Flu-Ridden Bulldogs Drop Tournament Finale To #18 Baylor, 3-1
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
WACO, Texas - Eighteenth-ranked Baylor used a two-run home run in the second and a RBI single in the third to provide starter Ashley Monceaux with more than enough run support and the Bears held off illness-plagued Mississippi State to post a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs in the Compass Bank Invitational finale Sunday afternoon in Waco, Texas.
Hayle Guess, Laura Leigh Reese and Michelle Kinney all provided base hits for the Bulldogs (18-3) with Guess scoring a run an extra-base hit in the sixth. Baylor (16-6) leadoff hitter Kelly Osburn turned in a2-for-3 hitting line, with Monceaux helping her own cause on a 2-for-3 night, including a two-run homer.
MSU starter Sara Hickerson (0-2) performed admirably in her second start of the season, despite saddling the loss after allowing three earned runs on seven Baylor hits. Monceaux (2-2) picked up the win after striking out three and surrendering three hits across a complete game outing.
Mississippi State played both Sunday games at the Compass Bank Invitational without the services of five players, including four starters, who were victims of a flu bug that swept through the team late Friday and early Saturday morning. Righthander Ragan Blake (8-1), starting battery mate Blair Geddings, starting rightfielder Katie Cooley, starting third baseman/designated player Katie Johnson and Liberty native Stacy Mabry all observed both games from seats directly above the third base visitors' dugout.
Mississippi State sent a pair of players to the 10-member Compass Bank Invitational all-tournament team, including Stephanie Comeaux, who went 3-0 on the weekend and centerfielder Hayle Guess, who hit .333 with a pair of extra-base hits and two RBI in six starts.
"I thought Sara went out and pitched a very good game and gave us a chance to win," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "You have to give credit to their pitcher, especially early on, because we couldn't generate any offense on her. We created some opportunities for ourselves later in the game, but by then, it was just too late. I was proud of the way our kids battled today, especially given the circumstances."
Baylor scratched the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning, getting a one-out single from Tessa Lynam before Monceaux helped her own cause with a towering home run to straightaway centerfield. The Bears would add to their advantage in the third, utilizing a two-out walk and a Hickerson wild pitch to move a runner into position and set the table for Chelsi Lake who ripped a 1-and-2 offering into left field to plate Brette Reagan.
State finally got something going in the top of the sixth when Guess got into position with a one-out double and, moments later, put runners on the corners when she slid under the tag at third base on a fielder's choice grounder by Nakita Boyce. Bures delivered a hot shot to shortstop with the next at-bat, but the Bears failed to turn the double play and the runner crossed easily from 60 feet away.
Baylor attempted to plate insurance runs in the sixth, using a leadoff walk and a one-out double to right to get a pair of runners into scoring position, but Hickerson took a quick deep breath and settled down enough to induce Lauren Parker into a foul fly out and Alex Colyer into an inning-ending pop out to centerfield.
Mississippi State will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon when the Bulldogs return home to take on cross-state nemesis Southern Miss(12-15) in a rare midweek contest at the MSU Softball Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. and admission to all 2006 MSU Softball home games is free.
#18 BAYLOR 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 1Mississippi State 000 001 0 - 1 3 1Baylor 021 000 x - 3 7 0Hickerson and McCloud. Monceaux and Lake. W - Monceaux (2-2). L - Hickerson (0-2). Save -- None. HR -- BU, Monceaux (2).
