Saturday, April 21
Starkville
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
27-19, 0
2
vs
1
Kentucky
23-25, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Walk-Off Winner By Lenahan Gives Mississippi State Series Win Against Kentucky
April 21, 2012 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - With a national audience clinging to their television sets and the capacity crowd in attendance hanging on every pitch, Mississippi State's Sam Lenahan delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth Saturday for a 2-1 series-clinching victory against Kentucky at the MSU Softball Stadium. The Bulldogs' triumph on ESPNU gave them their fifth-consecutive SEC win, marking their longest league winning streak since March 2005.
"Execution is the name of the game, and we could not have executed any better in the eighth inning than we did today," Head Coach Vann Stuedeman said. "The fans pulled us through in extra innings and I want to thank every single fan that came out and supported us on national television."
Lenahan was clutch in helping MSU clinch its third-straight series win inside conference play, finishing 2-for-4 with the biggest RBI of the season for the Maroon and White. Also collecting hits for Starkville's Team were redshirt senior Brittany Bell (1-for-4, RBI), sophomore Heidi Shape (1-for-3) and redshirt sophomore Erin Nesbit (1-for-3).
It was a total team effort for the Bulldogs in the circle, as Stuedeman used four of her five pitchers on the staff. Misty Flesher started for MSU, pitching an inning of work. Junior Kylie Vry and senior Lindsey Dunlap followed Flesher on the rubber, combining to throw 5.0 scoreless innings into the seventh. Junior southpaw Stephanie Becker came in to finish the game, picking up her second win in as many days (15-10 overall) with 2.0 hitless frames. After giving up one run on three hits in the first inning, the Bulldog pitchers combined to give up no runs on two hits the final seven stanzas.
Kentucky led by a run heading into the bottom of the fifth, when State picked up its 74th two-out RBI of 2012 to tie the game. With one out, MSU right fielder Brittany Gates hit a comebacker to the Kentucky pitcher, but reached second on an error by the Kentucky first baseman. The speedy senior ended up at third when sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt grounded out to the pitcher. The tying run stood 60 feet away on third when Bell dropped an 0-1 offering to shallow right-center field to make it an even game.
Both teams played scoreless softball in the sixth and seventh inning, until the home squad came up in the bottom of the eighth. All-SEC candidate Jessica Cooley walked on a full count to put the winning run on the bags. That brought up reigning SEC Player of the Week Ka'ili Smith, who executed a sacrifice bunt to perfection to advance Cooley to scoring position. The stage was set for Lenahan, who ripped single up the middle, giving UK center fielder Kara Howard a play at the plate. Howard winded up and gunned it home, but a perfect head-first slide by Cooley on the outside of the plate gave MSU the win as the stadium exploded in jubilation.
Stuedeman's squad will go for the sweep Sunday at 1 p.m. against Kentucky. Free audio and video streaming will be available through HailStateTV at 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.
SUNDAY PROMOTIONS
National Anthem: Caryson Byars
Ceremony: Zeta - Think Pink
First Pitch: Samantha Golden, Miss MS Rodeo America
In Game Promotions:
"Execution is the name of the game, and we could not have executed any better in the eighth inning than we did today," Head Coach Vann Stuedeman said. "The fans pulled us through in extra innings and I want to thank every single fan that came out and supported us on national television."
Lenahan was clutch in helping MSU clinch its third-straight series win inside conference play, finishing 2-for-4 with the biggest RBI of the season for the Maroon and White. Also collecting hits for Starkville's Team were redshirt senior Brittany Bell (1-for-4, RBI), sophomore Heidi Shape (1-for-3) and redshirt sophomore Erin Nesbit (1-for-3).
It was a total team effort for the Bulldogs in the circle, as Stuedeman used four of her five pitchers on the staff. Misty Flesher started for MSU, pitching an inning of work. Junior Kylie Vry and senior Lindsey Dunlap followed Flesher on the rubber, combining to throw 5.0 scoreless innings into the seventh. Junior southpaw Stephanie Becker came in to finish the game, picking up her second win in as many days (15-10 overall) with 2.0 hitless frames. After giving up one run on three hits in the first inning, the Bulldog pitchers combined to give up no runs on two hits the final seven stanzas.
Kentucky led by a run heading into the bottom of the fifth, when State picked up its 74th two-out RBI of 2012 to tie the game. With one out, MSU right fielder Brittany Gates hit a comebacker to the Kentucky pitcher, but reached second on an error by the Kentucky first baseman. The speedy senior ended up at third when sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt grounded out to the pitcher. The tying run stood 60 feet away on third when Bell dropped an 0-1 offering to shallow right-center field to make it an even game.
Both teams played scoreless softball in the sixth and seventh inning, until the home squad came up in the bottom of the eighth. All-SEC candidate Jessica Cooley walked on a full count to put the winning run on the bags. That brought up reigning SEC Player of the Week Ka'ili Smith, who executed a sacrifice bunt to perfection to advance Cooley to scoring position. The stage was set for Lenahan, who ripped single up the middle, giving UK center fielder Kara Howard a play at the plate. Howard winded up and gunned it home, but a perfect head-first slide by Cooley on the outside of the plate gave MSU the win as the stadium exploded in jubilation.
Stuedeman's squad will go for the sweep Sunday at 1 p.m. against Kentucky. Free audio and video streaming will be available through HailStateTV at 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.
SUNDAY PROMOTIONS
National Anthem: Caryson Byars
Ceremony: Zeta - Think Pink
First Pitch: Samantha Golden, Miss MS Rodeo America
In Game Promotions:
- Bulldog Bingo
- Extra Base-Hit T-shirt Giveaway
- Zeta- Think Pink Supporting
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Becker, Stephanie (15-10)
L: Rachel Riley (6-7)
Batting:
2B: Brittany Cervantes 1 ; Griffin Joiner 1
SH: Kara Dill 1 ; Lauren Cumbess 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Brittany Cervantes 1
SB: Kara Dill 1 ; Ashleigh Gustafson 1
HBP: Alice O'Brien 1
Batting:
RBI: Bell, Brittany 1 ; Lenahan, Sam 1
SH: Smith, Ka'ili 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cooley, Jessica 1 ; Gates, Brittany 1
SB: Lenahan, Sam 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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OF
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RHP
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1B/C
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LHP
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