It's History! Bulldogs Take Series From No. 10 Alabama, 10-5
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Bulldogs Erase 4-0 Deficit With Six-Run First Inning
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- To understand the significance of Saturday's history-making victory at the Mississippi State Softball Field, one would need to know that Mississippi State had not even strung together consecutive victories against Alabama since the 1998 season.
The Bulldogs did not look too concerned about that fact on Saturday.
Mississippi State (26-21, 7-14 SEC) answered a four-run first inning by Alabama with six runs of its own and rallied behind a gem of a relief performance from Pascagoula's Stephanie Comeaux to take the rubber match of its three-game set with No. 10 Alabama, 10-5, and capture the series for the first time in school history Saturday afternoon in Starkville.
The win marked State's fourth victory at home in 14 meetings with Alabama (32-11, 13-8), while the 10 runs scored were the most by a Bulldog team against the Crimson Tide in the history of the series. Though Alabama leads the all-time series, 23-7, but Mississippi State has captured three of the last four, including a 7-3 victory in the Tuscaloosa series finale last year that snapped a 14-game losing streak to Bama.
Kate Jaspers put together the second four-hit game of her career, and the first 4-for-4 effort by a Mississippi State player since April 18, 2002. Mississippi State also got a multi-hit day from leadoff hitter Iyhia McMichael who doubled twice and scored three times on a 2-for-3 line that included a walk and stretched her hitting streak out to five games. Jennifer Waterman drove in a pair of runs on a 1-for-4 clip, while rookie Hayle Guess cranked her first collegiate homer to highlight a 1-for-3 performance.
Alabama got a 3-for-4 showing with four RBI from converted basketball player Capper Reed, including a three-run homer in the first, with Leah White adding a 2-for-3 day into the mix. All-American Jackie McClain had her 17-game hitting streak snapped on a 0-for-1 performance with a trio of walks.
"Winning a series over a top 10 team is a big step for our program," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "It is also a big stride for these kids especially when we came back again like we did last night. When you're down 4-0 after the top of the first, you can pack it in real easy, but we came back and fought and scratched and put six up on the board. All of a sudden, it's a different ballgame. Stephanie (Comeaux) came in and threw a great ballgame for us. She just dominated Alabama.
"We're probably playing the best ball we have played all year at the right time. If we can keep this going and finish out strong, we can get right back in this thing."
Alabama got Ashley Courtney into scoring position immediately, using a leadoff single and a sac bunt to put her at second and leave an open base for the Bulldogs to intentionally walk the hot-hitting McClain. The strategy backfired however, as Reed took a 2-1 offering from starter Melissa Massey off the foul pole in left field to give Bama a quick 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Dominique Accetturo extended the lead out to four on a home run over the leftfield fence.
Mississippi State got its offense started just as quickly, however, getting a leadoff double from McMichael and a RBI single from Jaspers to put a run on the board, but the Bulldogs were not done either. The Maroons juiced the bases with the next two at-bats to set the table for Tanelda McDonald who laced a single to the leftfielder Angela Johnson who fumbled the catch that allowed two more runs to score and cut MSU's deficit to just three. Blaire Brown's short pop up moments later allowed Jennifer Waterman to score from third and, on a pickoff attempt to get McDonald going back to the second base bag, Courtney's strong throw sailed over the head of the second baseman White, allowing McDonald to cruise all the way home from second. Guess's solo homer two batters later gave State the two-run cushion, 6-4.
The Bulldogs added to their lead on Lindsay Nelson's RBI single in the second, then put two more runs on the board in the fourth on Waterman's triple that gave the Bulldogs a 9-4 lead. State added another score to its total on Jaspers' RBI single in the sixth, before Comeaux encountered her first real trouble in an Alabama rally in the seventh. The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with two outs in the frame and were able to scratch a run across on Reed's RBI single, but Starkville native Meagan O'Nan's diving catch in foul territory with the next batter ended the game.
Mississippi State will return to action on Saturday when the Dogs hit the road for the final time in conference play, traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., for a three-game series with the Lady Razorbacks (14-29, 2-19). The two squads will open the set with a noon Saturday doubleheader and close out the series on Sunday with a single game also slated for a noon first pitch.
| MISSISSIPPI STATE 10, ALABAMA 5 | |||||||
| Alabama (32-11) | 400 | 000 | 1 | - | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Mississippi State (26-21) | 610 | 201 | x | - | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Wright, VanBrakle (2) and Courtney. Massey, Comeaux (2) and Waterman. W * Comeaux (9-5). L * Wright (12-4). Save * None. HR * UA, Reed, Accetturo. MSU, Guess. 3B * MSU, Waterman. 2B * UA, Reed. MSU, McMichael 2.
