Troy’s Hallie Frigge beats a throw to the plate against Fairmont Monday in D-I sectional action at the Market Street diamond as Fairmont catcher Payton Probasco waits for the throw.
Photos Provided By Lee Woolery
Troy pitcher Abigail Welbaum fires a strike to the plate against Fairmont Monday.
Photos Provided By Lee Woolery
Troy’s Lilly James lines a RBI single Monday against Fairmont.
Photos Provided By Lee Woolery
TROY — The Troy softball team picked up its first postseason win since 2019 Monday, handling Fairmont 12-2 in five innings in D-I sectional action.
Troy, the sixth seed, improved to 18-3, while Fairmont dropped to 7-13 on the season. The Firebirds were seeded 14th.
“I didn’t know what to expect from Fairmont,” Troy coach Scott Beeler said. “I knew they play in a loaded league so, you can’t really go by their record. I am not sure they played as well as they are capable tonight, but you are (always happy to get the first tournament win).
Troy will host eight seed Springboro, a 17-0 winner over Wayne Monday at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Market Street diamond.
Sprngboro is 11-14 on the season, but owns two run-rule wins over Fairmont.
“Just like Farimont, I don’t really know what to expect from Springboro,” he said. “I know they are a rung above Fairmont in the GWOC. I know we have to be ready to play.”
The Trojans did a great job of taking advantage of opportunities that were presented to them.
In the home first, Briana Lavender started things with a walk and Allyson Burns singled.
With one-out, Lilly James drilled a RBI single.
It was still 1-0 with two outs when Fairmont dropped an infield pop-up.
Burns and James both scored on the play and Troy would add three more runs in the inning to make it 6-0.
Erin Bruce, Abigial Welbaum and Abby Seger would all follow with RBI singles.
“That (the dropped pop up) was a big play,” Beeler said. “There were a couple other situations like that. When those things happen, you have to take advantage of it and we did.”
Fairmont got one run back in the second inning.
Madison Franz singled, Payton Probasco sacrificed her to second and Paige Russell singled her in.
Troy made it 7-1 in the third when Elise McCann doubled and scored on Ashley Kloeker’s rocket to left that turned in to a sacrifice fly in the head wind.
Troy was able to take advantage of several errors in the fifth, including a third strike getting past the catcher with two outs to score five runs and make it 12-1.
Seger reached on an error to start the inning.
With one out Burns singled.
Lauren Fonner had a RBI single to score Seger and when the ball got away in the outfield, Burns scored as well.
James had a RBI single and Welbaum followed with a two-run single.
Fairmont got one run in the fifth on a RBI single by Sage Creager, but Lavender ended the game on the play, throwing a strike to McCann at third to cut down a runner trying to go from first to third on the play.
“We made some good plays, but we still have some things to work on,” Beeler said.
Welbaum, along with three RBIs, ran her record to 13-0 on the season.
She came in the game with a 1.12 ERA.
“Two runs is a great game,” Beeler said about Welbaum. “She gave up some hits, but she never gave up two in a row, which is the big thing.”
Welbaum pitched a six-hitter, striking out five.
“This team has a chance to do something that has never been done here,” Beeler said.’
After taking the first step in impressive fashion.
