Saturday, April 15
Starkville
1:30 PM
Mississippi State
23-18, 3-10
0
vs
6
#16 Alabama
31-12, 8-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Alabama
2
0
0
0
2
1
1
6
11
0
Mississippi State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
State Falls To No. 16 Crimson Tide On Saturday
April 15, 2023 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State softball dropped its Saturday game with No. 16 Alabama by a score of 6-0, dropping the series as well.
The Crimson Tide (31-12, 8-6 SEC) scored twice in the first with the help of an error, and added two more runs in the fifth after opening the frame with a double. An RBI single and a sacrifice fly plated the runs, and a second sacrifice fly brought home a run in the sixth.
Alabama picked up a final run on a throwing error in the seventh.
"We have to find a way to work out of it. It's just the inconsistency of showing some spark yesterday and not bringing it again today," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's going to take full effort. It feels amplified more right now while we are in this stretch, but we have to clean up all around – pitching, defense, and hitting. We haven't been doing a good job with all three phases."
For the Bulldogs (23-18, 3-9 SEC), Nadia Barbary extended her hitting streak to four games, and Jackie McKenna again provided a hit off the bench.
State put runners on the corners in the third, but left Barbary and McKenna stranded. The Bulldogs went down in order over the next three frames before stranding a leadoff walk in the seventh.
"Yes, it's tough being a freshman full time starting in this league. I think she just continues to grow before our eyes. Just a lot of experience, she has played a lot of tough competition in her travel ball career, so it is nice to see her continue to grow and step up. She is a big part of our future."
Nadia Barbary on her adjustments at the plate…
"As a team, we have been watching a lot of film and sharing each other's gameplans and just carrying that onto the field and into the box. It has really improved my game."
Nadia Barbary on what needs to happen for the team to have success…
"I think we need to trust our plan. We come up with good plans before the game on how to focus on what pitches in our at-bats. Sometimes we kind of stray away from that, so I think as long as we focus on those tomorrow, we will be fine."
Nadia Barbary – Extended her hitting streak to four games … her career-long streak is five games … has three hits in the series.
Aquana Brownlee – Has a hit in three consecutive games.
Jackie McKenna – Came off the bench as a defensive replacement at catcher and collected a hit.
Ashley Prange drew a leadoff walk. With two outs, Bailey Dowling hit a ball off the pitcher and was ruled safe at first after video review. That advanced Prange to second. Jenna Johnson beat out an infield single to shortstop while Prange raced home from second and scored on a throwing error by the first baseman. Dowling reached third on the play and scored on a single from Emma Broadfoot.
No. 16 Alabama 2, Mississippi State 0
Top 5
Prange doubled down the left field line, and Jordan Stephens pinch ran at second. With one out, Shipman walked. Dowling singled to left-center field, scoring Stephens and advancing Shipman to third. Dowling took second on the throw. Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Shipman.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 0
Top 6
Larissa Preuitt singled to open the frame. Kat Grill laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Preuitt to second base. Abby Duchscherer singled to center field, and Preuitt reached third. Prange hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Preuitt.
No. 16 Alabama 5, Mississippi State 0
Top 7
With one out, Dowling walked, and Kali Heivilin pinch ran. Johnson singled, and Heivilin raced to third. She scored on a throwing error from left field.
No. 16 Alabama 6, Mississippi State 0
The Crimson Tide (31-12, 8-6 SEC) scored twice in the first with the help of an error, and added two more runs in the fifth after opening the frame with a double. An RBI single and a sacrifice fly plated the runs, and a second sacrifice fly brought home a run in the sixth.
Alabama picked up a final run on a throwing error in the seventh.
"We have to find a way to work out of it. It's just the inconsistency of showing some spark yesterday and not bringing it again today," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's going to take full effort. It feels amplified more right now while we are in this stretch, but we have to clean up all around – pitching, defense, and hitting. We haven't been doing a good job with all three phases."
For the Bulldogs (23-18, 3-9 SEC), Nadia Barbary extended her hitting streak to four games, and Jackie McKenna again provided a hit off the bench.
State put runners on the corners in the third, but left Barbary and McKenna stranded. The Bulldogs went down in order over the next three frames before stranding a leadoff walk in the seventh.
Quotables
Samantha Ricketts on Nadia Barbary's performance…"Yes, it's tough being a freshman full time starting in this league. I think she just continues to grow before our eyes. Just a lot of experience, she has played a lot of tough competition in her travel ball career, so it is nice to see her continue to grow and step up. She is a big part of our future."
Nadia Barbary on her adjustments at the plate…
"As a team, we have been watching a lot of film and sharing each other's gameplans and just carrying that onto the field and into the box. It has really improved my game."
Nadia Barbary on what needs to happen for the team to have success…
"I think we need to trust our plan. We come up with good plans before the game on how to focus on what pitches in our at-bats. Sometimes we kind of stray away from that, so I think as long as we focus on those tomorrow, we will be fine."
Quick Hitters
Packing the Park – Today's attendance was 1,427, which is MSU's largest home crowd of the season and the No. 10 attendance mark in school history.Nadia Barbary – Extended her hitting streak to four games … her career-long streak is five games … has three hits in the series.
Aquana Brownlee – Has a hit in three consecutive games.
Jackie McKenna – Came off the bench as a defensive replacement at catcher and collected a hit.
Scoring Recap
Top 1 Ashley Prange drew a leadoff walk. With two outs, Bailey Dowling hit a ball off the pitcher and was ruled safe at first after video review. That advanced Prange to second. Jenna Johnson beat out an infield single to shortstop while Prange raced home from second and scored on a throwing error by the first baseman. Dowling reached third on the play and scored on a single from Emma Broadfoot.
No. 16 Alabama 2, Mississippi State 0
Top 5
Prange doubled down the left field line, and Jordan Stephens pinch ran at second. With one out, Shipman walked. Dowling singled to left-center field, scoring Stephens and advancing Shipman to third. Dowling took second on the throw. Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Shipman.
No. 16 Alabama 4, Mississippi State 0
Top 6
Larissa Preuitt singled to open the frame. Kat Grill laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Preuitt to second base. Abby Duchscherer singled to center field, and Preuitt reached third. Prange hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Preuitt.
No. 16 Alabama 5, Mississippi State 0
Top 7
With one out, Dowling walked, and Kali Heivilin pinch ran. Johnson singled, and Heivilin raced to third. She scored on a throwing error from left field.
No. 16 Alabama 6, Mississippi State 0
On Deck
The Bulldogs conclude their series with the Crimson Tide at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. The game will air nationally on SEC Network.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alex Salter (6-2)
L: Faapito, Matalasi (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Ashley Prange 1
RBI: Ashley Prange 1 ; Bailey Dowling 1 ; Jenna Johnson 1 ; Emma Broadfoot 1
SH: Kat Grill 1
SF: Ashley Prange 1 ; Jenna Johnson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashley Prange 1 ; Jordan Stephens 1 ; Ally Shipman 1 ; Bailey Dowling 1 ; Kali Heivilin 1 ; Larissa Preuitt 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Texas Tech
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Raelin Chaffin ESPN2 Postgame Interview
Saturday, May 17
SOFTBALL | Postgame Press Conference vs. Washington
Friday, May 16