Softball takes down FGCU in road series

Florida Gulf Coast invited the Trojans to Fort Myers, Florida, to battle on the diamond. FGCU challenged Troy in a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The result? A dominate win, a close loss and a comeback win. 

“Getting the series win is good for us,” said head coach Eric Newell. “Even in the postgame huddle, one of our leaders in Mia [Tidmore] said this is what Sundays in the Sun Belt are going to feel like. 

“Every series is going to be tooth and nail, we’re going to need everybody off the bench and we’re going to need big moments from people. It’s going to be a dogfight to the very end, but to battle backand win the series on the road is something we can use going forward.” 

On Tuesday, the Trojans took down Alabama State 6-1 behind 17 strikeouts from Ella Cunningham, tying a school record. She punched out 12 batters in a row in the outing, becoming the first Trojan in school history to do so. Additionally, Cunningham and Makaley Boswell launched homers in the contest, with Jasmine Lawrence collecting two RBIs on a big pinch-hit single. 

Game one involved the Trojans coming out on fire in a 7-0 win with starting pitcher Cunningham, Presley Ivey and Dailynn Motes having particularly good outings against FGCU.  

Following a leadoff double from Ivey and two walks, Motes smacked a double to bring in two runs. Cunningham dealt from the circle and held the Eagles scoreless for the first three innings.  

In the fourth, a walk turned into a run when Howard hit an RBI single. The lead got extended when Ivey hit her third double of the day and made the score 5-0. A wild pitch brought in a run, and Cunningham hit a red-hot double to make it 7-0 Trojans.  

Cunningham stepped back into the circle and pitched another scoreless inning. Savannah Money finished off the game and held the Eagles scoreless out of the bullpen. 

Game two was a bit of a different note than the first of the doubleheader, as Troy fell 3-2.

Ivey had a leadoff hit, but FGCU stifled the flames. Ivey got back on base in the third, with Boswell bringing her home with a huge RBI triple.  

Huffman put a sac fly into play to make it 2-0 Trojans, but the lead wouldn’t last for long. A leadoff triple helped put the Eagles on the board for the first time. An infield single and an RBI groundout gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead.  

The Trojans’ offense couldn’t get anything started, and Money came in again to keep the Eagles from scoring more. In the seventh, back-to-back Trojan singles threatened offensively, but FGCU kept the fight away. 

For game three, FGCU jumped out to an early four-run lead over three innings. Emma Banks was one of the pieces of the Trojan comeback as she shut down the Eagles bats.  

Lydia Kirby walked, and Boswell hit a single to get on base. Huffman and Lawrence got Troy on the board in the sixth as they both hit singles to make it 4-2. Kam Munson laced a ball down the third base line to cut the lead to one heading into the seventh. 

That was until Boswell did what she does best: hit dingers. 

Boswell stepped up to plate in the seventh, determined to get Troy the series win. She delivered the go-ahead two-run blast to give Troy the 5-4 win. 

Following a midweek game at Alabama State, Troy’s long road trip continues with the conference opener at South Alabama from Mar. 14-17.