The Troy Belles bats went cold during their 13-5 loss to South Carolina on Monday night, eliminating them from World Series play and ending their season.

The Belles jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after the first inning, but got outscored the rest of the way 12-2.

“We gave it a heck of a run,” said Belles coach Brian McLendon said. “We started out good and strong and had a good bit of walks. Lexie McLendon pitched a great game in the circle. Morgan (Bundy) came in behind her and we just gave up some hits at the wrong time and made a couple of errors. It’s all part of the game, some days you are really on and some days you’re not.”

The Belles came into the World Series outscoring their opponents 136-34. In their two losses in South Carolina, Troy was held to just seven runs.

“Our bats got cold,” McLendon said. “We came out and didn’t hit well against Louisiana and then we didn’t hit the ball hard against Virginia, we just found the right places. We came out tonight and the bats looked like they were going to pick back up, but they were still a little flat. We couldn’t get the bats going to where we could score with them.”

Lexie McLendon pitched into the fifth inning before giving way to Bundy, who pitched the final two plus innings.

“We had an umpire that was really tight, more of a college strike zone,” McLendon said. “I can’t completely blame it on him. The girls pitched well. I think we ended up with eight walks and that ended up hurting us.”

This tournament will be an experience to remember for the Troy Belles.

“This was a great experience for the girls,” McLendon.  “Looking at the competition, we could have played with any of the teams up here and been really competitive.”

During the summer months, the Belles had fun both on and off the field.

“This has been an amazing experience,” McLendon said. “These girls have worked their tail off. Growing up playing Dixie baseball in Troy the goal is going to a World Series and winning a World Series. That is something I never had an opportunity to do and here it is– I get to coach in the World Series and the girls get to play in it. It’s an amazing experience for them.”