State Falls In Five To No. 8 Georgia
March 07, 2015 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Competing with No. 8 Georgia (21-2, 2-0 SEC) for the second day in a row, the Mississippi State softball team (17-5, 0-2 SEC) was not able to match its opponents offensive play falling, 9-1 in five innings, on Saturday afternoon at the MSU Softball Field.
"It was a tough one today," head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "It was great to see Mackenzie Toler break up the no hitter, Alexis Silkwood fight her way on base in the bottom of the fifth and Amanda Ivy get the RBI. The great thing about softball is that we get to get back out there tomorrow."
In the second, Georgia broke through with back-to-back solo home runs and a two-run shot to make it 4-0. Holly Ward entered into the game to relieve Toler, who got the start for MSU.
Through consistent base hits the Bulldogs of Athens extended their lead to 8-0 in the third inning. Georgia would tack another run onto the lead in the fifth, bringing the score to 9-0.
A walk from senior Julia Echols and a single from Toler helped State break up the perfect game and no hitter in the fourth.
Sophomore Alexis Silkwood tried to get something started in the fifth with a hard hit resulting in an errant throw advancing her to second. Then sophomore Amanda Ivy came through with an infield hit to score Silkwood, bringing the count to its final result of 9-1.
For Georgia, Brittany Gray (7-0) went the full five innings, allowing two hits, one run, one walk, along with striking out two MSU batters.
Toler (1-1) went one inning, allowing three hits for four runs, along with three walks. Freshman Holly Ward finished the game with four innings, allowing five runs on six hits, while having struck out three Georgia batters.
The final game of the series will be played on Sunday with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. CT. The game can be seen live on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Admission to all games at the MSU Softball Stadium is free.
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."
