CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina suffered a heartbreaking 13-11 loss to the Troy Trojans after giving up an 11-5 lead at St. John Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Chanticleers fall to 18-9, 1-1 Sun Belt, while the Trojans improve to 21-9, 1-1 Sun Belt.
Troy put pressure on the Chants from the get-go, loading the bases on two walks and a single. The Trojans then plated the first run of the game on another walk to make the score 1-0.
In the top of the second inning, the Trojans doubled their lead after back-to-back singles put runners on first and third base. Makaley Boswell then stole home to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Trojans.
The Chants rallied in the bottom of the second inning putting up five runs of their own. CCU brought in runs off two walks, one wild pitch, an RBI single, and a fielder's choice to give Coastal a 5-2 lead.
The Trojans tallied one run back in the top of the third inning when Audra Thomas struck an RBI single to left-center field to narrow the gap to 5-3.
Coastal extended its lead in the bottom of the third inning when Georgia Hood hit a sacrifice fly into right field to score Indya Smith from third base to put CCU up 6-3.
The momentum was all in favor of the Chants in the bottom of the fourth inning when they tacked three more runs to their total after a three-run homer from Maddy Jennings increased CCU's lead to 9-3.
Troy responded in the top of the fifth inning when Thompson laced a two-run home run over the centerfield wall to cut the deficit to 9-5.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Chants answered with a home run of their own off the bat of Hood along with an RBI groundout by Iyanla De Jesus to push CCU ahead 11-5.
The Trojans launched their comeback bid in the top of the sixth inning adding six runs to the scoreboard on an RBI double, RBI triple, wild pitch, and a three-run home run to level the score at 11-11.
Troy took the lead in the top of the seventh inning after Libby Baker smashed an RBI double to center field and pinch runner Jillian Williams later scored on a wild pitch to put the Trojans up 13-11.
CCU narrowed the gap to 13-12 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Riley Zana crushed a leadoff home run, but Troy was able to hold on and secure three outs for the victory.
The Chanticleers will be back in action at tomorrow at noon to take on the Trojans in the series decider at St. John Stadium.
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
