Tuesday, March 13
Birmingham, Ala.
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
22-3
11
at
1
Samford
5-21
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Mississippi State
3
1
7
0
0
11
14
0
Samford
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
0
Carmen Carter slugged a career-high two doubles in Mississippi State's 11-1 victory at Samford.
No. 20 MSU Tops Samford, 11-1, for Fourth Straight Run-Rule Victory
March 13, 2018 | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For the second consecutive game, No. 20 Mississippi State softball plated double-digit runs as the Bulldogs opened their five-game road swing with an 11-1 victory over Samford at the Samford Softball Complex.
Mississippi State scored its first four runs with two outs and used a seven-run third inning to secure the program's fourth consecutive run-rule victory and extend the program's win streak to 10 straight games.
Junior Emily Heimberger led off the contest with a single to right field and moved into scoring position with her 11th stolen base of the season. With back-to-back fly outs, it seemed MSU would leave her stranded, but the State strung together a two-out rally.
Back-to-back doubles into left field by junior Sarai Niu and senior Carmen Carter and an RBI single to left off the bat of Morgan Bell drove in three runs to give State an early advantage.
State tallied another timely, two-out hit in the top of the second to extend its lead to 4-0. With runners on the corners after walk issued to senior Calyn Adams and single to deep short by freshman Mia Davidson, senior Reggie Harrison drove in a run with an RBI single to right.
The bats came alive for MSU in the top of the third as the Bulldogs opened the inning with the first six batters reaching base. After an infield single by Niu, Carter slugged her career-high second double of the contest before Bell delivered an RBI single up the middle.
The Bulldogs would load the bases with no outs with a single to center field by freshman Alex Wilcox and Adams' second walk of the night. Redshirt junior Bevia Robinson drove in two runs with a single up the middle. With one out, Davidson crushed her SEC-leading ninth home run of the season to cap MSU's seven-run third inning with State leading 11-0
After allowing back-to-back singles to lead off the first, sophomore Candace Denis retired the next 10 batters she faced. Samford would not see a base runner until the bottom of the fourth after Mekhi Mayfield knocked a solo home run, the first home run allowed by the Bulldogs this season to break State's streak of 25th consecutive games without allowing a homer.
Denis responded with a scoreless fifth inning to earn her third consecutive victory of the year. The right-hander closed the game allowing just one run off four hits and struck out five, tying her career high.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State returns to action on Wednesday, March 13 against Memphis at the Tiger Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT. Wednesday's contest will be streamed on the Memphis Tiger Network.
TWO OUTS? SO WHAT!
Mississippi State scored its first four runs of the game with two outs, closing the game going 5-for-9 at the plate with two outs on the scoreboard. As a team, MSU has knocked 54 hits with two outs this season and has scored 44 two-out RBIs.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Tonight's win of Samford extended Mississippi State's win streak to 10 consecutive games, which is tied for the eighth-longest winning streak in program history. Mississippi State has strung together a 10-game win streak on two previous occasions, the last of which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 26, 2016.
RACKING UP RUNS
With back-to-back, double-digit scoring efforts, Mississippi State has plated 159 runs this season to average 6.36 runs per game. The Bulldogs have notched four consecutive run-rule victories for the first time since the 2012 season when MSU won five straight games via the run rule from Feb. 29 to March 3.
FOLLOW THE DAWGS
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".
Mississippi State scored its first four runs with two outs and used a seven-run third inning to secure the program's fourth consecutive run-rule victory and extend the program's win streak to 10 straight games.
Junior Emily Heimberger led off the contest with a single to right field and moved into scoring position with her 11th stolen base of the season. With back-to-back fly outs, it seemed MSU would leave her stranded, but the State strung together a two-out rally.
Back-to-back doubles into left field by junior Sarai Niu and senior Carmen Carter and an RBI single to left off the bat of Morgan Bell drove in three runs to give State an early advantage.
State tallied another timely, two-out hit in the top of the second to extend its lead to 4-0. With runners on the corners after walk issued to senior Calyn Adams and single to deep short by freshman Mia Davidson, senior Reggie Harrison drove in a run with an RBI single to right.
The bats came alive for MSU in the top of the third as the Bulldogs opened the inning with the first six batters reaching base. After an infield single by Niu, Carter slugged her career-high second double of the contest before Bell delivered an RBI single up the middle.
The Bulldogs would load the bases with no outs with a single to center field by freshman Alex Wilcox and Adams' second walk of the night. Redshirt junior Bevia Robinson drove in two runs with a single up the middle. With one out, Davidson crushed her SEC-leading ninth home run of the season to cap MSU's seven-run third inning with State leading 11-0
After allowing back-to-back singles to lead off the first, sophomore Candace Denis retired the next 10 batters she faced. Samford would not see a base runner until the bottom of the fourth after Mekhi Mayfield knocked a solo home run, the first home run allowed by the Bulldogs this season to break State's streak of 25th consecutive games without allowing a homer.
Denis responded with a scoreless fifth inning to earn her third consecutive victory of the year. The right-hander closed the game allowing just one run off four hits and struck out five, tying her career high.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State returns to action on Wednesday, March 13 against Memphis at the Tiger Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT. Wednesday's contest will be streamed on the Memphis Tiger Network.
TWO OUTS? SO WHAT!
Mississippi State scored its first four runs of the game with two outs, closing the game going 5-for-9 at the plate with two outs on the scoreboard. As a team, MSU has knocked 54 hits with two outs this season and has scored 44 two-out RBIs.
LET'S GO STREAKING
Tonight's win of Samford extended Mississippi State's win streak to 10 consecutive games, which is tied for the eighth-longest winning streak in program history. Mississippi State has strung together a 10-game win streak on two previous occasions, the last of which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 26, 2016.
RACKING UP RUNS
With back-to-back, double-digit scoring efforts, Mississippi State has plated 159 runs this season to average 6.36 runs per game. The Bulldogs have notched four consecutive run-rule victories for the first time since the 2012 season when MSU won five straight games via the run rule from Feb. 29 to March 3.
FOLLOW THE DAWGS
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".
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Denis, Candace (3-0)
L: Taylor DeCelles (3-8)
Batting:
2B: Niu, Sarai 1 ; Carter, Carmen 2
HR: Davidson, Mia 1
RBI: Davidson, Mia 3 ; Harrison, Reggie 1 ; Niu, Sarai 1 ; Carter, Carmen 2 ; Bell, Morgan 2 ; Robinson, Bevia 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Heimberger, Emily 2 ; Davidson, Mia 1 ; Niu, Sarai 2 ; Carter, Carmen 2 ; Dorsett, Maddie 1 ; Adams, Calyn 2 ; Denis, Candace 1
SB: Heimberger, Emily 1 ; Dabbs, Grace 1
Batting:
2B: Kelsey Royalty 1
HR: Mekhi Mayfield 1
RBI: Mekhi Mayfield 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mekhi Mayfield 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF/C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
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