Maroon and White Edged By No. 2 Alabama In The Final Frame

Friday, March 30

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

19-16, 0

#2 Alabama

33-1, 0

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

Maroon and White Edged By No. 2 Alabama In The Final Frame

March 31, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. - With a raucous crowd clinging to every pitch and the fog as thick as the intensity in the air, No. 2 Alabama (33-1, 10-1 SEC) edged out a narrow 5-4 victory over Mississippi State (19-16, 3-11 SEC) Friday night at the MSU Softball Stadium. The two Highway 82 rivals return to the Dawg Diamond Saturday at 1 p.m. for the sequel of the weekend trilogy.

"This was a great softball game," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "All the fans that came out here tonight were able to see two great teams play a tremendous softball contest. It was an incredible night and a great atmosphere and I want to thank every Bulldog fan that came out tonight and supported us."

Redshirt sophomore shortstop Erin Nesbit led the State bats with a 1-for-3 performance, including a momentum-shifting two-run home run. Junior left fielder Jessica Cooley tallied a team-high two hits with one driven in. Also notching hits for the Bulldogs were senior catcher Ka'ili Smith (1-for-3), sophomore third baseman Sam Lenahan (1-for-3) and redshirt senior Brittany Bell (1-for-2).

Junior left-handed pitcher Stephanie Becker left her heart in the circle Friday, suffering the loss (10-8) after hurling a season-high 139 pitches in 6.1 innings. The Chicago southpaw struck out six, but gave up five runs on five hits and eight walks. Alabama's Jackie Traina picked up the victory, moving to 20-0 on the season. The Crimson Tide sophomore yielded four runs on six hits and five walks, but struck out nine batters wearing Maroon and White.

After the visitors plated two quick runs in the top of the first, it took till the bottom of the third frame for Starkville's team to respond. With two down, sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape reached on a fielding error by Alabama shortstop Kaila Hunt. Shape stole second a couple pitches after to give MSU its second runner of the game in scoring position. On a 2-2 offering, Lenahan popped it up deep into the Mississippi sky, but Hunt again misplayed the ball, causing it to plop down on the moist grass in left. The miscue allowed Shape to tap the dish for MSU's first run of the night and advanced Lenahan to second. After a free pass by Bell, Cooley pinched a single through the left side of the infield, allowing Lenahan to come full circle and tie the game at two.

The Bulldogs took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to Nesbit's biggest hit of the season. Following a nine-pitch base on balls by junior first baseman Shelby Fisher, Nesbit detonated a no-doubter over the wall in straightway center for her second home run of the season.

Trailing by a deuce, the number two team in the country fought back to tie the game at four in the top of the fifth. The Crimson Tide would score the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, which started with two straight walks issued by Becker. After Hunt redeemed herself with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, five-hole hitter Amanda Locke was intentionally walked. Stuedeman then pulled Becker to a standing ovation and replaced her with redshirt senior Misty Flesher. With the bases juiced, Flesher walked Alabama right fielder Jazlyn Lunceford, producing the game-winning run for the team from Tuscaloosa.

Looking to wrap some magic in maroon and white in the bottom half of the seventh, Bell sliced a one-out full-count pitch to right field to put the tying run aboard. The magic was not meant to be, however, as Traina retired the next two batters on five pitches to end the game and secure the triumph.

The first 250 rabid Bulldog fans at Saturday's receive free "HailState" sunglasses. Admission is free for those that can attend, but for those that cannot, live video and audio streaming of the 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.