Troy University Athletics
Friday, March 20
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
18-10, 1-3
3
vs
1
Georgia State
19-12, 1-3
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Georgia State
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
Troy
1
0
0
0
2
0
X
3
5
1
Softball Beats Georgia State in Pitcher’s Duel to Start Series
3/20/2026 8:33:00 PM | Softball
TROY, Ala. – A pinch-hit homer off the bat of Lydia Kirby in the fifth inning lifted Troy over Georgia State 3-1 to start the weekend series. Abby Lovell (4-3) spun a gem for the Trojans (18-10, 1-3 SBC) in their first Sun Belt Conference win of the season.
Kirby's moonshot off Panthers (19-12, 1-3 SBC) ace Makayla Stephens handed Troy a 2-1 lead, and Makaley Boswell extended it with an RBI triple right after. Boswell returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base.
For the second straight Friday night Sun Belt start, Lovell worked a complete game and logged double-digit strikeouts. She finished the game with 12 strikeouts, allowing just four hits and no walks against a Georgia State team that entered the night leading the conference in batting average.
Georgia State strung together a few singles in the first inning to strike first, but Lovell struck out the side in the inning. After getting three hits in the opening frame, the Panthers would get just one the rest of the way. The Trojans wasted no time tying the game back up, as Boswell roped a single into left-center field to score Megan Loftis.
Lovell struck out two more batters in the top of the second, bringing her total to five punchouts. She worked a quick, five-pitch inning in the third and held the Panthers scoreless in the fourth, striking out another batter.
The Troy offense battled against Stephens, with Kiley Huffman drawing a walk in the bottom of the fourth. However, the Trojans couldn't take the lead.
Lovell struck out two in the fifth to keep it knotted at 1-1, and the Troy offense took the lead in the bottom half. After entering as a pinch-hitter, Kirby launched a homer to left-center field to give Troy the lead.
Boswell extended the lead with her second hit of the game -- her triple scored McKinnon Howard, who reached on an infield single. Lovell carried the 3-1 into the sixth inning, striking out two more to reach double-digit strikeouts.
Lovell finished it off with two more strikeouts in the seventh to hand Troy the win.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a good night here at the ballpark for sure, with a nice game from Abby in the circle and a big pinch-hit home run from Lydia Kirby. Bos did what Bos typically does, and it was a good night for us against a much-improved Georgia State team from last year. Makayla Stephens is the real deal, she's in the leaderboard in a lot of different categories, and we knew runs were going to be hard to come by tonight. We came through with three and it happened to be enough, so that's a good feeling for us."
Notables
Kirby's moonshot off Panthers (19-12, 1-3 SBC) ace Makayla Stephens handed Troy a 2-1 lead, and Makaley Boswell extended it with an RBI triple right after. Boswell returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base.
For the second straight Friday night Sun Belt start, Lovell worked a complete game and logged double-digit strikeouts. She finished the game with 12 strikeouts, allowing just four hits and no walks against a Georgia State team that entered the night leading the conference in batting average.
Georgia State strung together a few singles in the first inning to strike first, but Lovell struck out the side in the inning. After getting three hits in the opening frame, the Panthers would get just one the rest of the way. The Trojans wasted no time tying the game back up, as Boswell roped a single into left-center field to score Megan Loftis.
Lovell struck out two more batters in the top of the second, bringing her total to five punchouts. She worked a quick, five-pitch inning in the third and held the Panthers scoreless in the fourth, striking out another batter.
The Troy offense battled against Stephens, with Kiley Huffman drawing a walk in the bottom of the fourth. However, the Trojans couldn't take the lead.
Lovell struck out two in the fifth to keep it knotted at 1-1, and the Troy offense took the lead in the bottom half. After entering as a pinch-hitter, Kirby launched a homer to left-center field to give Troy the lead.
Boswell extended the lead with her second hit of the game -- her triple scored McKinnon Howard, who reached on an infield single. Lovell carried the 3-1 into the sixth inning, striking out two more to reach double-digit strikeouts.
Lovell finished it off with two more strikeouts in the seventh to hand Troy the win.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a good night here at the ballpark for sure, with a nice game from Abby in the circle and a big pinch-hit home run from Lydia Kirby. Bos did what Bos typically does, and it was a good night for us against a much-improved Georgia State team from last year. Makayla Stephens is the real deal, she's in the leaderboard in a lot of different categories, and we knew runs were going to be hard to come by tonight. We came through with three and it happened to be enough, so that's a good feeling for us."
Notables
- The Trojans are 47-23 against Georgia State all-time
- Troy is 13-2 at the Troy Softball Complex this season
- Lydia Kirby hit her first Division I homer in the fifth inning
- Abby Lovell recorded double-digit strikeouts for the second straight start and third time this season
- Lovell became the first pitcher since Alyssa Faircloth last season to record two complete games in conference play, and the first to do it in back-to-back starts since Leanna Johnson in 2023
- Makaley Boswell extended her reached base streak to 27 games
- Boswell stole her conference-leading 14th base of the season
- Boswell hit her fourth triple of the season, tying her for the Sun Belt lead
- Boswell logged her 14th multi-hit game of the season
- Boswell recorded her eighth multi-RBI game of the year
- Megan Loftis extended her reached base streak to 13 games
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lovell, Abby (4-3)
L: Stephens, Makayla (12-7)
Batting:
RBI: Brister, Lauren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walker, McKenzie 1
SB: Jones, Allison 1 ; Walker, McKenzie 1
Batting:
2B: Huffman, Kiley 1
3B: Boswell, Makaley 1
HR: Kirby, Lydia 1
RBI: Boswell, Makaley 2 ; Kirby, Lydia 1
SH: Ivey, Presley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, McKinnon 1 ; Loftis, Megan 1 ; Kirby, Lydia 1
SB: Loftis, Megan 1 ; Boswell, Makaley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballUTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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