Following Troy’s victory over No. 21 Auburn on Wednesday Troy softball head coach Melanie Davis praised her team’s “killer instinct.” A trait she said had been absent from previous teams.

The Trojans showed that attribute once again as they knocked off eight-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette, 9-4 on Saturday at the Troy Softball Complex in the first game of a doubleheader.

“To beat a team that no one had beaten says a lot about our team,” Davis said. “They made a plan and stuck with it. We have to play them twice more but to get off to a start like this is a good thing.”

Troy (20-7, 2-2) battled back from an early 4-1 deficit against the defending Sun Belt Conference champions.

Hayden Gann cut the Ragin’ Cajuns’ (28-1, 3-1) lead in half, 4-2, in the third with a solo homerun, her third long ball of the season.

Ashley Rainey (10-3) overcame a shaky first two innings to earn the victory for the Trojans. The freshman allowed eight hits in completing her eighth game of the year. Rainey gave up four runs – all earned ¬¬– but walked none while striking out two.

The Trojans scored four runs in the fifth. Sarah Harris kicked off the inning with a solo homerun to left field. Nikki Hollett, who finished 2-for-4, doubled home a pair of runs two batters later to give Troy its first lead of the game.

Troy would add three more in the sixth before Rainey retired ULL to close out the game.

Sarah Shields was 3-for-4 in the game. Harris was 2-for-3 while Jaycee Affeldt added a pinch-hit, 2-RBI double.