TROY, AL – The Alabama State softball team was one out away from pulling the upset over battle-tested Marshall, a competitive team from Conference USA that won 35 games a season ago.
 
But it was two late home runs and a dose of small ball that helped Marshall escape with a 4-2 win in eight innings over Alabama State in the early game of the Trojan Invitational at the Troy University Softball Complex on Sunday.
 
The Lady Hornets engaged in a tight pitcher's duel as ASU starting pitcher Maddie Phelps and Marshall's Jordan Dixon each blanked the opposition for six full innings. 
 
Briana Daiss hit the winning two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth for the Thundering Herd (1-0).
 
Alabama State took the lead twice, however, and gave themselves a chance to win it. 
 
In the eighth inning, Kansas City tiebreaker rules went into effect and Brittney Wilson laid down a bunt to get Alexia Boggess to third. 
 
Laura Aguilar followed with a RBI single to score her and put ASU on top 2-1. 
 
ASU was one out away from winning an inning earlier, but Marshall catcher Taylor McCord homered to tie it at 1-1 forcing the game into extra innings. 
 
The Lady Hornets' Kendall Core broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run to left center field off a Troy flag pole in the top of the seventh.
 
Core's home run was the 12^th of her career and moved her to sole possession of fourth place all-time for career home runs in ASU history. 
 
Phelps was on her game for much of the start as the senior set down Marshall batters in order in the fourth and fifth innings. 
 
In the first inning, Aleesa Yanez threw out Morgan Zerkle (47 stolen bases in 2015) attempting to steal. 
 
Then, Yanez picked off another runner at first base in the same inning.
 
ASU was able to work out of a jam in the third after a pair of singles by Raquel Escareno and Zerkle.

Marshall ended up stranding both runners on base when Phelps induced a line out to Boggess to end the inning. 
 
Phelps (0-2) earned a quality start by tossing seven and a third innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits. 
 
Troy 9, ASU 5
In the late game, Becca Hartley and Carli Kayler each homered in the first inning as the Trojans put up a four-run inning. 
 
Trailing 5-0, the Lady Hornets climbed back into it with two runs in the third on a pair of RBI singles by Jenna Mae Thorne and Charlene Castro.
 
In the fourth, ASU (1-4) inched closer when Aleesa Yanez roped a solo home run down the left field line to cut the deficit to 5-3. 
 
Troy added four runs in the fourth largely behind a couple of RBI doubles by Hartley and Kayler. 
 
In the sixth, Core went yard for the second time on the day with a solo blast to center to make it 9-4.
 
ASU added another run in the seventh when Alexis Johnson homered to right center for her ninth career dinger as a Hornet. 
 
Up next
 
The Lady Hornets will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on Southern Miss in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
 
Live coverage for stats and video can be found here:
 
http://www.southernmiss.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wsoftbl.html?event=1479823&school=smis&sport=wsoftbl&camefrom=&startschool=&
 
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