MSU Takes Down FGCU To Close Out Puerto Vallarta Tourney

Saturday, February 18

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

Florida Gulf Coast

Alexis Silkwood tossed 4.0 innings in relief on Saturday, moving to 5-0 on the season.

MSU Takes Down FGCU To Close Out Puerto Vallarta Tourney

February 18, 2017 | Softball

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PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – In their final day in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-3) went out on top. The Bulldogs downed the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (5-4) 6-3 on Saturday afternoon to close the weekend with a 3-1 record.

Both sides tallied a run in the opening inning, but MSU broke out the scoring with a three-run inning. FGCU would pull as close as one after a two-run fourth, but State tallied insurance runs in the fifth and sixth to close out the victory.

After an RBI single gave FGCU the early 1-0 lead, MSU quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, as a Caroline Seitz single brought home Bevia Robinson to even the score.

The Bulldogs' big inning came in the second, as Katie Anne Bailey knocked a triple to bring home Morgan Bell, who reached off a leadoff hit by pitch. Calyn Adams followed shortly with an RBI single to center, bringing home Bailey and extending State's lead to 3-1. The final score of the three-run second came off a Kat Moore RBI single, which brought Adams home and moved the MSU lead to 6-3.

After a scoreless third, the Eagles would put two runs on the board in the fourth to draw within one. An RBI single to left and a sac fly helped FGCU draw within a run, but a strikeout from Alexis Silkwood would slam the door on the inning.

Insurance runs came for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the fifth and the sixth. Olivia Golden knocked a RBI double to center in the fifth, followed by an infield single from Emily Heimberger that scored Bailey.

From there, Alexis Silkwood tossed a 1-2-3 top of the seventh to seal the victory. For the game, she tossed 4.0 innings in relief, coming in during the fourth to relieve Holly Ward. Silkwood strick out three and did not allow a run, moving to 5-0 on the year.

Moore and Adams led the Bulldogs offensively, each tallying two-hit days. Golden turned in a double and an RBI, while Bailey earned her first triple of the season. A total of seven Bulldogs earned a hit, while six tallied an RBI.

State will now return home to host the February Freezer, running Feb. 24-26. MSU welcomes North Florida, Eastern Illinois and SIU-Carbondale to Starkville and will begin play at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24 against UNF.

For more on Mississippi State softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap".