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The Troy Trojans (28-10-1, 9-2-1) moved into third place in the Sun Belt Conference’s softball standings this weekend with a series win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

At 9-2-1 in conference play, Troy trails just Louisiana and Marshall in the conference standings with plenty of action left to be played.

Troy secured the conference series with back-to-back home wins over Coastal Carolina on Thursday winning their sixth and seventh straight games.

In game one, the Trojans blanked Coastal 9-0 as Brantley senior Leanna Johnson earned yet another shutout win in the circle. It was also Johnson’s 20th win of the season as she struck out six batters, while giving up four hits and no runs in six innings pitched.

At the plate, Taylor McKinney went 2-for-3 for Troy with a home run, two RBIs and two runs, while Kelly Horne went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

Game two was a bit more dramatic. Troy led 8-6 going into the sixth inning when Coastal attempted to rally, cutting the lead to 8-7, only for Johnson to hold the Chanticleers runless in the final inning to secure the series win with an 8-7 victory.

Horne went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run, while Katelynn de Leon went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Libby Baker also hit a home run, while Anslee Finch and D’Aun Riggs earned doubles.

Johnson picked up the win in the circle, striking out three batters and giving up one hit and one earned run. Olivia Cato also struck out a pair of batters and gave up four hits and two earned runs in one and 2/3 innings pitched.

Johnson’s 22 wins is tops in the conference, while her 1.24 ranks second in the Sun Belt and her 151 strikeouts also ranks second.

Troy was unable to secure the sweep on April 7, falling 4-0 in a shutout loss. Audra Thompson earned the only hit for the Trojans. Johnson took the loss on the mound, striking out five batters, while giving up seven hits and three earned runs. Cato also gave up three hits and no earned runs with one strikeout in three innings pitched.

The Trojans take a break from conference play for a midweek showdown with the SEC’s Auburn on April 12 on the road. Troy and Auburn played in Troy back on March 1, an 11-0 Tiger win. Auburn is currently ranked No. 23 in the country. Troy then heads to Virginia to play James Madison in a conference series April 14-16.