Saturday, February 19
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
3-4
2
vs
0
Butler
0-3
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Butler
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
4
Mississippi State
1
0
0
0
0
1
X
2
3
0
Lenahan's Walk-Off Blast Lifts MSU to Round-Robin Championship Game
February 19, 2011 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Despite battling an illness on Saturday, Mississippi State freshman Sam Lenahan was feeling great as her pinch-hit, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning rallied Mississippi State to a 10-8 win against Southern Illinois. The win, coupled with a 2-0 win against Butler earlier in the day, put the Bulldogs in Sunday's Bulldog Round-Robin championship game at the MSU Softball Field.
Bulldog sophomore Kylie Vry tossed a four-hit shutout in Saturday's opener as the Bulldogs (4-4) clinched a championship game berth against SIU at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“It was a huge hit by Sam. She has been feeling under the weather, but she said she had a swing in her and she was right,” MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “We hit the ball better through the lineup in the second game, and we came up with some big hits. Courtney Nesbit had a couple of big hits and Chelsea Raines had a huge home run.
“We are here to win the championship, and we know Southern Illinois will be ready to play,” Miller said. “We have to come out strong and play good defense and get timely hitting.”
Nesbit put together a three-hit afternoon that included two doubles, a triple and her second home run of the season. The Acworth, Ga., senior drove in five runs in Saturday's nightcap.
Saturday's final game turned into a back-and-forth offensive battle between the Bulldogs and Salukis. After a 5-3 lead was erased in the top of the fifth, Mississippi State's Ka'ili Smith put the Dawgs back ahead 6-5 with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
SIU answered in the top of the sixth with a Taylor Orsburn two-out, three-run home run to go up 8-6.
Mississippi State, however, put together a two-out rally of its own in the home half of the frame. Ali Bainbridge singled to third base, advancing Brittany Bell to second after she was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
Nesbit then stepped to the plate and sent a triple down the line in left field to knot the game at eight.
Stephanie Becker, who pitched a perfect final 1.1 innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0, got a huge strikeout in the top of the seventh to strand the lead run for SIU at second base and keep the game tied.
Smith sparked the Dawgs' heroic seventh inning with a double to the gap in left-center. Two batters later, Lenahan lifted a two-strike pitch from SIU starter Danielle Glosson high into the night sky, and the ball fell just beyond the wall in left field to set off a massive Maroon and White celebration.
Lenahan's home run was the first pinch-hit home run by a Bulldog since Michelle Kinney's against LSU on March 30, 2005. It was also the first walk-off since last April when Smith belted one to defeat Kentucky in the series finale.
“I knew we needed a base hit. I hadn't been feeling well today, but I just tried to put it out of my mind,” Lenahan said. “I was feeling down on myself after the first two strikes, but I just tried to see the ball and hit and that's what I did. I wasn't sure if it was going to go out because I hit it so high, but it did.”
The game's 18-run offensive explosion began in the second when SIU scored on a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead. That advantage would be brief as Raines smashed a ball over the left-center field wall that put the Dawgs up 2-1.
The Salukis regained a one-run edge in the third behind RBI singles from Haley Gorman and Michelle Bradley, but Mississippi State answered once again, taking a 5-2 lead on Nesbit's two-run shot over the wall in left field.
Junior Misty Flesher worked the initial 5.2 innings for State, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Glosson fell to 2-2 as she went the distance and was touched for 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits with five strikeouts.
State's offensive burst came after the Dawgs picked up just three hits but capitalized on four Butler miscues in Saturday's opener.
Vry, a Des Moines, Iowa, sophomore, struck out six Butler hitters as she improved to 1-3 on the year.
Nesbit and freshman Heidi Shape each doubled against Butler, while Lenahan also collected one of State's three hits in the game.
The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of Butler miscues to take a 1-0 first-inning lead that would prove to be enough to clinch the win. Bainbridge drew a two-out walk, and she took second when Nesbit reached on an error.
Another error on Shape's ground ball allowed Bainbridge to cross the plate before Nesbit was tagged out trying to take third.
A pair of singles followed by a sacrifice put the go-ahead run at second for Butler in the fourth, but Vry got a groundout to Shape at shortstop to preserve the Dawgs' 1-0 advantage.
State's bats came to life over the final frames, with MSU adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Nesbit sparked Mississippi State with a leadoff double. Shape then answered with a two-bagger of her own that plated pinch-runner Briana Bell.
Jenny Esparza took the loss for Butler, falling to 0-2 as she allowed two unearned runs and three hits while matching Vry with six K's.
Mississippi State 2, Butler 0 (Feb 19, 2011 at Starkville, Miss.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Butler.............. 000 000 0 - 0 4 4 (0-3)
Mississippi State... 100 001 X - 2 3 0 (3-4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Butler - Jenny Esparza and Mallory Winters. Mississippi State - Kylie Vry and
Sam Lenahan.
Win-Kylie Vry(1-3) Loss-Jenny Esparza(0-2) T-1:39 A-0
Mississippi State 10, Southern Illinois 8 (Feb 19, 2011 at Starkville, Miss.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Illinois... 012 023 0 - 8 8 1 (4-3)
Mississippi State... 023 012 2 - 10 11 1 (4-4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Southern Illinois - Danielle Glosson and Cristina Trapani. Mississippi State -
Misty Flesher; Stephanie Becker(6) and Kaili Smith.
Win-Stephanie Becker(2-0) Loss-Danielle Glosson(2-2) T-2:20 A-583
HR SIU - Taylor Orsburn.
