Wednesday, March 14
Memphis, Tenn.
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
23-3
7
at
1
Memphis
16-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Mississippi State
0
2
0
0
5
0
0
7
8
1
Memphis
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
Morgan Bell tied the Mississippi State program record with her third career grand slam.
Bell’s Record-Tying Grand Slam Carries No. 20 Bulldogs to 11th Straight Victory
March 14, 2018 | Softball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Slugging her second grand slam of the season, senior Morgan Bell tied Mississippi State (23-3) softball's career grand slam record as the No. 20 Bulldogs knocked off Memphis (16-6), 7-1, Wednesday night at the Tiger Softball Complex.
Four Bulldogs recorded two hits in the contest to account for all eight Bulldog hits. Bell recorded her second five-RBI of the game of the season.
Senior Cassady Knudsen earned the win to improve to 8-1 on the season. Over 4.0 innings, Knudsen allowed just one run off three hits and struck out seven.
Memphis plated the first run of the game with a one-out solo home run by Baylee Smith in the bottom of the first. Smith's home run was just the second allowed by the Bulldog pitching staff this season.
The Bulldogs responded quickly, locking the game at 1-1 in the top of the second with an RBI double to center by Bell. After a single up the middle by junior Kat Moore to put Bulldogs on the corner with no outs, senior Cayln Adams drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice at second base.
State broke open the game in the top of the fifth, leading off the inning with a single up the middle by junior Emily Heimberger and a double to right field off the bat of Mia Davidson. A dropped pop up on Reggie Harrison's at bat loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with no outs.
The Tigers recorded the first out of the inning with a fielder's choice, making the force play at home to prevent a run. A second Memphis error brought in a run before Bell slugged a home run to left center for her second grand slam of the season to extend the lead to 7-1 for the Bulldogs.
Knudsen found her grove after giving up a lead-off single in the bottom of the third, retiring the next six batters she faced. Memphis would not see another base runner until the bottom of the fifth as senior Holly Ward gave up a two-out bloop single to short in her first inning of relief.
The Tigers had the best scoring chance since their solo home run in the first in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the inning with a single up the middle, a walk and a Mississippi State error to load the bases. Ward recorded the first two outs with a strikeout before Davidson ended the ending tagging out the Tiger at third base as she slowly returned to the bag.
Ward closed the game with three groundouts in the top of the seventh to earn her team-leading third save of the season. Ward tossed the final three innings allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out four.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend as the Bulldogs travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers (16-12, 0-3 SEC). The series begins Friday, March 16 with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network +. The final two games of the series will air on the SEC Network. First pitch on Saturday, March 17 is set for 4 p.m. CT, while the series finale on Sunday, March 18 will begin at 12 p.m. CT.
RING THE BELL
Morgan Bell continues to rack up the RBI opportunities as she slugged her second grand slam of the 2018 season for her second five-RBI performance, tying her career high. The grand slam was the third of Bell's career which ties Jessica Cooley for the program record.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Tonight's win at Memphis extended Mississippi State's win streak to 11 consecutive games, which is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in program history. Mississippi State has strung together a 10-game win streak on two previous occasions, the last of which ran from Feb. 8 to Feb. 17, 2008.
FOLLOW THE DAWGS
For more on Mississippi State softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap".
--HailState.com--
Four Bulldogs recorded two hits in the contest to account for all eight Bulldog hits. Bell recorded her second five-RBI of the game of the season.
Senior Cassady Knudsen earned the win to improve to 8-1 on the season. Over 4.0 innings, Knudsen allowed just one run off three hits and struck out seven.
Memphis plated the first run of the game with a one-out solo home run by Baylee Smith in the bottom of the first. Smith's home run was just the second allowed by the Bulldog pitching staff this season.
The Bulldogs responded quickly, locking the game at 1-1 in the top of the second with an RBI double to center by Bell. After a single up the middle by junior Kat Moore to put Bulldogs on the corner with no outs, senior Cayln Adams drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice at second base.
State broke open the game in the top of the fifth, leading off the inning with a single up the middle by junior Emily Heimberger and a double to right field off the bat of Mia Davidson. A dropped pop up on Reggie Harrison's at bat loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with no outs.
The Tigers recorded the first out of the inning with a fielder's choice, making the force play at home to prevent a run. A second Memphis error brought in a run before Bell slugged a home run to left center for her second grand slam of the season to extend the lead to 7-1 for the Bulldogs.
Knudsen found her grove after giving up a lead-off single in the bottom of the third, retiring the next six batters she faced. Memphis would not see another base runner until the bottom of the fifth as senior Holly Ward gave up a two-out bloop single to short in her first inning of relief.
The Tigers had the best scoring chance since their solo home run in the first in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the inning with a single up the middle, a walk and a Mississippi State error to load the bases. Ward recorded the first two outs with a strikeout before Davidson ended the ending tagging out the Tiger at third base as she slowly returned to the bag.
Ward closed the game with three groundouts in the top of the seventh to earn her team-leading third save of the season. Ward tossed the final three innings allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out four.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State opens Southeastern Conference play this weekend as the Bulldogs travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers (16-12, 0-3 SEC). The series begins Friday, March 16 with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network +. The final two games of the series will air on the SEC Network. First pitch on Saturday, March 17 is set for 4 p.m. CT, while the series finale on Sunday, March 18 will begin at 12 p.m. CT.
RING THE BELL
Morgan Bell continues to rack up the RBI opportunities as she slugged her second grand slam of the 2018 season for her second five-RBI performance, tying her career high. The grand slam was the third of Bell's career which ties Jessica Cooley for the program record.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Tonight's win at Memphis extended Mississippi State's win streak to 11 consecutive games, which is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in program history. Mississippi State has strung together a 10-game win streak on two previous occasions, the last of which ran from Feb. 8 to Feb. 17, 2008.
FOLLOW THE DAWGS
For more on Mississippi State softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap".
--HailState.com--
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Knudsen, Cassady (8-1)
L: SMITH, M (9-3)
S: Ward, Holly (3)
Batting:
2B: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Bell, Morgan 1
HR: Bell, Morgan 1
RBI: Bell, Morgan 5 ; Adams, Calyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davidson, Mia 1 ; Harrison, Reggie 1 ; Niu, Sarai 1 ; Carter, Carmen 2 ; Bell, Morgan 2
HBP: Moore, Kat 1
Batting:
HR: SMITH, B 1
RBI: SMITH, B 1
SH: HADLEY, R 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SMITH, B 1
CS: MAXWELL, A 1
HBP: THREATT, A 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballC/INF
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INF
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