Arkansas Spoils Senior Day, Takes Series With State, 4-1
Bulldogs Strand Five In Scoring Position As Lady 'Backs Take Second-Straight Series From Maroons
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Arkansas (22-30, 6-18) rallied for a three-run fifth inning and rode the shoulders of a standout pitching performance from Heather Schlichtman as the Lady Razorbacks took its series with homestanding Mississippi State (31-24, 11-15) with a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Senior Brooke Best erupted on senior day for a pair of hits, including a game-tying RBI single in the fourth, to key the Maroon and White offense, while junior all-American Iyhia McMichael tallied a perfect 2-for-2 day at the plate and scored the Bulldogs' only run of the contest. First baseman Kim Eiben highlighted a 1-for-4 clip with a two-run double in the fifth to lead the Lady 'Backs.
Mississippi State starter Melissa Massey (20-10) saddled the loss for the Bulldogs after allowing four runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Reliever Krystal Tillman came on to work the last two innings of the ballgame, surrendering just a lone hit while striking out two. Schlichtman (11-15) captured her second win of the series after holding the nation's 12th-best scoring offense to a single run on five hits.
"I thought the game was a lot like the first game of the series," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "Schlichtman threw a very good ballgame, but we had our opportunities to score and couldn't get anyone to step up and drive in the run for us."
After Massey retired Arkansas on just five pitches in the first, the Bulldogs got something going with two outs in their half of the inning, getting Kate Jaspers and McMichael aboard, but Schlichtman got Blaire Brown on a grounder to third base to escape the scoring threat. The Lady 'Backs scraped together a run in the third after Shana Easley's leadoff single, moving the runner to second on a sac bunt by Schlichtman, before Candice Swan delivered the good on a run-scoring double to right centerfield.
State got something going again in the fourth on a leadoff single and a pair of stolen bases moved McMichael to third, setting the table for Best who hit a clutch single over the head of Eiben to score the runner from third. Arkansas put its first two hitters aboard in the fifth via a hit batsmen and a bunt single, then moved both runners into scoring position on a sac bunt by Blaire Woodward. Eiben gave the Lady 'Backs their second lead of the ballgame on a double with the next at-bat, then got a RBI single from Stephanie Hunter to extend the visitor lead out to three.
Mississippi State will return to action on Tuesday evening when the Bulldogs close out their 2003 home schedule by hosting UAB at the Mississippi State Softball Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and admission to all 2003 MSU Softball home games is free of charge.
| ARKANSAS 4, MISSISSIPPI STATE 1 | |||||||
| Arkansas | 001 | 030 | 0 | - | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| Mississippi State | 000 | 100 | 0 | - | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Schlichtman and Easley; Massey, Tillman (6) and Brown.
W ? Schlichtman (11-15). L ? Massey (20-10). Save ? None.
2B ARK, Swan, Eiben.