All-Time Roster

The 1996 season began with an uneventful sweep of Faulkner, but little did anyone know what would happen over the next four months.

The Lady Trojans were coming off a season in which they won a school-record 52 games, but lost their first two games in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.

But in Melanie Davis’ third season at Troy, something clicked and sent the team on the ride of a lifetime.

After sweeping Faulkner in a double-header opener, the Lady Trojans lost the first game of a doubleheader to Nicholls State and tied in the second game, 0-0, when there wasn’t enough light left to play.

With a 2-1-1 record, the Lady Trojans hosted the Troy Invitational, bringing in Tennessee State, Middle Tennessee, Florida A&M and Jacksonville State. TSU went 4-1 to claim the tournament title, beating Jacksonville State, 1-0, in the title game.

After splitting doubleheaders with Mercer and Georgia Southern on the road, Troy went to the Georgia State Invitational. The Lady Trojans went 2-1, beating Georgia State and Tennessee Tech, but fell to arch rival Jacksonville State.

Then everything began to click. The Lady Trojans went to Tallahassee, Fla., and split a doubleheader with perennial national power Florida State.

After splitting a doubleheader with Jacksonville State, the Lady Trojans lost their first two games in the spring Rebel Games. Troy bounced back to win four in a row after that and finished the tournament with a 7-3 record.

The Lady Trojans then headed to Birmingham, splitting two games in the Samford Invitational, beating Evansville and falling to Tennessee Tech. TSU bounced back by sweeping Samford at home three days later.

With a two-game winning streak, the Lady Trojans headed to the Georgia Tech Invitational for more tournament competition. Troy struggled, going 2-4 and losing its last three games.

With a difficult non-conference schedule behind them and having made it through with a winning record, going 27-14 after rounding it out with a sweep of Jacksonville State on the road, the Lady Trojans prepped for conference play.

Troy opened its conference schedule with a doubleheader split against Youngstown State, but was swept by national power DePaul on the road.

With a 1-3 record in conference play, the Lady Trojans had their backs against the wall and came out firing. Troy swept a doubleheader against Central Connecticut State to salvage the first trip through the Mid-Continent East Division.

The Troy offense continued its hot streak, sweeping back-to-back doubleheaders against Florida A&M, scoring at least eight runs in all four wins.

The Lady Trojans then headed back to Birmingham and split a doubleheader against Samford, dropping a 4-3 decision in the nightcap.

On April 26, the Lady Trojans started their final three-day, six-game Mid-Con trip by routing Central Connecticut State twice.

After falling to Youngstown State, 1-0, in the opening game the next day, Troy won the nightcap, 5-4, setting up a showdown with DePaul the next day.

Troy came out and played its best two games, sweeping the Blue Demons to finish Mid-Con play with an 8-4 record and momentum heading into the conference tournament.

The Lady Trojans came out in the first round against Western Illinois and struggled offensively, dropping the opener, 5-0.

With their backs against the wall again, Troy came out firing, beating Eastern Illinois, 5-4, and Western Illinois, 4-3, to set up another showdown against DePaul, this time for the championship.

Troy knew it had to win both games to claim the title and picked up a 6-5 win in the opener to force a deciding game. Troy then jumped on the Blue Demons early and won the Mid-Con with a 5-3 victory.

With the win, the Lady Trojans advanced to the NCAA Play-In series, hosting the Ohio Valley Conference champion, Southeast Missouri.

The Lady Trojans came out and played two solid games, sweeping the best-of-three series with a 3-2 win in the opener and a 1-0 win in the nightcap to advance to the NCAA Regionals.

Troy was shipped to the NCAA West Regional as the No. 4 seed, where the Lady Trojans faced No. 1 seed Arizona in the first round.

The Wildcats took control early and showed why they were the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, winning easily, 8-0. The Lady Trojans then slipped into the loser’s bracket, where they faced No. 3 seed South Florida. Troy held the lead until the fifth, but fell, 6-5, and was eliminated from the tournament.

Troy had four players earn first-team all-conference honors and two players earn second-team accolades. Second baseman Jill Buckley, outfielders Mitzi McLendon and Jennifer Garnett, along with pitcher Megan Schultz, made the first-team. Shortstop Staci Boyette and pitcher Shawn Starling earned second-team honors.

By Jim Egan Troy Messenger

The magical season of the Lady Trojans came to a halt as the Troy State softball team was eliminated from the NCAA Division I Regionals.

The Trojans (47-22-1) took an 8-0 beating from the Arizona Wildcats, who are ranked second in the nation.

Arizona jolted out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. All the runs were unearned due to back-to-back dropped fly balls, and another baserunner scored on an RBI single by Krista Gomez.

The second inning was even more horrifying for the Lady Trojans. The highlight of the inning was when AllAmerica Jenny Dalton crushed a grand slam home run, giving the Wildcats an 8-0 cushion.

The winning pitcher was Wildcat ace Carrie Nolan, who earned her 11th complete game shutout of the year. The loser was Shawn Starling (15-6), who was pulled out of the game before completing two innings.

Jean Salkeld came in to relieve Starling, but the damage had already been done. The TSU offense sputtered, so the game was called after five innings due to the eight-run rule.

The Lady Trojans then played and lost to South Florida, 6-5 in eight innings, in the loser’s bracket of the tournament.

South Florida drew first blood by scoring four runs in the second inning. Lauren McClendon ripped an RBI-double and later scored on Teresa Palladino’s slap-single. Wright drove in another run with a bloop hit and Melissa Sigmon scored on a throwing error.

The Trojans answered back in the third with a run when Michele Falk scored on Mitzi McLendon’s infield single.

TSU took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth on three hits and three errors. Staci Boyette doubled in pinch-runner Sherry Bodnar and later scored when USF’s McClendon dropped a sure out at first base. Troy’s McClendon scored the tying run when a fielder’s choice ground ball was misplayed at second. Jill Buckley gave the Trojans the lead when she raced home as McClendon dropped another ball at first.

USF tied the game back at five in the top of the sixth when Rhonda Wooder scored on Wright’s suicide squeeze bunt.

Neither team could score again until the top of the eighth, when Wright drove in her third run of the game on a deep fly to center that scored Wooder from third to make the score 6-5 in favor of USF.

The Lady Trojans tried to make a desperate comeback but failed. The Trojans had a small rally started with two out but a controversial call at third base ended the Trojans’ season in a heartbeat. Barbara Sherwood dove into second to avoid a line drive double play and was apparently held down by Wooder, USF’s second baseman. The third base umpire initially displayed the obstruction signal, prompting Sherwood to be signalled to third by coach Melanie Davis. However, a controversial call interpretation of the obstruction rule involving double jeopardy resulted in Sherwood being called out, ending the Lady Trojans rally.

Monica Triner earned the win in relief. Triner allowed four runs on seven hits in four-and-one-third innings of action. USF’s starter, Jennifer Thompson, came back in the eighth inning to get the save.

Shawn Starling, TSU’s third pitcher of the game, was saddled with her second loss of the tournament.

#1 Arizona

#4 Troy State

Arizona

#2 Florida St. #3 South Fla. Florida St. Arizona

Arizona

#3 South Fla.

#4 Troy State

South Fla.

Florida State

Florida St.

1996 NCAA West Regional