Softball finishes tournament season in Gainesville

Brady Fitch photo

Caiden Oliva stalls at second base.

The Troy softball team finished up tournament play in Gainesville, Florida, over the

weekend. Playing against Western Michigan, Samford, Florida A&M and No. 3 Florida, the

Trojans went 3-2 and improved their record to 12-8.

“I think this team is moving in the right direction, but there are still things to work on,”

said head coach Eric Newell. “We’re playing much better softball than we were earlier.”

The weekend was highlighted by Troy’s freshman players – Caiden Oliva, Reaghan

Oney and Mya Holt all shined in the Florida Invitational.

On the first day of the tournament, Oliva shined. She went 5-for-7 with five RBIs, two

home runs and two steals in a win over Western Michigan and a loss to Samford. Ultimately, Oliva finished the weekend 8-for-15 with seven RBIs.

While Oney didn’t have any multi-hit games, she’s been nothing but consistent at the

dish recently. The true freshman extended her hitting streak to 10 games – tied for Troy’s

longest since 2021 – and had three RBIs in Sunday’s win over Western Michigan.

Holt threw one of Troy’s two complete games with a seven-inning outing in the 6-1 win

over Florida A&M. Although she lost her shutout in the final inning, the freshman logged her first career complete game and only allowed one run.

Alyssa Faircloth spun Troy’s other complete game, shutting out the Broncos on Sunday

in a 9-0 win. Her six-inning shutout was Troy’s first of the season, and she struck out nine

Western Michigan batters.

After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning, Troy's bats exploded in a 7-4 win

over Western Michigan to start the tournament. Holt entered the game in the first inning and trampled the Broncos lineup for five innings.

Holt surrendered only one run over five innings of work out of the bullpen, earning the

win behind Troy's bats.

Oliva led the charge, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a stolen base. She quickly erased

Troy's 3-0 deficit with a three-run blast to left field, knotting the game up at 3-3 with her third homer of the season. The true freshman logged the first three-hit game of her career.

McKinnon Howard also had a three-hit ballgame, going 3-for-3 from the nine hole and

scoring two runs. She set the table for the top of the lineup – Makaley Boswell and Taylor

McKinney each had an RBI.

The Trojans fell short in the second game of the day, with a late home run by Samford

propelling them past Troy 5-4.

Again, Oliva led the offense – going 2-for-3 with another home run and a walk to take the

team lead in home runs. From the leadoff spot, Boswell also had a stellar game. She went 1-for2, swatting her first career home run and drawing two walks.

Faircloth struck out seven batters over six innings, pitching a great game until the sixth

inning where Samford scored three runs.

The Trojans started Saturday with a 6-1 win over Florida A&M with Holt’s complete

game headlining the victory.

While no Trojan had more than one hit, there was plenty of production from top to

bottom in the lineup. Oliva went 1-for-2 with an RBI single, driving in a run for the third straight game. Entering as a pinch hitter, Rebekah Johnson hit an RBI double in her only at-bat.

Troy dropped the second game of the day 11-2 to No. 3 Florida in six innings. A huge

first inning vaulted the Gators to the win, but Troy went toe-to-toe with the powerhouse for most of the game.

Boswell finished the game 1-for-3, lining an RBI triple to right field in the contest. Also

recording a hit and an RBI against Florida was McKinney.

Kate Peters had a strong outing in relief, firing 3.1 innings and only allowing only one

earned run. She struck out one batter.

Following a one-two-three inning from Florida's pitching, the Gators led off the inning

with an infield single from Kendra Falby, the nation's leader in steals heading into the weekend.

The Florida speedster tried to swipe second, but Sarah Beth Brake gunned her down.

Falby has been caught stealing only 12 times in her whole career, and Brake was the

first to throw her out in 2025 – she was 103-for-115 before being thrown out by Troy's backstop.

While the Gators ran away with the game and ended it with a walk off three-run home

run, Troy became just the seventh team to score two or more runs on Florida’s lockdown pitchers.

Behind a complete game shutout from Faircloth, Troy softball blanked Western Michigan

9-0 in six innings. The Trojans finished their run at the Florida Invitational in dominant fashion, shutting down the Broncos in run-rule fashion.

Faircloth fired six scoreless innings, striking out nine batters and picking up the first

shutout of her career. It was Troy's first 5+ inning shutout by a pitcher since Libby Baker shut out Coastal Carolina on May 9, 2024.

Oney kept her 10-game hit streak alive, smacking a two-RBI double in Troy's six-run

sixth inning. Oliva also had an RBI – she had an RBI in every game of the Florida Invitational except one and has driven in a run in five of the last seven games.

Following a midweek matchup at Auburn on Wednesday, the Trojans continue their

season with a series at home against UMass. Friday’s game starts at 5 p.m. at the Troy Softball complex.