Costly Error Sends Bulldogs To Ninth-Straight Loss
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
AUBURN, Ala. - Mississippi State used a two-out RBI single by Blair Geddings in the second to forge an early lead, but 20th-ranked Auburn used a costly fielding error with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to plate four ensuing unearned runs and steal away the game from the Bulldogs with a 4-1 victory Friday evening at Jane B. Moore Field.
Sophomore all-American Courtney Bures doubled and walked twice in four trips to the plate, with Geddings' clutch single providing the only run on a 1-for-3 outing for the Bulldogs (30-17, 4-11 SEC) who dropped their 10th-straight SEC game with the result. Tatiana Fernandez keyed a 2-for-3 hitting line with a screeching two-run homer in the decisive third inning for the Tigers (29-12, 8-8) who have now taken nine of the last 12 series meetings with the Maroon and White.
MSU starter Ragan Blake (16-9) surrendered all four runs, albeit unearned, on two hits and a pair of walks in the third inning to suffer her sixth consecutive loss. Junior Sara Hickerson allowed one hit and struck out two in two and one-thirds innings from the circle, while Kelli Miller pitched a perfect sixth inning, striking out a pair, in her first appearance of the campaign.
Auburn righthander Beth DiPietro (13-4) offset seven strikeouts with five hits allowed and four walks, but still picked up the victory for the Tigers. Tiger reliever Holly Currie struck out one and walked one in a hitless seventh to tally her fourth save of the season.
We had two outs and got a groundball to short and should have been out of the inning, said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. We had the next kid 0-and-2 and walked her on four-straight pitches and then the bottom fell out. It is the little things that will make a difference. We have to take care of the little things if we are going to be successful.
We had a lot of opportunities to score tonight. We had runners at second and third with our four-hole hitter up (in the fifth). You have to put the bat on the ball in that situation. We gave away a lot of at-bats tonight and that hurt us.
After leaving a runner stranded at third in the first inning, State made good on a one-out double by Katie Johnson in the second when Geddings punched a single into leftfield to plate the runner from third and give State an early lead.
Blake got the first two Auburn batters in the third before a fielding error behind her put an extreme damper on things. Myesha Finney scored on the error to bring AU within three, Currie followed with a run-scoring triple and Fernandez followed with a blast over the rightfield wall to finish off the damage.
MSU had its chances in the fifth, putting a pair of runners into position with one out, but DiPietro got Katie Cooley on a swinging strikeout, then slammed the door on the threat by inducing Callye Williams to pop out to third. The Bulldogs got a leadoff single from Boyce in the seventh that chased DiPietro from the circle, but Currie iced the game by forcing two consecutive fielder's choice groundouts and getting Williams on a strikeout.
Mississippi State and Auburn will close out their Easter weekend series on Saturday when the two lock horns again at Jane B. Moore Field in a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The games will be broadcast live from the facility on WMSV 91.1 FM with Stephen Cole handling the play-by-play duties and Todd Anderson providing color commentary.
Live in-game statistics, as well as streaming audio, are also available via game day links at the official Internet home of the MSU athletic department, www.MStateAthletics.com.
