Bulldogs Come Up Short in Series Finale Vs. No. 12/11 Tennessee

Sunday, March 25

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

18-15, 0

#12 Tennessee

23-7, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Tennessee	0	1	1	6	0	8	7	0
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	3

One Costly Misstep Gives Houston 6-5 Win Vs. Mississippi State

Bulldogs Come Up Short in Series Finale Vs. No. 12/11 Tennessee

March 25, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Redshirt senior Brittany Bell and sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan each went 2-for-2, but it was not enough as the No. 12/11 Tennessee Lady Volunteers defeated Mississippi State in five innings, 8-0, Sunday afternoon at the MSU Softball Stadium. The Bulldogs end the weekend with an 18-15 overall record and a 3-10 mark inside the Southeastern Conference, while the visitors improved to 23-7 in 2012 and 7-4 in conference play.

"It was a tough day three playing against a great Tennessee team that is extremely offensive," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "I thought (Stephanie) Becker came out for us today and was a whole lot better than Friday night. She was able to work out of some jams early in the game."

Becker fell to 10-7 on this year's campaign, giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits and six walks. The southpaw's two unearned runs came in UT's six-run fourth inning, where the Big Orange also scored two unearned off redshirt senior righty Misty Flesher, who recorded the final two outs of the inning. Fellow senior Lindsey Dunlap finished the game for the Bulldogs without allowing a hit for the second-consecutive appearance. The Lady Vols' Ivy Renfroe notched the win in the circle, improving to 6-6 on the season with a five-hit complete-game shutout.

State's bats knocked out just two fewer hits than the visitors from Rocky Top, but like Friday failed to put a run on the scoreboard thanks to flawless UT defense and a lack of timely hitting. Both Bell (second) and Lenahan (fourth) doubled to start off innings, but State could not capitalize. Also recording a hit against Renfroe was leadoff hitter Ka'ili Smith (1-for-3), who hit .375 on the weekend (3-for-8 with two walks).

After the visitors scored once in the top half of both the second and third inning, they opened up the floodgates in the fourth with a six-run stanza. Nine-hole hitter Tory Lewis walked to start the frame and then stole second, eventually scoring when teammate Raven Chavanne bunted to Bell at first base. Bell, who was making her first career start at first, threw the ball past second baseman Heidi Shape at first into right field, causing Lewis to score and Chavanne to advance to second. A double to left by right fielder Kat Dotson put runners at the corners for UT, before Chavanne scored on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Madison Shipman. With Dotson tagging from second and advancing to third on the sac fly, Becker issued a full-count walk to cleanup hitter Lauren Gibson before Stuedeman called time and replaced the Chicago native with Flesher.

With Flesher now in the ballgame and two Lady Vols on base, left fielder Melissa Davin hit a sharp bouncer down the third-base line. Lenahan attempted to field it, but the ball brushed off her glove in fair territory and trickled toward the home dugout. The Bulldog sophomore sprinted after it, but Dotson was able to come around from second and score by the time Lenahan recovered the ball. With Gibson on third and Davin on second as a result of the error, designated player Shelby Burchell laced a ball through the right side of the infield for a bases-clearing two-RBI single. Burchell then raced to second when catcher Ashley Andrews reached first on a wild pitch from a swinging strikeout. With two outs, Lewis came to bat for the second time in the inning and hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. State shortstop Erin Nesbit threw it hard and low to Bell, as the ball bounced into foul territory and allowed Burchell to score the final run of the game.

With the weekend over with, Starkville's team will now travel Wednesday to Itta Bena, Miss., for a 5 p.m. midweek matchup against the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State. Free live and audio streaming of game will be available online to HailStateTV subscribers (www.HailState.com/hstvlive). For more information regarding MSU softball, follow the team on Twitter at @MStateSB and like the team at Facebook.com/MStateSB.