Troy University Athletics
Sunday, April 26
Troy, Ala.
12 p.m.
Troy University
31-19, 9-12
4
vs
3
ULM
34-19, 16-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ULM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| Troy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
Softball Punctuates Senior Day with Walk-Off Win over ULM
4/26/2026 4:38:00 PM | Softball
TROY, Ala. – A 10th-inning, bases-loaded walk from Presley Ivey gave Troy a 4-3 walk-off win over ULM. Her fourth walk of the game boosted the Trojans (31-19, 9-12 SBC) to a win over the Sun Belt-leading Warhawks (34-19, 16-5 SBC) on Senior Day.
Gutsy performances from seniors Esmee Ames (5-2) and Megan Loftis powered Troy in extra innings – Ames earned the win, leaving the bases loaded in the 10th and retiring the Warhawks one-two-three in the ninth.
Loftis recorded Troy's third four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base. Along with a Lydia Kirby walk and a single from McKinnon Howard, her final hit at the Troy Softball Complex helped the offense chug along to walk it off in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Besides the walk-off, Ivey had a stellar day from the leadoff spot. Her four walks were the most from a Trojan since Kelly Horne drew four against Georgia Tech on Apr. 19, 2022. The Troy freshman also collected an RBI base knock to tie it at 3-3 in the fourth inning. Kiley Huffman was another standout for the Trojans, ripping RBI hits in each of the first two innings as part of a 2-for-5 game.
While the Warhawks struck early, the Troy pitching staff held strong. Ella Cunningham allowed just one run across five innings in relief of Abby Lovell, who bounced back from a turbulent first inning to fire three total frames.
ULM got on the board early, hitting a two-run homer in the first inning to take a lead. However, the Trojans struck back in the bottom half, making it 2-1 on a single from Kiley Huffman.
Troy tied it in the bottom of the second, getting it going with back-to-back walks from Ivey and Makaley Boswell. Huffman struck again, roping a double into left-center field to knot it up at 2-2.
Both Lovell and the ULM pitcher spun scoreless third innings, and Cunningham entered in relief in the fourth. The Warhawks took the lead back in the inning, hitting a single down the line to go up 3-2.
Troy battled back yet again in the fourth inning, with a leadoff single from Loftis turning into a run as Ivey punched a two-out single up the middle. Cunningham kept the Warhawks scoreless in the fifth inning, ending the frame with a strikeout.
She worked a quick sixth inning from the circle to keep it knotted up at 3-3, and led off the bottom half with a double to left-center field. Loftis followed it up with an infield single and Ivey took her second walk of the game, but the Trojans couldn't score.
Cunningham sat ULM down one-two-three in the seventh, striking out one. However, the Trojans went down in order in the seventh as well to send it to extra innings. While the Warhawks loaded the bases in the eighth, Cunningham got a flyout to end the inning and keep it tied up.
Loftis logged her third hit of the day, Sophia Jenkins hit a pinch-hit single and Ivey walked to load the bases with two outs. Troy didn't score, and Esmee Ames entered to pitch in the ninth inning for the Trojans. She worked a seven-pitch inning with three groundouts.
The Warhawks hit back-to-back two-out singles in the 10th inning, loading the bases but failing to score as Ames forced a groundout.
A walk from Lydia Kirby and Loftis' fourth hit of the day put the pressure on, and both runners moved up on stolen bases. McKinnon Howard hit an infield single to load the bases with one out for Ivey, who drew the walk to win it.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a good day. I usually start these things off by saying it was a good day or a tough day and today was a good day. I don't know if that's completely how we would've liked to script Senior Day, but that said Esmee got the win in the circle and Megan Loftis went 4-for-5. Our two seniors had really special days on this Senior Day and on their last game on this field. A walk-off walk – we'll take it. Any kind of walk-off win we'll take, and it was a gritty battle against a really tough ULM team. They've done a great job of assembling a group of players and talent, and I would almost guarantee they'll either be the one or the two seed at the conference tournament. That makes a statement for us, and I know that we can play with anybody in this league."
Notables
Gutsy performances from seniors Esmee Ames (5-2) and Megan Loftis powered Troy in extra innings – Ames earned the win, leaving the bases loaded in the 10th and retiring the Warhawks one-two-three in the ninth.
Loftis recorded Troy's third four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base. Along with a Lydia Kirby walk and a single from McKinnon Howard, her final hit at the Troy Softball Complex helped the offense chug along to walk it off in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Besides the walk-off, Ivey had a stellar day from the leadoff spot. Her four walks were the most from a Trojan since Kelly Horne drew four against Georgia Tech on Apr. 19, 2022. The Troy freshman also collected an RBI base knock to tie it at 3-3 in the fourth inning. Kiley Huffman was another standout for the Trojans, ripping RBI hits in each of the first two innings as part of a 2-for-5 game.
