The Troy Trojans (20-10, 2-1) hosted the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (23-6, 1-2) in the Sun Belt Conference opening series at home this weekend, taking two of the three contests. 

Coastal Carolina snapped Troy’s six-game winning streak to open the series with a 3-1 win over the Trojans on March 14. The two sides battled into extra innings due to some stellar pitching, but Coastal’s Reese Collier hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning that ended up being the deciding hit. That homer was just the third hit all game for the Chants. 

Troy’s Taylor McKinney hit a double and scored the only Trojan run. Alyssa Faircloth pitched nine innings and struck out six batters, while giving up two hits and one earned run. Brantley native Kayden Dunn earned six putouts and a double play with no fielding errors on defense.

Troy bounced back to tie the series with a dominating 12-4 win on Saturday. Troy came out on fire, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. 

Cassidy Boltz, Makaley Boswell, Natalie Turner and McKinnon Howard scored two runs each. Mya Holt (8-2) earned her eighth win in the circle, striking out one batter and giving up seven hits and two earned runs. Dunn tallied six putouts and two double plays with no errors. 

The Trojans secured the series win with a 5-1 victory on Sunday. Dunn had a big afternoon at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run. Boswell, McKinney, Megan Loftis and Emily Ferro scored one run each. Sara Beth Brake also hit a double and Caiden Oliva earned a triple. 

Alyssa Faircloth (9-3) got the win in the circle, pitching a complete game with one strikeout, while giving up just three hits and one earned run in seven innings pitched. Reagan Oney tallied five putouts in right field, while Dunn earned four putouts and two assists. Neither committed a fielding error. 

“What a day, right? We’re excited about winning the weekend and winning the series against Coastal,” Troy Coach Eric Newell said. “They were super hot, but we’re proud of the team and the way we responded. We came out in the first inning and scored a couple runs, getting three in the first two innings. Alyssa Faircloth is proving that she’s one of the best pitchers in this league.”

The Trojans continue conference play this weekend with a series against Southern Miss on the road, March 21-23.