Hokies Rally To Nip Mississippi State, 4-3
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Official Game Statistics
MARIETTA, Ga. -- Mississippi State took a 3-0 lead on Tanelda McDonald's home run in the bottom of the third, but Virginia Tech rallied for four runs in the fourth, then killed a seventh-inning rally by the Maroon and White to post a 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday morning at the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga.
McDonald's homer was her second of the season and highlighted a 1-for-3 plate tally for the Madison native, while sophomore Blair Geddings turned in the only multi-hit tally for the Maroon and White (14-7), collecting a 2-for-4 hitting line at the plate. Virginia Tech (18-2) got base knocks from six different players, with four of those players recording one RBI apiece.
MSU starter Kelli Miller (4-3) sliced through the first nine batters of the game, but ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing four earned runs on six hits to saddle the loss for the Bulldogs. Ragan Blake pitched three and one-thirds relief innings of hitless ball and tallied four strikeouts, but got the no decision. Virginia Tech staff ace Angela Tincher (8-1) struck out 12 and scattered six hits to get the win for the Hokies.
"Kelli was sailing along so well," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "She went nine up and nine down and nobody hit the ball hard. You have to give them credit though - they made adjustments at the plate and we didn't. That was the big difference in that they adjusted and started hitting. We gave ourselves some opportunities late in the game, but we didn't execute very well. You can't do that against a good team."
After threatening to take the lead in the first, State finally punched through in the third, utilizing a passed ball and a two-out walk to put a pair of runners on for McDonald who slammed an 0-2 offering from Tincher over the fence in centerfield. However, the Hokies loaded the bases with the first three at-bats in the fourth, and then got RBI knocks in three of their next four at-bats to tie the score, before Ciara Chaffee's RBI single plated Sarah Prosise with the eventual game-winning run.
MSU put together a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the seventh, getting Geddings and Courtney Bures aboard with two outs, but Tincher induced Jennifer Jessup into a game-ending groundout to nix the threat.
Mississippi State will close out its portion of round-robin play later tonight when the Bulldogs take on Troy at 6 p.m. ET at the Al Bishop Complex. Championship bracket games are scheduled to begin at approximately 8 p.m. Pairings for the single-elimination tournament will be announced following the conclusion of pool play.
