Green, Georgia Complete Series Sweep Of MSU, 7-1
May 25, 2016 | Softball
State Begins Five-Game Road Trip On Thursday Against Middle Tennessee
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Thirteenth-ranked Georgia turned in its 11th double-digit hitting tally of the season behind four-plus innings of work from reliever Michelle Green to finish off its series sweep of homestanding Mississippi State with a 7-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the MSU Softball Field.
Green helped her own cause with a three-run homer in the fifth and the Red and Black (19-7, 3-0 SEC) got a 3-for-3 hitting line from Megan McAllister to extend its season-long win streak out to seven games as well as post its first series sweep of the Bulldogs in school history. Callye Williams drove in a run on a 2-for-3 day at the plate for Mississippi State (17-11, 0-3) who dropped its fourth-straight outing and its sixth consecutive setback to UGA.
Stephanie Comeaux (6-3) dropped her second outing in as many days by allowing two earned runs on four hits and a trio of walks in three innings from the circle, but MSU got another good outing from Sara Hickerson who struck out a pair and scattered three hits over the last two and two-thirds innings of the contest. Green (8-2) came on in relief of UGA starter Katie Griffith in the third and struck out five while surrendering two hits and a pair of walks. Griffith allowed four hits and the lone MSU run in two and two-thirds innings from the circle, but got the no decision.
"We had bases loaded in the first inning with an opportunity to open things up a little bit," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "That hurts a little bit when you lose an opportunity like that. That was the difference. You have to take advantage of opportunities when you get them and Georgia did that this weekend. They got people on base, they moved them over and they drove them in. When we got people on base, we didn't execute and we didn't drive them in. That was the difference."
Despite two consecutive outs in its half of the first, State loaded the bases with its next three at-bats to put together its best scoring chance of the contest. However, Griffith got out of the jam with the next at-bat on a check swing from Williams that produced a slow roller to Kim Wendland at first base. Georgia would score single runs in each of the next two innings on RBI knocks by Jessica Doucette and Ashley Godfrey, but the Maroon and White answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the third on Williams' single to center field that made the score 2-1.
The Red and Black got a solo homer from Jessica Doucette in the fourth and plated a trio of runs in the fifth on Green's homer to put the game out of reach. Hickerson's wild pitch in the sixth with the bases loaded plated an insurance run for the visiting Bulldogs and provided the final.
Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday when the Bulldogs begin a five-game roadtrip with an afternoon doubleheader at Middle Tennessee (3-11). State will then remain on the road for a three-game set at No. 4 Tennessee (29-4, 2-1) on Saturday and Sunday.
"Tennessee is playing the best ball out of anybody in the conference right now," Miller said. "It's a tough stretch for us, but you deal with what you have. Without classes this week, we can regroup a little bit and get an opportunity to work on some things practice-wise. Hopefully we can get some games under our belt midweek that will give us a little momentum going into the weekend."
