Troy softball opens season on Friday
Published 7:36 pm Tuesday, February 4, 2020
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Softball returns to Troy University on Friday afternoon when the Troy softball team hosts the Trojan Classic.
The Classic will consist of five teams. Including the Trojans, Lipscomb, College of Charleston, Western Kentucky and North Florida will all take part in the three-day classic.
The Trojans are coming off a successful 2019 season that saw them finish 37-20 overall and 19-8 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Troy’s 19 conference wins was the most in school history and they finished the regular season in second place in the conference.
The 37 overall wins was the most since 2009.
“I think we have a very talented team with a good mix of experience and newcomers,” said head coach Beth Mullins. “I expect for us to build on last year’s success and raise our standards to stay excellent in everything we do and make it into the NCAA postseason this year.”
To get into the postseason, the Trojans may have to get past Louisiana, who the league picked to win the conference.
Freshman Leanna Johnson returns to bolster the pitching staff in 2020. Last season Johnson finished 25-9 with a 2.19 ERA with 231 strikeouts in 217 innings. She was named the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year andshe was named First Team All-Sun Belt. She threw her first no-hitter against Georgia State, while also striking out nine batters.
Katie Webb returns to the infield for the Trojans. She enters the season on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team.
Webb finished the 2019 season hitting .355 with a home run and 32 RBI. She has a career batting average of .326.
The Trojans begin the classic on Friday afternoon against Lipscomb at 3 p.m. They will take on College of Charleston later that evening beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Trojans will take on Western Kentucky and Lipscomb on Saturday before closing out the classic on Sunday against North Florida.