Walk-Off Homer Gets Kentucky Even In Series With Bulldogs, 4-3
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Official Game Statistics
State Takes Seventh Inning Lead, But Can't Hold Off Wildcats In Bottom Of Frame
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Amber Janneck's walk-off home run with one on and one out in the bottom of the seventh gave Kentucky its first lead of its series with State and helped the Wildcats to a 4-3 victory that forged a doubleheader split with the visiting Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at the Kentucky Softball Complex.
State (21-18, 3-11 SEC) got a pair of hits from three different players, including Iyhia McMichael who walked and scored twice on a 2-for-3 plate tally. Jennifer Waterman turned in her second-straight 2-for-4 showing, while Lindsay Nelson drove in a run on a 2-for-3 performance. Although Janneck provided the dramatics for the Wildcats (16-17-1, 4-13), it was third baseman Meghan Cooper who led the charge for the Blue and White, collecting a trio of hits on four trips to the plate, driving in a run and scoring twice.
Mississippi State starter Kelli Miller struck out a pair and allowed two earned runs on six hits and a walk, before exiting the game after five innings of work. Reliever Stephanie Comeaux (7-5) took her second decision of the day, this time shouldering the loss after allowing three hits and a pair of runs in four outs of work. Amy Kendall (6-10) picked up her sixth win of the campaign for Kentucky, despite allowing eight Mississippi State knocks.
"We had a lot of runners on and we had a lot of opportunities to put the game away, but we didn't get it done," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "We let them hang around and gave them an opportunity and they took advantage of it. We did a good job with the top of our order, but we didn't get much from the bottom of our order. That hurt us."
Much like the opener of the set, State rallied quickly and took a first inning lead when Kate Jaspers knocked in McMichael from third after Kentucky failed to get the runner on a play at the plate. The Bulldogs would push their lead out to a pair in their half of the second, scoring Meagan O'Nan all the way from first after McMichael's hard shot to centerfield was misplayed by Jessica Nance.
The Cats used extra base hits to knot the score with single runs in both the third and fifth innings, but the Maroon and White rallied in the seventh to retake the lead, finally plating McMichael from third on a seeing-eye RBI single from Lindsay Nelson with two outs.
Mississippi State and Kentucky will close out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon when the two engage in the rubber match at 1 p.m. Live game updates will be available via a live statistics link at the official home of Mississippi State University athletics, www.MStateAthletics.com.
KENTUCKY 4, MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
Mississippi State 110 000 1 - 3 8 1 Kentucky 001 010 2 - 4 9 3
Miller, Comeaux (6) and Brown, Geddings (6). Kendall and Campbell, Kovacs (4). W * Kendall (6-10. L * Comeaux (7-5). Save * None. HR * UK, Janneck. 3B * UK, Cooper, Nance. 2B * UK, Cooper.
