No. 23 Mississippi State Tranquilizes Bears With Late Rally, 4-3
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
LAKEWOOD, Calif. - Mercer used a three-run fifth inning to rally back from an early 2-0 deficit, but 23rd-ranked Mississippi State answered with two scores of its own in the bottom of the frame to hold off upset-minded Mercer with a 4-3 victory over the Bears Saturday morning at the Long Beach Invitational in Lakewood, Calif.
Rookie Sammie Jo Bailey drove in a pair of runs on a two-run homer in the second, while sophomore Katie Cooley drove in the eventual game-winning score to highlight a 2-for-3 outing that paced Mississippi State (20-5). Mercer (6-13) got two hits apiece from three different players, including a two-RBI day from Kristin Talamentes, in the setback.
MSU starter Ragan Blake (10-2) matched a career high with 12 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run over her 11th complete game of the season to pick up the win for the Maroon and White. Mercer righthander Stephanie Rossman (1-7) saddled the loss for the Bears after surrendering a pair of runs on six hits in two innings of relief.
We did a good job of coming back and going ahead after giving them those runs in the fifth inning, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. We got some key hits from the bottom part of the order which had been struggling a little bit lately. They sort of gave us a boost today. Blair Geddings came in and drove in a big run and sort of woke everybody up and then we started swinging the bats a little bit better. Ragan pitched a good game. The hits they did get were little dinks here and there that sort of fell in at the wrong time. She did really well though and dominated from the mound.
After a monotonous first inning of play, State got Cooley aboard with a leadoff single in the second and scratched the scoreboard a short time later when Bailey smashed Mercer starter Katie Rosentreter's 0-and-1 offering over the fence in straightaway centerfield. The Bears would answer in the fifth, however, utilizing a pair of hits, as well as a costly throwing error by MSU third baseman Michelle Kinney with two outs, to plate a trio of runs and take a lead of their own, 3-2.
With the lead in hand, Mercer opted for a pitching change that turned its fortunes sour. After seeing the first two batters in the bottom of the frame go down in order, the Bulldogs rallied for a pair of runs on three two-out singles, as well as a hit batsman, to regain a lead it would never relinquish. Blake would slam the door on any comeback by retiring six of the final seven batters she faced, four of which came on strikeouts.
