Friday, March 16
Baton Rouge, La.
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
17-10, 3-5
7
at
10
LSU
17-8, 2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| LSU | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 8 | 3 |
Softball Drops SEC West Opener At LSU
March 17, 2012 | Softball
Baton
Rouge, La. - Mississippi
State scored its most runs in Death Valley since 2002, but it was not enough as
the Bulldogs fell, 10-7, to LSU Friday night at Tiger Park. The SEC West opener
for MSU dropped them to 17-10 overall and 3-5 inside the Southeastern
Conference, while LSU improved to 17-8 (2-1 SEC).
"You have to credit our hitters, Coach (Alan) Reach and Coach (Beth) Mullins for the fight we put up tonight," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "We had the tying run on deck in the top of the seventh, and that is all you can ask for."
Sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape went 2-for-3 with a walk to lead the Maroon and White hitters. Fellow sophomore Jessica Offutt extended her career-long hitting streak with a 1-for-3 performance with one driven in. The top four in the order also drove in one run, while junior left fielder Jessica Cooley went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
In the circle, junior left-handed pitcher Kylie Vry suffered the loss with 2.0 innings pitched, falling to 5-4 on the year. Rachele Fico picked up her eighth win of the year (8-4) for the host Tigers, despite giving up seven runs off eight Bulldog hits in six innings.
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off Tuesday, scoring a run in the top of the first at Tiger Park. With one out, senior designated player Brittany Bell reached on a fielder's choice when junior first baseman Shelby Fisher was forced out at second. On the first pitch of sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan's at-bat, Bell stole second, putting a Bulldog in scoring position for the first time Friday. Lenahan battled Fico to a full count before driving it hard and low up the middle, allowing Bell to slide in safely under the tag at home for an early 1-0 lead in favor of the Maroon and White.
After LSU tied it at one with a run of its own in the first, MSU regained the lead with a three-run second. Shortstop Erin Nesbit led off by falling behind early in the count, but battled back to draw a free pass on a full count. The redshirt sophomore advanced to second when senior center fielder Brittany Gates moved her teammate over on a bunt single to the Tigers' third baseman. Following an out, senior catcher Ka'ili Smith grounded it to shortstop and reached on a fielder's choice. The LSU shortstop fielded it and attempted to force Nesbit out at third, but threw it to the Bulldog dugout, loading the bases for the visitors.
The Tigers roared back in the bottom of the third and broke the game open with eight runs on five hits, two Bulldog errors and three-consecutive hit batters. One final run would be scored by the home team in the bottom of the fifth on a two out, full count, bases-loaded walk.
State fought back to score two runs in the top of the sixth. Shape led off with a standup double to the gap in left and Cooley followed with an infield single. Nesbit walked to load the bases as Gates strolled to the dish. Gates reached first when Shape was forced out at home. With the bases still full, Offutt and Smith delivered back-to-back RBI singles for runs five and six for State.
Never giving up, the Bulldogs showed hope when they had the tying run on deck with no outs in the top of the seventh. Lenahan trotted to first on a leadoff walk to start the inning and was promptly pinch ran for by freshman Ashley Phillips. Shape singled Phillips over to second on an infield single and both advanced one base on a passed ball. Following a pitching change where LSU brought in ace Brittany Mack, Cooley then knocked in Phillips with her team-leading 25th RBI of the season. Starkville's team could not muster any more maroon magic, as Mack recorded a game-ending strikeout with the tying run on deck.
"We fought and battled at the plate," Stuedeman said. "I am super proud of our resolve and fight. It just did not come up on our side this time. We are inching our way to being able to close out those games. We are learning how to become grittier and win these types of games."
Free audio streaming of Saturday's and Sunday's games at 1 p.m. CT will be available through HailStateTV at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive. A video stream of Saturday's game will be available to current HSTV subscribers (made possible by stream share from LSU). Sunday's games will not be available on video. For more information regarding MSU's series in Cajun Country, follow the team on Twitter at @MStateSB and like the team at Facebook.com/MStateSB.
Postgame Notes
● Mississippi State scored its most runs at LSU since plating seven in an 8-7, 11-inning loss on March 19, 2002.
● Sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt extended her career and team-best hitting streak to six games with a 1-for-3 outing.
● Designated player Brittany Bell's stolen base in the first inning was the 50th of her career, moving her into sole possession of ninth place all-time at Mississippi State.
● With three RBIs tonight with the bases juiced, Bulldogs are now hitting .429 (21-for-49) with a whopping 46 RBIs with the bases loaded this year.
● Redshirt sophomore Erin Nesbit has now drawn four walks in her last three games after being issued zero free passes in her previous 16 games.
● Over the course of the last three games, sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan is 4-for-13 with three RBIs, two runs, a home run and a walk.
● Sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape hit a double in her second-consecutive game for the first time in her career.
● The loss was MSU's first true road loss of the season, snapping State's five-game winning streak, its longest since 2001.
"You have to credit our hitters, Coach (Alan) Reach and Coach (Beth) Mullins for the fight we put up tonight," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "We had the tying run on deck in the top of the seventh, and that is all you can ask for."
Sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape went 2-for-3 with a walk to lead the Maroon and White hitters. Fellow sophomore Jessica Offutt extended her career-long hitting streak with a 1-for-3 performance with one driven in. The top four in the order also drove in one run, while junior left fielder Jessica Cooley went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
In the circle, junior left-handed pitcher Kylie Vry suffered the loss with 2.0 innings pitched, falling to 5-4 on the year. Rachele Fico picked up her eighth win of the year (8-4) for the host Tigers, despite giving up seven runs off eight Bulldog hits in six innings.
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off Tuesday, scoring a run in the top of the first at Tiger Park. With one out, senior designated player Brittany Bell reached on a fielder's choice when junior first baseman Shelby Fisher was forced out at second. On the first pitch of sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan's at-bat, Bell stole second, putting a Bulldog in scoring position for the first time Friday. Lenahan battled Fico to a full count before driving it hard and low up the middle, allowing Bell to slide in safely under the tag at home for an early 1-0 lead in favor of the Maroon and White.
After LSU tied it at one with a run of its own in the first, MSU regained the lead with a three-run second. Shortstop Erin Nesbit led off by falling behind early in the count, but battled back to draw a free pass on a full count. The redshirt sophomore advanced to second when senior center fielder Brittany Gates moved her teammate over on a bunt single to the Tigers' third baseman. Following an out, senior catcher Ka'ili Smith grounded it to shortstop and reached on a fielder's choice. The LSU shortstop fielded it and attempted to force Nesbit out at third, but threw it to the Bulldog dugout, loading the bases for the visitors.
The Tigers roared back in the bottom of the third and broke the game open with eight runs on five hits, two Bulldog errors and three-consecutive hit batters. One final run would be scored by the home team in the bottom of the fifth on a two out, full count, bases-loaded walk.
State fought back to score two runs in the top of the sixth. Shape led off with a standup double to the gap in left and Cooley followed with an infield single. Nesbit walked to load the bases as Gates strolled to the dish. Gates reached first when Shape was forced out at home. With the bases still full, Offutt and Smith delivered back-to-back RBI singles for runs five and six for State.
Never giving up, the Bulldogs showed hope when they had the tying run on deck with no outs in the top of the seventh. Lenahan trotted to first on a leadoff walk to start the inning and was promptly pinch ran for by freshman Ashley Phillips. Shape singled Phillips over to second on an infield single and both advanced one base on a passed ball. Following a pitching change where LSU brought in ace Brittany Mack, Cooley then knocked in Phillips with her team-leading 25th RBI of the season. Starkville's team could not muster any more maroon magic, as Mack recorded a game-ending strikeout with the tying run on deck.
"We fought and battled at the plate," Stuedeman said. "I am super proud of our resolve and fight. It just did not come up on our side this time. We are inching our way to being able to close out those games. We are learning how to become grittier and win these types of games."
Free audio streaming of Saturday's and Sunday's games at 1 p.m. CT will be available through HailStateTV at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive. A video stream of Saturday's game will be available to current HSTV subscribers (made possible by stream share from LSU). Sunday's games will not be available on video. For more information regarding MSU's series in Cajun Country, follow the team on Twitter at @MStateSB and like the team at Facebook.com/MStateSB.
Postgame Notes
● Mississippi State scored its most runs at LSU since plating seven in an 8-7, 11-inning loss on March 19, 2002.
● Sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt extended her career and team-best hitting streak to six games with a 1-for-3 outing.
● Designated player Brittany Bell's stolen base in the first inning was the 50th of her career, moving her into sole possession of ninth place all-time at Mississippi State.
● With three RBIs tonight with the bases juiced, Bulldogs are now hitting .429 (21-for-49) with a whopping 46 RBIs with the bases loaded this year.
● Redshirt sophomore Erin Nesbit has now drawn four walks in her last three games after being issued zero free passes in her previous 16 games.
● Over the course of the last three games, sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan is 4-for-13 with three RBIs, two runs, a home run and a walk.
● Sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape hit a double in her second-consecutive game for the first time in her career.
● The loss was MSU's first true road loss of the season, snapping State's five-game winning streak, its longest since 2001.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rachele Fico (8-4)
L: Vry, Kylie (5-4)
S: Brittany Mack (1)
Batting:
2B: Shape, Heidi 1
RBI: Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Fisher, Shelby 1 ; Bell, Brittany 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1 ; Cooley, Jessica 1 ; Offutt, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Ka'ili 1 ; Bell, Brittany 1 ; Phillips, Ashley 1 ; Cooley, Jessica 1 ; Nesbit, Erin 2 ; Gates, Brittany 1
SB: Bell, Brittany 1
Batting:
RBI: Ashley Applegate 1 ; Ashley Langoni 1 ; Allison Falcon 1 ; Dylan Supak 2 ; Tammy Wray 1 ; Morgan Russell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashley Applegate 2 ; Jacee Blades 1 ; Ashley Langoni 1 ; Allison Falcon 1 ; Dylan Supak 1 ; Kailey McCasland 1 ; Tammy Wray 1 ; Heidi Pizer 2
SB: Ashley Langoni 1
HBP: Ashley Applegate 1 ; Kailey McCasland 1 ; Tammy Wray 1 ; Morgan Russell 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF/C
/ Softball
P
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