Bulldogs Drop Middle Game Of Series To No. 18 Auburn

Saturday, April 23

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

29-18, 8-9

#18 Auburn

35-10, 8-9

Auburn

Mississippi State

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Drop Middle Game Of Series To No. 18 Auburn

April 23, 2022 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State dropped the second game of the series to No. 18 Auburn, 5-2, on Saturday. The Bulldogs could not overcome a three-run first inning as the Tigers evened the series.

Auburn's (35-10, 8-9 SEC) first five batters reached safely before Grace Fagan entered in relief with the bases loaded. Fagan allowed a sacrifice fly but limited the damage by getting a ground out and a strikeout.

"It is tough on the momentum and energy when we go down that quickly," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We did a good job holding them. Especially Grace Fagan, her coming in was good to see from her. I thought she gave us a chance. She went out there and competed. She kept us in the game. Especially after a big three start to start it off, but we need to do a better job at not letting that phase us. We need to continue to compete and have quality at-bats up and down the lineup all seven innings and not just the last three."

MSU (29-18, 8-9 SEC) answered back in the bottom of the second when Jackie McKenna hit a two-run homer. The ballgame remained 3-2 until the top of the sixth when two doubles and a throwing error allowed two more Tiger runners to score.

Paige Cook collected the rest of MSU's hits, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base. She also started an around-the-horn double play, which is State's eighth twin killing in conference play, which ranks third in the SEC.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on the message heading into the final game of the series…
"To continue to fight. We need to keep the focus on ourselves and what we do and what we do well. That is to play with energy, play with confidence and have each other's backs. We can not be phased. Whether we are up or down, it has to be the same focus every time. We are still looking to take a series at home tomorrow. We are hoping for another good crowd to come out and have that home field advantage. We are excited to get back out here tomorrow and compete."

Samantha Ricketts on the approach at the plate today…
"We had a plan off the lefty. We got to see all three pitchers, which I think was good for them. They have three good arms. It was too slow to adjust the game plan. Everyone had to go experience the pitcher for themselves before they could make the adjustments that we had talked about. We need to have more team at-bats, more sharing information and buying into what we are doing earlier into the game, so we can be competitive on pitches in the zone we are looking to hit."

Jackie McKenna on her homerun…
"I was battling off some hard pitches there. I kind of just knew what she was throwing at me, and we faced her in the cages and had some plans off of her. I kind of knew how she threw and just staying calm up there is what got me to where I was."

Quick Hitters

Paige Cook – Went 2-for-3 and stole a base … started a double play.

Mia Davidson – Saw her reached-base streak end at 26 games, which is the 10th-longest streak in school history.

Grace Fagan – Pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in relief … allowed just three hits and struck out three.

Jackie McKenna – Hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.

Scoring Recap

Top 1
Lindsey Garcia led off with a single to right field before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Garcia advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Makayla Packer. Packer reached safely, however, on a fielding error by the pitcher and took second when the bag was vacant. Jessie Blaine singled down the left field line to score Garcia and Packer. Paige Geraghty pinch ran for Blaine at first. Bri Ellis and Nelia Peralta reached base on back-to-back hit-by-pitches to load the bases. Aubrie Lisenby reached base on a fielder's choice to shortstop as the throw came home to retire Geraghty. Ellis scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Aspyn Godwin.
Auburn 3, Mississippi State 0

Bottom 2
Madisyn Kennedy drew a one-out walk which was followed by a home run from Jackie McKenna.
Auburn 3, Mississippi State 2

Top 6
Godwin hit a leadoff double to left field. Carlee McCondichie drove her home with a double to center field. McCondichie advanced to third on a Garcia groundout then scored on a throwing error by the catcher.
Auburn 5, Mississippi State 2

On Deck

The series finale is set for noon CT on Sunday, April 24. The game will air on SEC Network+.

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