The Troy Trojans (29-21, 8-10) beat the Texas State Bobcats (30-15, 12-6) in a Sun Belt Conference softball series last weekend in a big series win to keep the Trojans in the Top 10 of the conference.

Texas State sits at second in the conference, while Troy is currently in ninth place. Only the top 10 teams in the conference will advance to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on May 7, which is hosted in Troy this season for the first time since 2021. It will be the fifth time Troy has hosted the tournament, as well. 

Troy opened the weekend series with Texas State on a disappointing note, losing 11-6, despite taking an early 3-0 lead off a pair of home runs from Taylor McKinney and Annie Orman. 

Orman finished game one 3-for-3 at the plate with a homer, a double, four RBIs and one run, while McKinney went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, one RBI and two runs. Makaley Boswell also blasted a solo homer and scored two runs on the day. 

Mya Holt (10-5) took the loss in the circle, giving up four hits and four earned runs in an inning. Savannah Money struck out one batter and gave up eight hits and four earned runs in five innings pitched. Dailynn Motes tallied seven putouts, one assist and a double play on defense with no fielding errors. 

Troy bounced back with a 4-2 win to tie the series on April 18. That win also snapped a four-game losing streak for the Trojans. Motes went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Boswell, McKinney, Megan Loftis and Cassidy Boltz each scored a run. Boltz also drove in one run and hit a double. 

Alyssa Faircloth (13-6) pitched a complete game, striking out four batters, while giving up five hits and two earned runs in seven innings in the circle. Motes earned four putouts and two assists with no errors. 

Troy closed out the series in dramatic fashion on April 19. With the game tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh, Boswell hit an RBI double that drove in Mia Tidmore for what would end up being the winning run. In the bottom of the seventh, Troy earned three outs in just four at-bats to secure the win. 

Boswell went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Tidmore, Holt and Emily Ferro scored one run each. Natalie Turner also drove in a run and Boswell hit a double. 

Money (4-5) earned the win in the circle, giving up three hits and one earned run in two innings pitched. Kate Peters also gave up two hits and no runs in two and 2/3 innings in the circle, while Holt pitched two and 1/3 innings and struck out a batter along with giving up one hit and one earned run. Motes collected nine putouts with no errors. 

With just two series matchups left in the regular season, Troy will try to keep the momentum going. This weekend, Troy heads to Atlanta, Ga., for a three-game series against Georgia State April 25-27.