Trojans set to host Texas State Bobcats this weekend

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TROY, Ala (troytrojans.com)  – The Troy softball team is back at home this weekend and will play host to the Texas State Bobcats in a three-game Sun Belt series at the Troy Softball Complex. A doubleheader will be played on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday will begin at 12 p.m.

Troy (25-15, 6-6 Sun Belt) enters the weekend coming off a tough loss to Samford in a non-conference game on Wednesday. The Trojans fell to the Bulldogs, 8-6, after tying the game at six in the bottom of the sixth inning.

At the plate things run through leadoff hitter Kate Benton. The senior second baseman leads the squad with a .432 batting average and 57 hits. Her 30 stolen bases are the second highest mark in the Sun Belt.

Newly drafted by the NPF’s Akron Racers, Hannah Day is still the power behind the Trojans’ bats. She is currently fourth in the nation in RBIs with 55 and in RBIs per game with 1.38. She ranks 11^th nationally in home runs with 15 and in home runs per game with 0.38.

Claire Graves and Ashley Rainey lead the Trojans’ in the circle. Graves owns a 3.74 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 73 innings of work. She has given up 45 runs – 39 earned – on 74 hits and batters are hitting .268 against her. Rainey has tossed 105 innings and recorded 13 wins on the season. She has allowed 59 earned runs and has only walked 25 batters.

Texas State (25-15, 4-8 Sun Belt) is coming to Troy after a 4-0 win over the Lamar Cardinals on Wednesday.

Kelli Baker leads the Bobcats offensively. She is the only player batting over .300 and posts a .317 mark. Baker has recorded 40 hits so far on the season with 22 RBIs. She has hit seven doubles, three triples and has launched one long ball out of the park.

The Bobcat pitching staff is led by Randi Rupp who enters the weekend at 17-8 in 31 appearances with a 1.92 ERA. Rupp has tossed 12 complete games and struck out 210 batters.

Texas State leads the all-time series over Troy, 4-3. The Bobcats took two of the three games last season at the Bobcat Softball Stadium.