast up with an infield single to third base.
Cunningham finished the masterclass off with two more strikeouts in the seventh inning to close it out.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"I'm happy to get the win here against an Alabama State team that played us really tough and had a great gameplan. We really struggled getting the bats going and any kind of offense moving. Some big things happened for us late, including the pinch-hit by Jasmine Lawrence, Kam Munson getting the inning started and a pinch-running appearance by Savannah Money. We had to do everything tonight to come out with a victory, but good teams find a way, and I feel like this team is a good team that found a way."
Notables
Cunningham's 17 punchouts tie Ashlyn Williams for the most in a game since at least 2009. From the dish, Cunningham also fueled the Troy (16-7) offense with a home run as part of a 2-for-4 game.
After heading into the sixth inning tied 1-1, Kalee Rochinski broke the stalemate with a sacrifice fly. Jasmine Lawrence entered the game as a pinch-hitter and slapped a two-RBI single to right field to hand Troy a 4-1 lead. In the seventh inning, Makaley Boswell destroyed a two-run homer to left to put the game out of reach.
The Hornets (9-17) got on the board first, scoring one in the first inning off an RBI single. However, Cunningham got the run back for herself on the first pitch of the second inning, blasting a solo homer to right-center field to tie it at 1-1. The Trojans loaded the bases with two outs in the inning but weren't able to take the lead.
Alabama State quickly threatened again in the second inning, putting runners on second and third with none gone. Cunningham struck out three straight batters to end the danger. In the bottom of the third, Cunningham struck out the side to get to eight strikeouts in the game.
The Trojans worked small ball in the fourth inning to put the pressure on, as walks from Dailynn Motes and Rochinski put the pressure on after a sacrifice bunt from Megan Loftis and a steal by pinch-runner Amity White. Alabama State got out of the jam after nabbing a runner trying to tag from third.
Yet again, Cunningham struck out the side to get to 11 total strikeouts and become the first Trojan in recorded school history to strike out nine batters in a row. She added three more punchouts in the fifth inning to bring her total to 14.
In the sixth inning, a Kam Munson walk and singles from Cunningham and Dailynn Motes helped the Trojans threaten again. Rochinski hit a sacrifice fly to give Troy the lead, and Lawrence came through as a pinch-hitter with a two-RBI single to make it 4-1.
Cunningham's strikeout streak ended with a groundout in the sixth, but she quickly started another with a strike 'em out, throw 'em out to end the frame.
The Trojans extended their lead in the seventh, as Boswell annihilated a home run to left field for the second straight game. McKinnon Howard set the blast up with an infield single to third base.
Cunningham finished the masterclass off with two more strikeouts in the seventh inning to close it out.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"I'm happy to get the win here against an Alabama State team that played us really tough and had a great gameplan. We really struggled getting the bats going and any kind of offense moving. Some big things happened for us late, including the pinch-hit by Jasmine Lawrence, Kam Munson getting the inning started and a pinch-running appearance by Savannah Money. We had to do everything tonight to come out with a victory, but good teams find a way, and I feel like this team is a good team that found a way."
Notables
- Troy is 31-0 all-time against Alabama State
- Makaley Boswell extended her reached base streak to 23 games
- Boswell is the first player since Sophia Jenkins on Feb. 27 against USC Upstate and Auburn to homer in consecutive games
- Ella Cunningham's 17 strikeouts tied Ashlyn Williams for the most in school history since at least 2009 – Williams logged 17 strikeouts against App State on Feb. 27, 2009
- Cunningham hit her third home run of the season
- Cunningham struck out 12 consecutive batters, the first Trojan in recorded school history to do so
- Cunningham struck out 17 batters, breaking her career high of 10, which was set against Furman on Feb. 20
- Cunningham logged her eighth multi-hit game of the season
- Jasmine Lawrence has three hits and three RBIs in the last two games, entering as a pinch-hitter in both
- Savannah Money scored her second career run, and first since Apr. 7, 2024
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cunningham, Ella (4-0)
L: Kaitlyn Hill (0-5)
Batting:
HR: Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Cunningham, Ella 1
RBI: Boswell, Makaley 2 ; Cunningham, Ella 1 ; Rochinski, Kalee 1 ; Lawrence, Jasmine 2
SH: Loftis, Megan 1
SF: Rochinski, Kalee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Munson, Kam 1 ; Cunningham, Ella 1 ; Motes, Dailynn 1 ; Howard, McKinnon 1 ; Money, Savannah 1
SB: White, Amity 1
CS: Lawrence, Jasmine 1
Batting:
RBI: Ayana Frank 1
SH: Meshayla Pettaway 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooke Ramsey 1
CS: Arianna Cox-Cole 1
Game Leaders
dp/p
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballSkylar Meade Postgame - Alabama
Wednesday, March 11
Player Postgame Press Conference (Ella Cunningham, Jasmine Lawrence)
Tuesday, March 10
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (Alabama State)
Tuesday, March 10
Troy vs. Georgia Southern (Full Highlights)
Tuesday, March 10