Mississippi State
21-24, 8-11
#5 Alabama
41-5, 15-4
MSU Softball Falls 5-2 To No. 3 Alabama In Series Finale
April 17, 2011 | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Ka'ili Smith, Sam Lenahan and Heidi Shape each collected hits as the Mississippi State softball team closed a three-game SEC road series against No. 3 Alabama with a tough 5-2 setback.
The loss dropped MSU to 21-24 overall and 8-11 in SEC play. Alabama improved to 41-5 and 15-4 in the league with the series sweep.
Smith sparked the Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native went 4-for-9 (.444) on the weekend with a double and a pair of RBI. She also scored twice in the three-game set.
With two out in the opening frame, Smith dropped a single into left field. She moved to third on a pair of errors by UA third baseman Kaila Hunt, and scored on a wild pitch from Crimson Tide starter Kelsi Dunne.
Dunne (20-2) allowed one earned run (two total) on three hits while striking out 11.
Bulldog starter Stephanie Becker fell to 6-5 on the season as she was touched for five runs (four earned) and eight hits while striking out five. Four of Alabama's runs came with two out.
"I thought we did a good job getting run on the scoreboard in the first inning. It was a lot like the first game yesterday in that we took a called third strike to leave a runner at third," Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller said. "Stephanie pitched another good game. She hung a couple of pitches and they hit them out, and that was the difference in the game."
Alabama answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Jennifer Fenton and Whitney Larsen reached on back-to-back, one-out singles. Fenton scored on an Amanda Locke two-out base hit, and Larsen gave the Tide the lead as she reached on an infield error.
Locke extended the lead to 3-1 as she opened the bottom of the fourth with a home run. The Crimson Tide added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a Kendall Dawson two-run home run.
State kept fighting, however, and tried to mount a rally in the top of the seventh. With one out, Lenahan belted a single down the line in left field. Shape advanced her with a base hit to right-center, and after a Chelsea Raines walk loaded the bases, Lenahan scored on a Briana Bell groundout to third to cut the lead to 5-2.
The Dawgs' comeback attempt fell short, however, as a groundout stranded a pair of Bulldog runners in scoring position.
Alabama 5, Mississippi
State 2 (Apr 17, 2011 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
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Mississippi State... 100 000 1 - 2 3 1 (21-24, 8-11 SEC)
Alabama............. 200 102 X - 5 8 2 (41-5, 15-4 SEC)
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Pitchers: Mississippi State - Stephanie Becker and Sam Lenahan. Alabama - Kelsi Dunne and
Kendall Dawson.
Win-Kelsi Dunne(20-2) Loss-Stephanie Becker(6-5) T-2:05 A-3064
HR UA - Amanda Locke; Kendall Dawson.
Weather: Sunny, 68, Wind: ENE at 1 mph
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kelsi Dunne (20-2)
L: Becker, Stephanie (6-5)
Batting:
RBI: Bell, Briana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1
Batting:
HR: Amanda Locke 1 ; Kendall Dawson 1
RBI: Amanda Locke 2 ; Kendall Dawson 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jennifer Fenton 1 ; Whitney Larsen 1 ; Amanda Locke 1 ; Keima Davis 1 ; Kendall Dawson 1
SB: Kayla Braud 1 ; Keima Davis 1
