University of North Texas Athletics
Mean Green Softball Falls To Troy In Conference Tournament
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Murfreesboro, TN (5/10/07) - The North Texas softball team could not hold an early lead as the No. 3 seed Troy defeated the Mean Green, 7-2, in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon at the MT Softball Complex. The Mean Green will play Western Kentucky on Friday at 10 am in an elimination game.
The No. 7 seed Mean Green (22-35) held a 2-0 lead through the third inning, but Troy (41-19) had big innings in the fourth and six innings to take the victory. The Trojans will face the winner of the North Texas/Western Kentucky game at 3 pm on Friday. The Mean Green is 0-4 in second round conference tournament games.
"We started strong, but Troy had a big inning that was key," said head coach Kelly Burns. "We left the bases loaded, which hurt us. Now we have to look towards tomorrow and Western Kentucky."
The Mean Green held Troy to just two hits in the first two innings, but the Trojans exploded for eight hits in the next three innings. Troy extends its series record against North Texas to 6-3 overall and 3-1 this season.
North Texas took an early 1-0 lead off an RBI double by Christen Jonse in the first inning. The senior hit a deep fly ball to the left centerfield fence, allowing Lauren Bergstrom to score from first. Bergstrom led off the game with a walk.
Kadie Platt made it 2-0 in the second inning with her third home run of the season. The junior’s long ball just cleared the fence in left field. Taylor Johnston reached base on an error but was left stranded.
Troy took the lead with a four-run fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Tanya McLean tied the game, 2-2, with a pinch-hit double to center field. Heidi Johnson gave Troy a 4-2 lead with a two-RBI single to right field. Kristina Fowler relieved starter Ashley Lail and struck out the final batter of the inning. The Trojans scored four runs off four hits in their big inning.
North Texas had an opportunity to score runs in the bottom of the fifth inning but came up empty handed. Bergstrom and Katya Muller hit back-to-back singles with two outs, and Susan Waters loaded the bases for Jonse with a walk. Pitcher Angela Lopez was able to strike out Jonse to end the Mean Green threat.
Troy added three more runs in the sixth inning, extending its lead to 7-2. Angie Coteat scored two runs with a two-out two-RBI double, and Amanda Ragans knocked her home with an RBI single.
The Trojans outhit the Mean Green, 12-6, in the game. Angela Lopez won her 20th game of the season for the Trojans. Ashley Lail took the loss for the Mean Green and falls to 11-16 in the circle.
