State Sweeps The Day With Win Over No. 23 Notre Dame

Sunday, March 1

Orlando, Fla.

8:00 AM

Mississippi State

15-3

Miami (Ohio)

6-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mississippi State	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3	2	1
Miami (Ohio)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	0

State Sweeps The Day With Win Over No. 23 Notre Dame

March 01, 2015 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: hailstate.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – After having its schedule shifted due to a Saturday washout, the Mississippi State softball team (16-3) downed Miami (Ohio) and No. 23 Notre Dame on Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

“I love the level of energy we came out with today after getting rained out yesterday,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “Sundays are about toughness. We were mentally and physically prepared for today. We got off to strong starts in both games and that allowed us to play loose. We are ready to get home to play in front of our hometown crowd this week.”

With wins over the RedHawks (6-4) and Fighting Irish (11-6), the Bulldogs finished with a 3-1 record at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic over the weekend after having played one less game than was scheduled due to Saturday weather postponements and Sunday travel plans.

GAME ONE: MSU 3, Miami (Ohio) 1
Getting her first start of the season and the second of her career, sophomore Mackenzie Toler was dealing early as she retired the first six RedHawks batters she saw.

In the top of the third, Toler helped her own cause by driving a single up the middle with runners in scoring position and two outs, breaking the scoreless draw and giving State a 2-0 lead.

MSU once again displayed its alert base running as senior Ashley Phillips scored from second on a slow rolling groundout, making it 3-0 in the fourth.

Still dealing, Toler kept a stranglehold on the Miami offense as the Bulldog defense did not allow a runner reach base safely until two were retired in the bottom of the fifth.

The no-hitter and shutout was broken up in the seventh as a solo shot for the RedHawks brought the score to 3-1. Sophomore Alexis Silkwood entered with no outs and sealed the deal to collect her first save of the season, giving MSU the 3-1 win.

Toler (1-0) tossed six innings and allowed just one hit and one run to Miami along with having struck out four. Amber Logemann (4-2) took the loss for the RedHawks as she allowed all three MSU runs in five innings.

GAME TWO: MSU 6, No. 23 Notre Dame 1
The Bulldogs used freebies from the Fighting Irish to score sophomore Katie Anne Bailey in the first and go up 1-0 after drawing two hit-by-pitches and two walks.

With a runner on and two away in the home half of the second, senior Julia Echols saw a pitch she like and drove it over the wall in left, putting her side up 3-0, with the two-run jack.

A native of central Florida, senior Erika Gaul drove the first pitch she saw for a solo shot to right center, much to the delight of her numerous friends and family in attendance, setting the score at 4-0. State would continue to score in the third, using a three hits and one error to cap a three-run third inning that put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0.

With a runner in scoring position who reached on an error, ND used a sharply hit single up the middle to end the shutout in the sixth, cutting the deficit to five.

The gap would shrink no further as Silkwood (11-2) secured the win with her complete-game effort, while allowing just three hits and striking out three.

State will now return to Starkville for a Wednesday contest with Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

For more information on the MSU softball program, follow “HailStateSB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for “HailStateSnap.”