Bulldogs Battle Back But Fall Short At No. 11 Kentucky

Sunday, May 1

Lexington, Ky.

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

30-21, 8-12

#11 Kentucky

33-15, 11-10

Mississippi State

Kentucky

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Battle Back But Fall Short At No. 11 Kentucky

May 01, 2022 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mississippi State fought to the end against No. 11 Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, losing 9-5. After falling behind, 9-1, the Bulldogs scored the final four runs of the game, but left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth.

It marked just the third time this year that MSU outscored the opponent from the fifth inning on yet lost the contest.

"I liked that we continued to fight back even though the game seemed out of reach early on," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We continued to be competitive and made it a ballgame. I thought Annie [Willis] did a great job of coming in, keeping it close and keeping us in there. The hitters just continued to fight through the gameplan with the different pitchers they were throwing at us. They found a way to keep turning over the lineup for us."

A key moment occurred early in the game when MSU appeared to have thrown a runner out at the plate in a rundown on a ground ball with two runners on. Kentucky challenged the play at the plate for obstruction and was awarded a run. However, Ricketts then challenged that the scoring runner had been tagged out previously while trying to return to third. Upon review, the run was taken off the board and replaced with the second out.

State carried that momentum into the top of the second when Brylie St. Clair's RBI double opened the scoring. Kentucky responded, however, with six runs in the bottom of the second with the help of a pinch-hit, three-run homer.

The Wildcats added another run in the third when there was a throwing error on a bunt play and hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

Shea Moreno sparked a rally in the fifth for the Bulldogs. After her leadoff single, Mia Davidson hit a two-run homer over the scoreboard. An error with two outs later allowed Chloe Malau'ulu to come home after drawing a walk. Paige Cook drove in a run with a single in the sixth, resulting in the final score.

Quotables

Samantha Ricketts on the double-reviewed rundown in the first inning…
"Kentucky reviewed the play at the plate, asking if there was obstruction. They were correct. It was obstruction. That put the run up on the board. My question to [the umpires] was did they review the whole play or just the obstruction slide play at the dish. He said, 'We only reviewed the obstruction. Would you like to review the whole play?' I said, 'Yes, I'd like to review the whole play because I believe my third baseman tagged her out before the obstruction slide even happened.' They went back, reviewed the earlier part of that play when [Kentucky's Kayla] Kowalik was in the rundown and Paige [Cook] tagged her as she was heading back into third. She was out. Run comes off the board. The other two runners stay at second and third."

Samantha Ricketts on Brylie St. Clair's weekend at Kentucky…
"I think the biggest thing is she continues to work hard and want to improve and want to be the best she can be for her team. She's competitive. She has a lot of tools. She's fast. She's strong. She really is. She does a great job of competing and learning to swing within herself and within a gameplan and battle off different types of pitchers. It's been fun to see it pay off for her with her sticking to her plan, working for those opportunities and working hard in the box."

Quick Hitters

Lineup Log – Samantha Ricketts used a season-high 19 players on Sunday … averaged 17 players per game in the series at Kentucky.

Paige Cook – Drove in a run with a base hit for her team-leading 19th two-out RBI … batting a team-leading .435 (20-for-46) with two outs this year.

Mia Davidson – Hit a two-run homer … has compiled the fourth 20-homer season in school history and the second of her career … has now hit 89 career home runs, which sixth in NCAA history … only five players in NCAA softball history have hit 90 … was also hit by a pitch for the school-record 54th time in her career.

Chloe Malau'ulu – Walked twice and doubled.

Jackie McKenna – Hit one of State's three doubles.

Brylie St. Clair – Doubled home a run to open the game's scoring … batted .455 (5-for-11) in the series with two doubles and three RBIs.

Scoring Recap

Top 2
With two outs, Addison Purvis singled down the third-base line, and Allison Florian came in to pinch run. Madisyn Kennedy was hit by a pitch, advancing Florian to second. Brylie St. Clair doubled over the left fielder to score Florian, but Kennedy was thrown out at the plate.
Mississippi State 1, Kentucky 0

Bottom 2
Kennedy Sullivan walked to open the inning and was replaced on first by Vanessa Nesby. Nesby stole second before Meeko Harrison singled. Nesby reached third, and Harrison advanced to second on the throw. Emmy Blane doubled to score Nesby. Erica Thulen pinch ran for Blane before pinch hitter Taylor Ebbs hit a three-run homer. Kayla Kowalik and Lauren Johnson hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Johnson then stole second. Erin Coffel hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Kowalik and push Johnson to third. Following a hit batter, Miranda Stoddard singled to right to score Johnson.
Mississippi State 1, Kentucky 6

Bottom 3
Margaret Tobias pinch hit and drew a leadoff walk. Ebbs then singled to right field, pushing Tobias to second. Tobias scored on a throwing error when Kowalik laid down a bunt.
Mississippi State 1, Kentucky 7

Bottom 4
Nesby singled to first base then stole second before Harrison homered to right field.
Mississippi State 1, Kentucky 9

Top 5
Shea Moreno led off with a single to right field. Mia Davidson hit a two-run homer to left field. Chloe Malau'ulu walked and, with one out, advanced to second on a ground out. Jackie McKenna's ground ball shot through the third baseman's legs, allowing Malau'ulu to score.
Mississippi State 4, Kentucky 9

Top 6
Aquana Brownlee singled to open the inning but was retired on a fielder's choice for the second out. That play allowed Moreno to reach first. Davidson was intentionally walked, and Malau'ulu also walked to load the bases. Paige Cook singled to score Moreno.
Mississippi State 5, Kentucky 9

On Deck

MSU will host its final SEC series on May 6-8 against No. 19 LSU with all three games available on SEC Network+. Friday night's 6 p.m. game will include a pre-game graduation ceremony for those student-athletes who have earned their degrees this semester. Saturday is Samoan Day at 2 p.m., and Sunday is Senior Day with first pitch set for noon.

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