Justice's Walk-Off Homer Leads Rebels Past State, 6-5
Sloppy Sixth Helps UM Halt Seven-Game Skid To MSU; McMichael's Hit Streak Ends At 25
OXFORD, Miss. -- DeDe Justice's walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh completed a comeback effort for homestanding Mississippi (15-25, 4-13) and helped the Rebels squash a seven-game skid to Mississippi State (29-17) with a 6-5 victory Thursday evening at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Jennifer Jessup drove in a pair of runs on a 2-for-3 night to lead the Bulldogs and pace five players with knocks for the Maroon and White. Phyllis Manley continued her perfect trips to the plate for the Rebels, tallying a 3-for-3 clip at the plate, while Brooke Turner (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Justice (1-for-4) both homered for the hosts. Mississippi State's Iyhia McMichael had her school record hitting streak snapped at 25 games on a 0-for-3 showing with a run scored.
MSU starter Jennifer Nelson allowed four runs on seven Rebel hits before giving way to reliever Courtney Frank in the bottom of the fifth. Frank allowed a pair of runs (one earned) on two hits the rest of the way out to saddle the loss. Mississippi's Lindsay Price, who was victimized by 15 Mississippi State hits in the opener of the series, earned the victory for the Rebels, allowing just two hits in four scoreless innings of relief.
Turner's solo home run with one out in the bottom of the first gave the Rebels a quick 1-0 lead, but Mississippi State answered in the top half of the second, utilizing a hit and a costly error by the hosts to plate a pair of runs and take a 2-1 lead into the third. The Bulldogs extended their lead out to a pair on another Rebel error in the third, but Mississippi knotted the score back up in their half of the third on a two-run dinger from Andrea Brahs.
Mississippi State got an RBI single from Jessup and a RBI groundout from Jennifer Nelson to score a pair of runs in the fourth and retake a two-run lead, but the Rebels got a run-scoring single from Turner in the bottom of the frame, then used two very costly errors by MSU third baseman Callye Williams in the sixth to tie the game back up.
MISSISSIPPI 6, MISSISSIPPI STATE 5
Mississippi State 021 200 0 -- 5 6 3Mississippi 102 101 1 -- 6 9 4
J. Nelson, Frank (5) and Brown; Brill, Price (4) and Manley, Justice (7). W -- Price (9-11). L -- Frank (4-3). Save -- None. HR -- UM, Turner, Brahs, Justice.