State Gets Clutch Play To Down Falcons In Extra Frames, 3-2
May 25, 2016 | Softball
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WACO, Texas - Mississippi State got a clutch sacrifice fly RBI from Sammie Jo Bailey in the top of the eighth and a highlight reel defensive play in the bottom of the frame to fend off upset-minded Bowling Green on a 3-2 win over the Falcons Saturday morning in Waco, Texas.
Nakita Boyce singled twice in four trips to the plate to lead the Bulldogs (17-1) offensively, with Hayle Guess (1-for-4) and Lindsay Hunley (1-for-3) crossing the plate with key scores. Jeanine Baca scored and drove in a run on a 1-for-2 tally with a walk for Bowling Green (6-3) who was sent reeling to its third-straight loss.
MSU starter Stephanie Comeaux (9-0) struck out seven and scattered four hits across her seventh complete game of the season in picking up the victory for the Maroon and White. BGSU reliever Liz Vrabel (3-2) saddled her second loss in as many days, taking the hard luck setback despite allowing no hits and an unearned run in four and two-thirds innings of work.
State was dealt some tough news before the game as two of its starters, staff ace Ragan Blake and starting battery mate Blair Geddings, made a trip to a local hospital with flu-like symptoms. Both were made unavailable for both of MSU's contests on Saturday at the Compass Bank Invitational.
Regardless, after Bailey's sac fly in the eighth gave MSU its second lead of the game, Bowling Green threatened to end the game in the bottom of the eighth after loading the bases with just one out showing and their top hitter in the batter's box. However, Gina Rango's liner toward the right side was tipped into the air by MSU first baseman Lindsay Hunley and Callye Williams left her feet to snag the rebound and fired back to Hunley to double off Megan McPherson.
That was a SportsCenter play right there, it was just too bad ESPN wasn't here filming, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. Lindsay did a great job of getting a glove on the ball and it was a heads up play by Callye to catch it before it hit the ground. We just got a bonus because we were able to turn a double play with it. That was the ballgame right there. If the ball gets through, they score two runs and we lose.
It was a great win to get. Stephanie battled real well on the mound. We had a lot of chances throughout the game and we let them off the hook. We had a lot of hits and got a lot of runners on, but we didn't convert them into as many runs as I would have liked.
Bowling Green went to work immediately in its half of the first, utilizing a leadoff walk and its short game to put a runner into scoring position with its first two at-bats and set the table for Rango who laced a shot up the middle to give the Falcons a quick 1-0 lead. State attempted to rally in the second, however, getting a pair of runners into scoring position with one out, but Gouge would have nothing of it, striking out Hunley on four pitches before inducing Michelle Kinney into an inning-ending groundout.
MSU got consecutive singles to lead off the third, including a hard shot by Boyce at first baseman Lindsay Heimrich, and Cooley finished off the damage two batters later when she hit a frozen rope into the gap in leftfield to plate Guess from second base with the game-tying run. The Bulldogs needed just three at-bats to take the lead in the fourth, getting Hunley aboard via a one-out single and then climbed aboard Kinney's triple off the wall to bring the runner all the way around the paths.
Bowling Green put a rally of their own together in the fifth, getting Dawnjene DeLong aboard with a one-out single and opted to put the runner in position with a sac hit for out number two. However, the gamble paid off for the Falcons a short time later when Baca hit a pot shot into left field to plate DeLong from second and tie the score at two apiece.
State had a chance to forge a lead in the second when Boyce reached on an errant throw by DeLong at shortstop, but BGSU erased the threat a short time later when Abby Habicht fired a laser to second base to catch Boyce running.
Mississippi State will close out day two action in the Compass Bank Invitational at 12:30 p.m. with a rematch against #13 Washington (13-4) in Getterman Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Huskies by a 3-0 tally in Friday afternoon's tournament opener.
