Cooley Drives In Five As Bulldogs Run-Rule Jackson State, 11-2

Wednesday, February 29

Jackson, Miss.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

9-5

Jackson State

8-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	0	3	0	0	4	4	11	12	0
Jackson State	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	6	3

Bulldogs Fall Short In 9-8 Thriller At No. 4 Alabama

Cooley Drives In Five As Bulldogs Run-Rule Jackson State, 11-2

March 01, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

JACKSON, Miss. - Junior left fielder Jessica Cooley drove in a career-high five runs and sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape tallied a career-best four hits as Mississippi State run-ruled Jackson State by an 11-2 margin Wednesday afternoon at the JSU Softball Complex. The Bulldogs improved to 9-5 under first-year head coach Vann Stuedeman, while the host Lady Tigers fell to 8-9 on the year.

"I really appreciate Jackson State working with us to get the game in due to the threat of weather," Stuedeman said. "I was impressed with the amount of softball fans that changed their schedule to be able to attend our game. I was pleased with our ability to score runs with the bases loaded. We're gaining experience with every outing and it is starting to pay off."

Shape's 4-for-4 performance came on a quartet of hard-hit singles up the middle, while Cooley finished 2-for-4, including two singles through the right side with the bases loaded that scored four. Sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan (2-for-4) and senior right fielder Brittany Gates (2-for-3) also had two hits apiece. Junior shortstop Erin Nesbit (1-for-2) and sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt (1-for-4) recorded hits as well.

Junior left-handed pitcher Stephanie Becker improved to 4-1 on the season, giving up two runs on five hits in 5.0 innings, striking out two and walking one. Sophomore righty Shana Sherrod threw a scoreless inning to end the game, striking out two. Lady Tigers' pitcher Jasmine Warren suffered the loss for JSU, dropping to 5-3 in 2012.

After a scoreless first inning, MSU took the lead it would never relinquish with a three-run second. Shape started it off by singling up the middle and then advanced to second on a throwing error by the JSU second baseman. One pitch later, Nesbit singled through the hole in right, knocking in Shape for the game's first run. Nesbit traded places with Cooley in the next at-bat, as Cooley hit a come-backer to the Lady Tigers' pitcher, causing Nesbit to score and Cooley to advance to second on a throwing error by the home hurler. The final run of the second frame came when Gates singled up the middle on the first pitch of her second at-bat, plating Cooley at the dish for a 3-0 MSU lead.

After giving up one run in both the third and fourth innings, the Bulldogs responded with a four-run fifth. Lenahan led off with a single past the pitcher. Shape advanced her childhood friend to second when she hit her third-straight single up the middle. The bases became loaded when Nesbit was plunked by a pitch and took first. Cooley laced a 3-1 pitch through the hole in right for a two-RBI single. Extending its lead to 4-2, Offutt nearly missed out on her first-career home run when she cranked a stand-up double to the top of the wall in right-center field, scoring Nesbit. With Cooley now at third and Offutt on second, Smith hit a towering fly ball to the fence in left. The left fielder caught it, but the distance did what it needed, as Cooley tagged from third for the last run of the inning.

The Bulldogs scored four runs for the second-consecutive inning in the sixth, which started with a leadoff walk by senior designated player Brittany Bell on four-straight pitches. Freshman Ashley Phillips pinch ran for Bell, but was forced out at second on a fielder's choice groundout to shortstop by Lenahan. Pinch-hitting junior Chrissie Rovtar replaced Fisher, but was hit by a pitch. Fisher returned as the runner at first, and with two on, Shape hit her fourth and final single of the day to score Lenahan from second. Just like in the fourth, Nesbit was hit by a pitch and Cooley delivered a bases-loaded two-RBI single to right field. Fisher and Nesbit advanced to third and second respectively on a passed ball during Offutt's at-bat, and were joined on the basepaths when senior catcher Ka'ili Smith reached on her third walk of the afternoon. With the bases loaded for the third time Wednesday, Gates walked to knock in the 11th run of the day for the Maroon and White.

Stuedeman's squad will host the 13th Bulldog Classic at the MSU Softball Stadium from Friday to Sunday at the MSU Softball Stadium. The Maroon and White will square off against the likes of Columbia, Louisiana Tech, Eastern Illinois and Samford. For more information regarding the Bulldog Classic, visit the official event page at HailState.com, follow the team on Twitter at @MStateSB and like the team at Facebook.com/MStateSB.

Postgame Notes

Jessica Cooley drove in a career-high five runs, becoming the first Bulldog since Courtney Nesbit on April 3, 2011, vs. Ole Miss to knock in five.
Heidi Shape became the first MSU player to collect four hits since All-American Chelsea Bramlett did so at Arkansas on March 28, 2010.
Mississippi State is now hitting .435 (10-for-23) with 23 RBIs with the bases loaded in 2012.
The Bulldogs run-ruled an opponent for the first time since defeating Mississippi Valley State by 9-1 score on April 19, 2011
The Maroon and White scored four-plus runs in back-to-back innings for the first time this season.
Erin Nesbit was hit by a pitch twice today after entering the game with zero hit by pitches in 27 at-bats this season.
Ka'ili Smith drew three base on balls, tying her career high (at Georgia on May 7, 2011).
The 11 runs scored were the most by Starkville's team since an 11-2 five-inning victory at home against Alcorn State on March 29, 2011.