State Rolls Past Rebels 7-2, Completes Series Sweep
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Bulldogs Clinch Seventh Consecutive SEC Tournament Berth
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Homestanding Mississippi State got base hits from seven different players en route to its 16th double digit hitting performance of the season as the Bulldogs completed a series sweep of cross-state rival Mississippi with a 7-2 victory Wednesday afternoon at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
State (31-22, 12-15 SEC) got multi-hit showings from four different players, including Madison's Tanelda McDonald who drove in a pair of runs on a 3-for-4 showing that matched her career high hit total. Blaire Brown (RBI) and fellow senior Lindsay Nelson both tallied 2-for-4 hitting performance, while rookie Hayle Guess finished out a phenomenal series against the Rebels with a 2-for-3 night. Iyhia McMichael homered and scored twice to extend her hitting streak out to 11 games.
The Rebels (13-34, 6-18) got a pair of hits each from the first two batters of its order, but mustered just three more hits from the rest of its lineup. Britte Hardy and Brittany Warner both hit 2-for-4, with DeDe Justice driving in a pair on a 1-for-3 night.
Mississippi State starter Melissa Massey (14-8) strung together her fifth-straight decision, striking out one and scattering five hits in six innings of work. Mississippi's Dana Brill (4-16) saddled the loss for UM, despite allowing just one earned run in four innings of work. State's Sara Hickerson allowed two hits in one inning of relief for the Bulldogs, while Rebel staff ace Mary Jane Callahan surrendered six runs on seven hits.
The win punched the ticket for the Bulldogs' trip to the 2004 SEC Tournament in three weeks, while all but mathematically eliminating the Rebels from tournament contention. The victory also marked State's first conference series sweep of the season and its first since taking all three games with Kentucky last season in Starkville.
"Melissa came out and went right at them tonight and pitched a very good game for us," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "It helped a lot when Iyhia hit a home run with the first at-bat of the game for us, but we didn't sit on the lead. We kept tacking on runs and I was very pleased with that. We did a good job the entire series of taking advantage of our offensive opportunities."
McMichael's solo homer with State's first at-bat of the game sent a quick message to the Rebels, but the Bulldogs would add four more in the third on three hits and a trio of errors to put the game out of reach early. State would get RBI singles from both Jennifer Waterman and McDonald in the fourth to push the lead out to 7-0 before the 'Dogs would get an answer from the visitors.
Justice's two-run single in the fifth would give UM just its second and third runs of the series, but the Rebels would not get any closer. Hickerson would allow two meaningless hits with one out to toy with Mississippi in the seventh, before closing out the game by striking out Justice and inducing Andrea Brahs to ground out to third base.
Mississippi State will be back in action this weekend when the Bulldogs close out their 2004 SEC schedule at home by hosting No. 17 Florida (39-12, 15-9) in a three-game series at the MSU Softball Field. Admission to all 2004 Mississippi State Softball home games is free.
| MISSISSIPPI STATE 7, MISSISSIPPI 2 | |||||||
| Mississippi (13-34) | 000 | 020 | 0 | - | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| Mississippi State (31-22) | 104 | 200 | x | - | 7 | 13 | 2 |
Brill (1,5), Callahan (3) and Justice. Massey and Waterman. W * Massey (14-8). L * Brill (4-16). Save * None. HR * MSU, McMichael (10). 2B * UM, Turner.
