Walk-off homer lifts Troy past No. 25 Louisiana

Published 8:46 am Saturday, April 22, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Troy Trojans (30-13-1, 11-4-1) enjoyed some late game heroics from senior Audra Thompson as her ninth inning walk-off home run propelled the team to an 8-7 Sun Belt softball win over the conference’s first place Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (34-14, 14-2) on Friday.

Louisiana, ranked No. 25 in the country, went up 4-0 in the third inning but Troy rallied in the bottom of the fourth when Libby Baker hit a two-run home run that also drove Emma Grace Walker home. Thompson then drove in Anslee Finch before scoring herself on a wild pitch to tie the score 4-4.

A Louisiana homer put the Cajuns back up 5-4 in the fifth inning and then another home run extended the lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth. Another run in the sixth inning stretched Louisiana’s lead to 7-4.
In the bottom fo the sixth, Natalie Turner drove Kennedi Gaton in with an RBI single into right field and then Jade Sinness hit an RBI single to drive Turner home and cut the lead to 7-6.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

In the bottom of the seventh, Thompson – facing two outs – stepped to the plate and blasted a two-run walk-off homer that also drove Katie Lively home to secure the 8-7 Trojan victory.

Thompson finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, a double, three RBIs and two runs, while Baker went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, two RBIs and one run. Kelly Horne went 2-for-3 with a double.

Baker earned the win in the circle, striking out a batter and giving up one hit and no runs in one and 2/3 innings. Leanna Johnson pitched three innings and struck out one batter, while giving up five hits and no earned runs.

Troy and Louisiana rematch at 2 p.m. this afternoon and wrap up the series at noon on Sunday in Troy.