Troy rightfielder Emily May makes a diving catch against Fairborn Friday at the Market Street Diamond.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy pitcher Riley King sends a pitch towards the plate Friday.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy’s Amayah Kennedy throws to first base on a bunt as Madison Wright backs up the play.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy batter Alexis Ater gets out of the way of an inisde pitch.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
Troy third baseman Madison Wright makes a throw to first for an out.
Rob Kiser|Miami Valley Today
TROY — The way Troy softballlooks at it, seven innings are for other teams.
At least through the Trojans first six games.
Troy has gone to seven innings just one and continued that trend with a 10-0 win over Fairborn in six innings Friday at the Market Street Diamond.
“I hadn’t really thought about that,” Troy softball coach Scott Beeler said.
And while he knows there are tougher tests ahead, his team is now 5-1 overall and 5-0 in the MVL.
That despite eight underclassmen, including seven who were in the lineup Friday night.
“This is a very talented group of girls,” Beeler said. “They are a lot of fun to coach. And we are playing really well right now.”
There were a lot of positives in this one.
Troy showed clutch hitting in scoring four runs after two were out in the second inning.
Alexis Ater had singled and Madison Wright sacrificed her to second base.
With two out, Sophia Knife’s ball fell in centerfield and Ater scored.
Emily May followed with a RBI single to right to score Knife.
Following a singled by Mimi Shaw, Abby Seger and Amayah Kennedy had RBI singles to make it 4-0.
Those were all the runs Riley King would need on the mound, pitching a two-hit shutout. King struck out five and walked two.
“Riley (King) felt like she was having trouble with her control,” Beeler said. “She was having trouble keeping her hands warm. But, I felt like she pitched really well.”
Troy added a single run in the fourth when Kennedy had a RBI double.
The Trojans took a 5-0 lead to the sixth, before plating five runs to end it.
Shaw singled and would come around to score when Kennedy reached on an error.
With the bases loaded, Ater would clear them with a shot in the gap to make it 9-0.
“Alexis (Ater) had been struggling at the plate a little,” Beeler said. “She is a good hitter and she got past that tonight.”
The game would end with Ater scoring from third on a walk-off wild pitch.
Shaw was 3-for-3 in the game, Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Ater was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs.
“Before the season, I knew we had a lot of talent, but I didn’t know how good we would be,” Beeler said. “I still don’t.”
Those answers will come when the Trojans get pushed to seven innings, but they have been up to the challenge so far.
