Bulldogs Fall To No. 7 Georgia, Meet Alabama Thursday In SEC Tournament

Sunday, May 8

Athens, Ga.

12:30 PM

Mississippi State

24-31, 10-18

#7 Georgia

44-10, 17-9

Mississippi State

Georgia

Bulldogs Fall To No. 7 Georgia, Meet Alabama Thursday In SEC Tournament

May 08, 2011 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

ATHENS, Ga. - Ka'ili Smith went 3-for-3 at the plate, and junior Brittany Gates hit her second home run of the season as Mississippi State fell 10-2 to No. 7 Georgia in the regular-season finale Sunday afternoon at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens.

The Bulldogs wrap the regular season 24-31 overall and 10-18 in SEC play. State will venture to Oxford, Miss., on Thursday for the SEC Softball Tournament. The Dawgs will meet top-seeded Alabama at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Audio for the game will be available at www.mstateathletics.com/m2mlive, and tickets for the tournament are available by going to www.mstateathletics.com/softball and clicking the SEC Tournament button on the right side of the page.

Smith's 3-for-3 effort at the plate in Sunday's rubber game put her at .500 on the weekend with four hits in eight at-bats. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native has enjoyed a stellar stretch run for the Bulldogs, going 10-for-21 (.476) with a double and two RBI in the last seven games.

Gates' home run was also the second of her career, as she hit her first against North Carolina in the SEC/ACC Challenge in Tuscaloosa on March 13.

Freshman Heidi Shape, a Duluth, Ga., native, posted a pair of base hits on Sunday. Shape matched Acworth, Ga., native Courtney Nesbit with a .455 batting average for the series.

"Heidi has done a good job since we moved her back up to the two-hole in the lineup," Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller said. "Ka'ili also had a great weekend swinging the bat for us, and we hope it can continue in the SEC Tournament next week."

Mississippi State pounded out six hits in the game, but the inability to come through with the big hit hindered Mississippi State again on Sunday. The Bulldogs put runners on base in the first four innings, but the clutch hit eluded them as they stranded nine on base.

Georgia (44-10, 17-9 SEC) scored eight of its 10 runs off four home runs, including two by Brittney Hubbard.

"You make bad pitches, and they are going to hit it out, but what concerns me the most is that we can't take advantage with runners in scoring position," Miller said. "We have to do a better job of putting the ball in play and making some things happen when we get scoring opportunities."

Mississippi State threatened in the opening inning as Ali Bainbridge led off the game with a walk. Following a pop-out by Shape, Smith moved her to second with a single through the right side of the infield.

UGA starter Alison Owen prevented any damage as she got a strikeout and pop fly to end the inning.

Mississippi State hurler Stephanie Becker fended off a Georgia scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first. With one out, Taylor Schlopy lined a double off the wall in left field. She moved to third on an Alisa Goler groundout, but she was stranded there as Becker got Brianna Hesson to fly out to right field.

After MSU was unable to capitalize on a Briana Bell walk and an error that put Cooley on base in the second, Georgia struck with the game's first run in the bottom half of the frame. Hubbard started the UGA scoring in Saturday's game, and she did the same on Sunday as she lined a two-out pitch from Becker over the left-field wall for the solo home run.

Becker fell to 7-10 with the loss. She allowed six runs and six hits in 2.2 innings before giving way to junior Misty Flesher. Flesher was tagged with three runs and three hits in 1.1 innings, while Lindsey Dunlap allowed the game's final run in 0.1 innings.

Mississippi State answered with the tying run in the top of the third. Shape and Smith opened the frame with back-to-back singles off UGA reliever Morgan Montemayor, who improved to 20-3 with the win. Nesbit advanced the pair into scoring position with a ground ball, and Sam Lenahan was intentionally walked for the second time on the weekend to load the bases.

Montemayor got a strikeout of Chelsea Raines for the second out of the inning, but freshman Briana Bell knotted the game at a run apiece as she was hit by a pitch to score Shape.

Georgia broke the deadlock in the bottom of the third with a pair of long balls off Becker. Megan Wiggins led off the inning with a walk, and Hesson singled two batters later to set up Ashley Razey, who lined a pitch over the wall in left field to put UGA on top 3-1.

Ashley Sanderberg was hit by a pitch, and Hubbard chased Becker with her second home run of the game, a two-run shot that extended the lead to 6-1.

State answered with a run in the top of the fourth as Gates opened the inning by lining a Montemayor pitch over the right-field wall for her second home run of the season.

Shape and Smith each followed with one-out singles, but a pair of strikeouts prevented Mississippi State from slicing further into the 6-2 Georgia lead.

Georgia added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double from Schlopy and a two-run home run from Hesson.

UGA plated the game's final run in the fifth. Hubbard and Trout each hit one-out singles, and Hubbard scored as Pauly lined a single to right that bounced off the glove of a leaping Briana Bell.