Bulldogs Bottle Up Jacksonville In Five Innings, 8-0
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)
TAMPA, Fla. - Mississippi State pounded out 11 hits and put together a trio of multi-run innings to make short work of Jacksonville and move to 2-0 in the USF-hosted Best Western Invitational with an abbreviated 8-0 victory over the Dolphins at the USF Softball Field in Tampa, Fla.
Redshirt sophomore Hayle Guess became just the sixth player in school history to record two home runs in a game, etching her name into the record books with a blast in the first and fifth innings to pace the Mississippi State (2-0) offense. Courtney Bures turned in a 2-for-2 hitting line and walked once, while rookie Sammie Jo Bailey drove in a run and scored once on a 2-for-3 plate tally. Katie Pestrak turned in a 2-for-3 night at the plate to lead Jacksonville (0-3).
Sophomore righthander Ragan Blake (1-0) scattered five hits and tallied four strikeouts in recording her first career shutout as a Bulldog. Jacksonville starter Shannon Jensen (0-3) allowed six runs on eight hits to take the loss for the Dolphins.
"Defensively, we still made a lot of mistakes," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "We're trying to solidify positions a little bit and things like so we still need some work in that area. I was really pleased with the way we came out swinging the bats. We jumped right on them in the first inning again and we kept it up and a couple big blows from Hayle made a big difference. Ragan came out and just dominated. It was great to see her throw as well as she did in her first game out of the box."
Guess took it on her own shoulders to give the Bulldogs an early lead, hammering Jensen's third offering of the ballgame deep over the centerfield fence for the 1-0 lead. Bures singled and moved to third with the next two pitches to set the table for Katie Cooley, who doubled to the gap in leftfield to stretch the advantage to 2-0. A RBI double from Bailey and a sac fly from Blake would give the Maroon and White a four-run cushion heading into the second.
State utilized a Jacksonville fielding error, as well as a RBI groundout from Cooley in the bottom of the second to build a 6-0 lead after two and kept dangerously quiet for the next two frames before making some more noise in the fifth. Michelle Kinney doubled down the leftfield line to put a runner aboard for the Bulldogs in what would be the game's final inning, before Guess followed with a towering home run into the parking lot to invoke the mercy rule.
MSU will return to action on Saturday when the 'Dogs suit up to face tournament host USF (1-1) in a 1 p.m. EDT contest at the USF Softball Field. Following its matchup with the Bulls, State will remain in uniform as it takes part in one of two semifinal contests beginning at 4:30.
