Unbeaten Bulldogs Rattle Tennessee State, 7-1
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State rallied for multi-run second and fifth innings behind effective pitching from a pair of righthanders and the Bulldogs extended their school-best perfect start out to nine games with a 7-1 victory over visiting Tennessee State Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2006 Bulldog Classic.
Nakita Boyce crossed the plate twice on a 3-for-3 plate tally to lead a trio of Bulldogs (9-0) with multi-hit days at the plate. Hayle Guess turned in a 2-for-4 hitting line and freshman Sammie Jo Bailey (2-for-3) completed a phenomenal day at the plate by driving in a pair of runs on her first career home run in the fifth. Leena Worrell homered in the fourth to provide the only run of the game for the Tigers (2-4).
MSU starter Stephanie Comeaux (4-0) scattered four hits and a pair of walks over six innings of work before giving way to Sara Hickerson who struck out a pair in the seventh. TSU starter Stephanie Kemme saddled the loss for the Tigers after being tagged for all seven runs on seven hits and three walks.
Guess, Comeaux and Bailey were joined on the Bulldog Classic by teammates Courtney Bures, Katie Cooley and Callye Williams. State sophomore righthander Ragan Blake earned tournament MVP honors after recording a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in two appearances over the weekend. She also recorded 21 strikeouts and a pair of shutouts in 14 innings of work.
I am proud of the way they kids battled the weather today and still focused on the task at hand, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. I was happy with the way we swung the bats and we got some great pitching out of all three of our pitchers. We have a short turnaround now before our next game, but we are off to a great start. We just have to keep it going now.
State used a one-out single and a throwing error on an ensuing stolen base attempt to move Boyce to third base in the first couple of at-bats in the first, then took the lead on Cooley's sac fly to centerfield a couple of batters later. The Bulldogs would use three base hits and a costly throwing error to extend their lead out to 4-0 in the second, but had their bid for a third consecutive shutout spoiled on Worrell's one-out solo job off the scoreboard in the fourth.
The Bulldogs got a leadoff single from Boyce in the fifth and moved the runner to third by virtue of a stolen base and a groundout by Bures. The events set the table for Cooley's sac fly attempt to rightfield that was mishandled by Melanie Cruz allowing the run to score. Bailey's blast to leftfield with the next at-bat provided the final.
Mississippi State will return to action on Wednesday afternoon when the Bulldogs head to Birmingham, Ala., for the first half of a home-and-home doubleheader with Samford (2-8). First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Bulldog Field and the game can be followed in progress via a live stats link at the official Internet home of the Mississippi State athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com.
2006 BULLDOG CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Mary Catherine Verco, East Tennessee State
Lauren Haas, Southern Illinois
Ashley Hamby, Southern Illinois
Heather Ebersole, Tennessee State
Nira Robbins, Tennessee State
Samantha Hurst, Tennessee State
Hayle Guess, Mississippi State
Courtney Bures, Mississippi State
Katie Cooley, Mississippi State
Callye Williams, Mississippi State
Stephanie Comeaux, Mississippi State
Sammie Jo Bailey, Mississippi State
TOURNAMENT MVP: Ragan Blake, Mississippi State