While the Warhawks struck early, the Troy pitching staff held strong. Ella Cunningham allowed just one run across five innings in relief of Abby Lovell, who bounced back from a turbulent first inning to fire three total frames.
ULM got on the board early, hitting a two-run homer in the first inning to take a lead. However, the Trojans struck back in the bottom half, making it 2-1 on a single from Kiley Huffman.
Troy tied it in the bottom of the second, getting it going with back-to-back walks from Ivey and Makaley Boswell. Huffman struck again, roping a double into left-center field to knot it up at 2-2.
Both Lovell and the ULM pitcher spun scoreless third innings, and Cunningham entered in relief in the fourth. The Warhawks took the lead back in the inning, hitting a single down the line to go up 3-2.
Troy battled back yet again in the fourth inning, with a leadoff single from Loftis turning into a run as Ivey punched a two-out single up the middle. Cunningham kept the Warhawks scoreless in the fifth inning, ending the frame with a strikeout.
She worked a quick sixth inning from the circle to keep it knotted up at 3-3, and led off the bottom half with a double to left-center field. Loftis followed it up with an infield single and Ivey took her second walk of the game, but the Trojans couldn't score.
Cunningham sat ULM down one-two-three in the seventh, striking out one. However, the Trojans went down in order in the seventh as well to send it to extra innings. While the Warhawks loaded the bases in the eighth, Cunningham got a flyout to end the inning and keep it tied up.
Loftis logged her third hit of the day, Sophia Jenkins hit a pinch-hit single and Ivey walked to load the bases with two outs. Troy didn't score, and Esmee Ames entered to pitch in the ninth inning for the Trojans. She worked a seven-pitch inning with three groundouts.
The Warhawks hit back-to-back two-out singles in the 10th inning, loading the bases but failing to score as Ames forced a groundout.
A walk from Lydia Kirby and Loftis' fourth hit of the day put the pressure on, and both runners moved up on stolen bases. McKinnon Howard hit an infield single to load the bases with one out for Ivey, who drew the walk to win it.
Quotable: Head Coach Eric Newell
"It was a good day. I usually start these things off by saying it was a good day or a tough day and today was a good day. I don't know if that's completely how we would've liked to script Senior Day, but that said Esmee got the win in the circle and Megan Loftis went 4-for-5. Our two seniors had really special days on this Senior Day and on their last game on this field. A walk-off walk – we'll take it. Any kind of walk-off win we'll take, and it was a gritty battle against a really tough ULM team. They've done a great job of assembling a group of players and talent, and I would almost guarantee they'll either be the one or the two seed at the conference tournament. That makes a statement for us, and I know that we can play with anybody in this league."
Notables
- Troy is 39-26 against ULM all-time
- The Trojans are 2-2 in extra-inning games this season
- Troy played two extra-inning games in a series for the first time since 2017, when it played back-to-back extra-inning contests at home against ULM on Apr. 14
- Presley Ivey walked four times, setting a career high
- Ivey's four walks were the most by a Trojan since Kelly Horne drew four at Georgia Tech on Apr. 19, 2022
- Ivey logged her fifth multi-RBI game of the season
- Megan Loftis logged her 10th multi-hit game of the season
- Loftis earned Troy's third four-hit game of the season, joining McKinnon Howard and Kiley Huffman
- Huffman logged her 15th multi-hit game of the season
- Huffman also recorded her eighth multi-RBI game on the year
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ames, Esmee (5-2)
L: Waggoner, Skylar (9-5)
Batting:
HR: Brown, Morgan 1
RBI: Brown, Morgan 3
SH: Carter, Elle 1 ; Platt, Carys 1 ; Kovar, Kelsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gonzales, Cecilia 1 ; Lippert, Brooklin 1 ; Brown, Morgan 1
HBP: Zenzen, Maryssa 1
PO: Brown, Meagan 1
Batting:
2B: Cunningham, Ella 1 ; Huffman, Kiley 1
RBI: Huffman, Kiley 2 ; Ivey, Presley 2
SH: Rochinski, Kalee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Loftis, Megan 1 ; Boswell, Makaley 1 ; Kirby, Lydia 1 ; Ivey, Presley 1
SB: Howard, McKinnon 1 ; Loftis, Megan 1 ; Kirby, Lydia 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballPlayer Postgame Press Conference (Megan Loftis, Esmee Ames) - ULM
Sunday, April 26
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (ULM Game Three)
Sunday, April 26
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (ULM Game Two)
Saturday, April 25
Eric Newell Postgame Press Conference (ULM Game One)
Friday, April 24