Bulldogs Scoot Past Arkansas To Clinch Series, 1-0
May 25, 2016 | Softball
Official Game Statistics
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State utilized a costly Arkansas error in the fourth inning to plate the game's only run and reliever Ragan Blake held off a late charge by the visiting Lady 'Backs to help the homestanding Bulldogs clinch the weekend series with a 1-0 triumph in the second half of the series-opening doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the MSU Softball Field.
The win, coupled with a pair of losses by cross-state nemesis Ole Miss at LSU, catapulted the Bulldogs (28-22, 8-13 SEC) to a two-game lead over the Rebels for the eighth and final spot in the season-ending SEC Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Arkansas (15-33, 1-18) lost its seventh league series of the season with the doubleheader sweep.
Callye Williams crossed the plate once on a 2-for-3 hitting line to pace the Bulldog offense, while Lindsay Hunley and Tanelda McDonald both added base knocks to the hit column on 1-for-2 and 1-for-3 tallies, respectively. Arkansas got a perfect 2-for-2 hitting line for Mindy O'Malley to highlight their offense.
MSU starter Kelli Miller (10-8) surrendered six hits and struck out three batters over six strong innings to snap a personal three-game winning streak. Blake, who earned the win in game one of the doubleheader, struck out one and allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh inning to earn her sixth save of the season. Arkansas starter Sarah Topham took the tough-luck loss for the Lady 'Backs despite allowing four hits and an unearned run in five innings of work.
"We need to score more runs," said an elated, but unsatisfied, Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller following the game. "We had the people up that we wanted to have up with runners in scoring position. We need to be putting more than four hits up on the board and generating a lot more offense. We got a whale of a game from Kelli who was sick as a dog today and it was nice to see Ragan come in and pick up the win in the first game and then finish them off in the second game."
After four relatively uneventful innings, State scraped together a scoring chance in the fifth, getting a leadoff single from Williams, then using its short game, as well as the Lady 'Back error, to move a runner to third. Katie Johnson delivered a hard grounder to the left side with the next at-bat to score Williams and give the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.
Arkansas had its best chance to score go sour in the seventh when, after the visitors loaded the bases with their first four at-bats of the frame, Blake struck out Zenobia Davison, then induced a foul fly to first baseman Lindsay Hunley to end the game.
Mississippi State will close out its weekend series with Arkansas on Sunday afternoon when the two squads lock horns with one another in the series finale at 1 p.m. The game can be heard live on WMSV 91.1 FM with Anthony Craven calling all the balls and strikes. Sunday's series bookend will be preceded by Senior Day festivities as State's Class of 2005 - Jennifer Jessup, Melissa Massey and Tanelda McDonald - will be honored in a ceremony prior to first pitch.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 1, ARKANSAS 0
Arkansas (15-33) 000 000 0 - 0 0 0Mississippi State (28-22) 000 010 x - 0 0 0Topham, Henry (6) and Easley. Miller, Blake (7) and Geddings. W - Miller (10-8). L - Topham (1-4). Save - Blake (6).
