Stuedeman's Squad Pushes No. 2 Alabama To The Limit In 4-2 Loss

Saturday, March 31

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

19-17, 0

#2 Alabama

34-1, 0

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

Stuedeman's Squad Pushes No. 2 Alabama To The Limit In 4-2 Loss

March 31, 2012 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State had the game-winning run at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell to No. 2 Alabama by a 4-2 score Saturday afternoon in front of a capacity crowd at the MSU Softball Stadium. The Bulldogs' overall record moves to 19-17 on the 2012 campaign, including a 3-12 record inside the rugged Southeastern Conference.

"We had a ton of balls hit right at their defense and could not get the little break that we needed," Head Coach Vann Stuedeman said. "When you have the winning run at the dish in the bottom of the seventh, you know you are making a rally for it. That is all you can ask for out of your offense."

Leading the way for the MSU hitters was sophomore second baseman Heidi Shape, who tallied two singles in three at-bats. Senior catcher Ka'ili Smith (1-for-3) and redshirt sophomore shortstop Erin Nesbit (0-for-2) drove in runs for State, while senior right fielder Brittany Gates registered a single and a run scored.

In the circle, junior left-handed pitcher Kylie Vry suffered her sixth loss of the season (5-6), giving up all four Alabama runs on six hits and two walks in 3.1 innings of work. Senior lefty Lindsey Dunlap and junior southpaw Stephanie Becker pitched the final 3.2 frames, submitting just one base knock.

After a scoreless first, Alabama drew first blood with a two-run second inning. Designated player Amanda Locke began the frame with a single up the middle, with teammate Jazlyn Lunceford joining her on the basepaths in the ensuing at-bat thanks to a five-pitch walk. Both runners advanced a base when second baseman Danae Hays executed a sacrifice bunt for the first out. With two Alabama baserunners in scoring position, catcher Olivia Gibson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That set the stage for third baseman Danielle Richard, who hit a sacrifice flyball deep to left, allowing for Locke to tag from third for the game's first run. Following an infield bunt single by left fielder Kayla Braud to fill the bases yet again, the visitors doubled their lead with an infield RBI single by center fielder Jennifer Fenton.

The Bulldogs barked back in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit in half with one run scored. After Alabama starting pitcher Leslie Jury retired the first two State batters, Gates reached on an error by Tide first baseman Cassie Reilly-Boccia. Gates moved over to second on a walk by fellow outfielder Jessica Offutt and scored on an RBI single to left by Smith.

Using the long ball, the team from Tuscaloosa extended its lead to 4-1 with a solo home run by shortstop Kaila Hunt in the top of the third and a solo shot by Richard in the top of the fourth.

State responded in the bottom of the sixth with another run to cut Alabama's lead to three. Junior left fielder Jessica Cooley led off the inning with a full-count base on balls and then sprinted all the way over to third when teammate Shelby Fisher reached on a fielding error by Hays at second. With runners on the corners, Stuedeman called the safety squeeze, as Nesbit put down a bunt, causing Cooley to break for home and slide in safely.

Down two runs in the bottom of the seventh, MSU fought back to put the game-winning run at the dish with a chance to win the game. Sensing the fight left in the home dugout, Alabama replaced Amanda Locke with All-American pitcher Jackie Traina. Smith started things off for the Maroon and White offense by reaching base on Hunt's third fielding error of the weekend at shortstop. Freshman Ashley Phillips replaced Smith as a pinch runner, but was stranded at the first bag after Traina forced Shape to line out and Shape to strike out. Down to the final out, redshirt senior Brittany Bell kept the game going with a free pass on a full count. With the tying run on first and the walkoff run at the plate, Traina received two called strikes on Cooley, before forcing the Birmingham, Ala., native to swing and miss the third strike to end the game.

Starkville's team wraps up the weekend series Sunday at 1 p.m for its final game of the weekend against Alabama. 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.