Mississippi State
22-6, 4-3
Ole Miss
15-13, 0-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| Ole Miss | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
Epic Rally Catapults No. 24 Softball Over Ole Miss
March 21, 2015 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. – Down to its final strike on three occasions, the No. 24 Mississippi State softball team (22-6, 3-3 SEC) rallied with a seven-run seventh to down Ole Miss (15-13, 0-7 SEC) on Friday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
“The fight in these Dawgs is inspiring,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “I'm truly humbled to be their coach. We were down to our last strike, three times and scored all seven runs with two outs. I could not be prouder. We have a quick turnaround. We need to get a good night's sleep and get ready to battle again tomorrow.”
In the home half of the second, the Rebels used a two-out single with the bases loaded to plate two and break the scoreless tie.
Having struggled to plate a run through the first four innings, Mississippi-native and sophomore Katie Anne Bailey came through in the fifth. With a solo home run to right, State was on the board and brought the deficit to 2-1 after four and a half innings.
MSU threatened to close the gap further in the top of the fifth, but the Rebel defense locked in to keep State from scoring another run. In the bottom of the sixth, Ole Miss blew the game open with a one-run single and a three-run double, bringing the score to 6-1.
As has been the case all season, the Bulldogs would not roll over. In the top of the seventh, State made a rally of epic proportions. With two outs and sophomore Caroline Seitz on second base after a one-out double, MSU batted around to score seven runs and take an 8-6 lead in the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, Ole Miss had the go-ahead run at the plate with one out and runners on second and third, but a ground ball to Seitz at third base resulted in a game-ending double play.
Going the full seven innings, sophomore lefty Alexis Silkwood (16-4) struck out eight along with having allowed six runs on six hits in a winning effort for the Bulldogs.
Having entered in the top of the seventh with two outs, Lauren Lindsey (4-4) was credited with the loss after having allowed the final two MSU runs on two hits.
The Bulldogs and Rebels will go at it again on Saturday at noon CT. The game will air before a national-television audience on the SEC Network.
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.”
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Silkwood, Alexis (16-4)
L: Lauren Lindsey (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Seitz, Caroline 1 ; Ivy, Amanda 1 ; Silkwood, Alexis 1 ; Bell, Morgan 1
HR: Toler, Mackenzie 1 ; Bailey, Katie Anne 1
RBI: Toler, Mackenzie 3 ; Silkwood, Alexis 1 ; Bell, Morgan 1 ; Bailey, Katie Anne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Seitz, Caroline 1 ; Echols, Julia 1 ; Toler, Mackenzie 1 ; Ivy, Amanda 1 ; Silkwood, Alexis 1 ; Gaul, Erika 1 ; Bell, Morgan 1 ; Bailey, Katie Anne 1
HBP: Echols, Julia 1 ; Silkwood, Alexis 1 ; Gaul, Erika 1
Batting:
2B: Natalie Martinez 1
RBI: Bri Payne 1 ; Natalie Martinez 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Alex Schneider 2 ; Allison Brown 2 ; Bri Payne 1 ; Courtney Syrett 1
SB: Paige McKinney 1
HBP: Madi Osias 1 ; Courtney Syrett 1
