Bulldogs Power Past Visiting UAB, 11-1
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Bures, Jessup Both Hit Three-Run Shots To Pace MSU Outburst
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Courtney Bures and Jennifer Jessup both tallied three-run home runs to pace a phenomenal offensive output by Mississippi State as the homestanding Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing skid with an 11-1 mercy rule rout of visiting UAB Tuesday evening at the MSU Softball Field.
The Bulldogs (26-21) got multi-hits from three different players to record its highest hit total (13) since tallying 14 in a win over Louisiana Tech on February 6. The win also gave MSU its fourth-straight victory over UAB (19-28) and extended State's overall lead in the series out to 6-1. The margin of victory (11) was the highest for either team in the seven-game-old series as well.
Bures' 12th home run of her rookie campaign highlighted a perfect 3-for-3 night at the plate that helped push the Virginia native's season batting average up to .430. Katie Cooley extended her career-long hitting streak out to five games on a 2-for-3 plate tally, while fellow Birmingham native Katie Johnson scored a run on a 2-for-3 night at the plate. Jessup scored three times and went yard for the sixth time this season on a 1-for-2 hitting line.
Chelsea McCall recorded a pair of base hits in three trips to the plate to lead the Blazers.
Just more than a month after striking out 12 batters in an 8-3 win over UAB in Birmingham, MSU starter Stephanie Comeaux (9-6) was on her game again, this time striking out four Blazers and scattering five hits over her sixth complete game of the campaign. Starter Brittany Hodge (2-11) saddled the loss for the Blazers after allowing seven earned runs on eight MSU hits in just two innings of work.
We got some runs on the board early and kept the pressure on them, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. I thought it was a good sign that, after they scored that run in the fourth, we came right back and answered. I felt really good about the way we swung the bats tonight.
The Bulldogs climbed on UAB quickly, using singles by Cooley and Bures to set the scene for a two-run single by Tanelda McDonald that gave the Maroon and White a quick lead. Callye Williams' RBI single two batters later would cushion the lead out to 3-0 heading into the second.
MSU got a leadoff single from Johnson in the next inning, but went down quietly in its next two at-bats before consecutive one-out singles by Cooley and Lindsay Hunley pushed the advantage out to four. Bures' blast to centerfield moments later gave the ?€˜Dogs a 7-0 lead heading into the third.
The Bulldogs would utilize a hit and a crucial Blazer fielding error to add another run in the third inning, but UAB answered with a run of its own in the fourth to cut the Mississippi State lead to seven, 8-1. State got consecutive base knocks from Bures and McDonald to lead off the fourth and set the table for Jessup, who teed off on a 1-0 offering from UAB reliever Amanda Antonovich to provide the final.
Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday when the Bulldogs lock horns with cross-state nemesis Ole Miss (24-19, 4-11 SEC) in a 7 p.m. contest at the MSU Softball Field. Admission to all 2005 MSU Softball home games is free.
