No. 22 'Dogs Scalp No. 18 Florida State, 2-0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The 22nd-ranked Mississippi State Softball team (13-7) brought a run across the plate in the first and fourth innings and rallied behind a four-hit combined shutout to blank 18th-ranked Florida State (16-7) in the finale of the Florida State Sunshine Classic. Jennifer Nelson turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate to pace the State hitters, with Brooke Best (1-for-3) adding a pair of RBIs on an RBI double in the fourth. Jessica Van der Linden, who also started in the circle for the Seminoles, collected two of FSU's three hits on a 2-for-3 day at the plate. MSU starter Kasey Whitehead (7-4) surrendered two hits and struck out two over five innings of work to pick up the victory for the Bulldogs, with Kellie Wilkerson striking out four over the last two innings of the contest to pick up her fifth save of the campaign. The save was the 23rd of Wilkerson's career and moved the senior to within one of matching the NCAA career record. Van Der Linden (6-2) surrendered just one earned run and struck out six in nabbing the loss for the Seminoles. State wasted no time in lighting up the centerfield scoreboard, using a hit and a throwing error by the Seminoles to move a pair of runners into scoring position with just one out showing. Brown's sacrifice fly to right field plated Jennifer Nelson with the 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 2-0 in the fifth, getting a hit and a fielder's choice from from its first two batters, then getting a runner into scoring position on a stolen base by Jessup. Best's RBI double off centerfielder Shandra Colize's glove plated Jessup from second base with the 2-0 lead for the visitors. Mississippi State will return to action this weekend when the Bulldogs travel to Plant City, Fla., for the 24-team Speedline Invitationl, hosted by the University of South Florida. The Bulldogs will open up their portion of round-robin pool play on Thursday, taking on #20 Florida Atlantic at 10 a.m. CT and Central Michigan in a 3 p.m. contest. #22 Mississippi State 2, #18 Florida State 0 Mississippi State 100 100 0 - 2 5 0 Florida State 000 000 0 - 0 4 1 Whitehead, Wilkerson (6) and Brown; Van der Linden and Jordan.
W - Whitehead (7-4). L - Van der Linden (6-2). Save - Wilkerson
(5). 2B - MSU: Best