HR MS - Courtney Nesbit; Chelsea Raines; Sam Lenahan.
Bulldog sophomore Kylie Vry tossed a four-hit shutout in Saturday's opener as the Bulldogs (4-4) clinched a championship game berth against SIU at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“It was a huge hit by Sam. She has been feeling under the weather, but she said she had a swing in her and she was right,” MSU head coach Jay Miller said. “We hit the ball better through the lineup in the second game, and we came up with some big hits. Courtney Nesbit had a couple of big hits and Chelsea Raines had a huge home run.
“We are here to win the championship, and we know Southern Illinois will be ready to play,” Miller said. “We have to come out strong and play good defense and get timely hitting.”
Nesbit put together a three-hit afternoon that included two doubles, a triple and her second home run of the season. The Acworth, Ga., senior drove in five runs in Saturday's nightcap.
Saturday's final game turned into a back-and-forth offensive battle between the Bulldogs and Salukis. After a 5-3 lead was erased in the top of the fifth, Mississippi State's Ka'ili Smith put the Dawgs back ahead 6-5 with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
SIU answered in the top of the sixth with a Taylor Orsburn two-out, three-run home run to go up 8-6.
Mississippi State, however, put together a two-out rally of its own in the home half of the frame. Ali Bainbridge singled to third base, advancing Brittany Bell to second after she was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
Nesbit then stepped to the plate and sent a triple down the line in left field to knot the game at eight.
Stephanie Becker, who pitched a perfect final 1.1 innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0, got a huge strikeout in the top of the seventh to strand the lead run for SIU at second base and keep the game tied.
Smith sparked the Dawgs' heroic seventh inning with a double to the gap in left-center. Two batters later, Lenahan lifted a two-strike pitch from SIU starter Danielle Glosson high into the night sky, and the ball fell just beyond the wall in left field to set off a massive Maroon and White celebration.
Lenahan's home run was the first pinch-hit home run by a Bulldog since Michelle Kinney's against LSU on March 30, 2005. It was also the first walk-off since last April when Smith belted one to defeat Kentucky in the series finale.
“I knew we needed a base hit. I hadn't been feeling well today, but I just tried to put it out of my mind,” Lenahan said. “I was feeling down on myself after the first two strikes, but I just tried to see the ball and hit and that's what I did. I wasn't sure if it was going to go out because I hit it so high, but it did.”
The game's 18-run offensive explosion began in the second when SIU scored on a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead. That advantage would be brief as Raines smashed a ball over the left-center field wall that put the Dawgs up 2-1.
The Salukis regained a one-run edge in the third behind RBI singles from Haley Gorman and Michelle Bradley, but Mississippi State answered once again, taking a 5-2 lead on Nesbit's two-run shot over the wall in left field.
Junior Misty Flesher worked the initial 5.2 innings for State, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Glosson fell to 2-2 as she went the distance and was touched for 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits with five strikeouts.
State's offensive burst came after the Dawgs picked up just three hits but capitalized on four Butler miscues in Saturday's opener.
Vry, a Des Moines, Iowa, sophomore, struck out six Butler hitters as she improved to 1-3 on the year.
Nesbit and freshman Heidi Shape each doubled against Butler, while Lenahan also collected one of State's three hits in the game.
The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of Butler miscues to take a 1-0 first-inning lead that would prove to be enough to clinch the win. Bainbridge drew a two-out walk, and she took second when Nesbit reached on an error.
Another error on Shape's ground ball allowed Bainbridge to cross the plate before Nesbit was tagged out trying to take third.
A pair of singles followed by a sacrifice put the go-ahead run at second for Butler in the fourth, but Vry got a groundout to Shape at shortstop to preserve the Dawgs' 1-0 advantage.
State's bats came to life over the final frames, with MSU adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Nesbit sparked Mississippi State with a leadoff double. Shape then answered with a two-bagger of her own that plated pinch-runner Briana Bell.
Jenny Esparza took the loss for Butler, falling to 0-2 as she allowed two unearned runs and three hits while matching Vry with six K's.
Mississippi State 2, Butler 0 (Feb 19, 2011 at Starkville, Miss.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Butler.............. 000 000 0 - 0 4 4 (0-3)
Mississippi State... 100 001 X - 2 3 0 (3-4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Butler - Jenny Esparza and Mallory Winters. Mississippi State - Kylie Vry and
Sam Lenahan.
Win-Kylie Vry(1-3) Loss-Jenny Esparza(0-2) T-1:39 A-0
Mississippi State 10, Southern Illinois 8 (Feb 19, 2011 at Starkville, Miss.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Illinois... 012 023 0 - 8 8 1 (4-3)
Mississippi State... 023 012 2 - 10 11 1 (4-4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Southern Illinois - Danielle Glosson and Cristina Trapani. Mississippi State -
Misty Flesher; Stephanie Becker(6) and Kaili Smith.
Win-Stephanie Becker(2-0) Loss-Danielle Glosson(2-2) T-2:20 A-583
HR SIU - Taylor Orsburn.
HR MS - Courtney Nesbit; Chelsea Raines; Sam Lenahan.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vry, Kylie (1-3)
L: Jenny Esparza (0-2)
Batting:
SH: Jessica Huey 2
Batting:
2B: Nesbit, Courtney 1 ; Shape, Heidi 1
RBI: Shape, Heidi 2
SH: Lenahan, Sam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bainbridge, Ali 1 ; Bell, Briana 1
HBP: Cooley, Jessica 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball1B/OF
/ Softball
INF/C
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
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