State Finds Bats In Nightcap, Evens Up Series With Tigers, 7-1
Jaspers, McMichael Hit Back-To-Back Homers In Sixth; Massey Handles Tiger Bats
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State (28-16, 8-9 SEC) rallied for three multi-run innings, then rode the shoulders of a stingy defense and advantageous pitching to even up its series against visiting Auburn (20-24, 8-12) with a 7-1 rout Saturday evening at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Five different players recorded multi-hit showings for MSU, with Iyhia McMichael (2-for-3, 2 R) and Kate Jaspers (2-for-4) sparking the crowd on back-to-back homers in a three-run sixth. Blaire Brown scored twice on a 2-for-3 night, Jennifer Jessup drove in a pair of runs and scored once and Jennifer Nelson added a 2-for-3 tally. Auburn shortstop Ashley Griffin paced the Tigers, scoring once on a 3-for-4 performance.
McMichael's performance marked the 24th consecutive game in which the all-American has hit safely, matching the school record set by four-time all-American Kellie Wilkerson in 1999. Wilkerson hit safely in the first 24 games of her collegiate career.
MSU starter Melissa Massey (18-7) became just the third pitcher in school history to record 18 or more wins in a single season after scattering seven hits and striking out three over a complete game. Janet Spivey (7-11) took the loss for the Tigers after surrendering four earned runs on seven hits and one walk.
State put the first runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, getting a RBI single from Jessup and a fielder's choice RBI from Krystal Tillman to take a 2-0 lead into the third. Sara Dean's run-scoring double in the top of the fifth cut Auburn's deficit in half, but the Maroon and White rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame on a pair of hits and an Auburn error.
Already possessing a 4-1 lead, Jaspers and McMichael provided leadoff back-to-back homers in the bottom of the sixth to stretch the MSU lead to 6-1, before Jessup drove in another insurance run on a sacrifice foul flyout.
The Bulldogs and Tigers will close out their series on Sunday afternoon when the squads return to the Mississippi State Softball Field for the rubber match of the three-game set. Sunday's game has been tabbed ?Pack the Park Day? when State and Auburn meet on SEC-TV at 1 p.m. with the first 50 fans to the stadium receiving free MSU Softball ball point bat pens.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 7, AUBURN 1Auburn 000 010 0 - 1 7 1 Mississippi State 020 023 x - 7 12 0
Spivey, Diaz (5) and Zeigler; Massey and Brown, Waterman (3). W ? Massey (18-7). L ? Spivey (7-11). Save ? None. 2B AUB, Dean. MSU, McMichael, Waterman. 3B MSU, Brown. HR MSU, Jaspers, McMichael.