Miller, State Finish Off Sweep Of No. 22 Yellow Jackets, 1-0
Kelli Miller Takes Perfect Game Into Seventh, Jaspers Sac Fly Proves To Be Difference
STARKVILLE, Miss. -? Rookie righthander Kelli Miller took a perfect game into the seventh inning and State got a sac fly from the bat of Kate Jaspers in the sixth for the game's only run as homestanding Mississippi State closed out its regular season by finishing off a twinbill sweep of nationally ranked Georgia Tech with a 1-0 blanking of the Jackets Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi State Softball Field.
Lindsay Nelson singled twice on three trips to the plate to give State (37-22) its only multi-hit outing, with Jaspers providing the lone run of the game on dramatics in the sixth. Senior all-American Iyhia McMichael stretched her hitting streak out to 17 games, scoring once on a 1-for-3 tally. Jennifer Waterman, Tanelda McDonald and Hayle Guess also collected hits for the Bulldogs. Soraya Reddick broke up Miller's perfect game bid to lead off the seventh, but tallied the Yellow Jackets' (41-15) only knock.
Miller (10-8), who has been near dominant over her last three outings, was unhittable through six and surrendered just one fly ball to the outfield. Miller finished the outing with one strikeout as well en route to recording her fifth straight victory. Georgia Tech starter Erin Voeltz (15-8) took the loss for the Jackets, striking out two and allowing one earned run on six hits.
The win gave Mississippi State its SEC-leading ninth-straight victory and gave the Bulldogs their 15th victory in their last 17 outings. State's 37th win also marked its most victories since the 2000 MSU squad collected 44 wins in 71 total games.
"Georgia Tech is a quality team with a quality pitching staff," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "This sets us up really good going into the SEC Tournament and I think it really puts us in great shape now to secure that NCAA bid. These are big wins for us in a lot of ways and a great way for our seniors to go out."
Mississippi State put together the first real scoring threat in the second inning, getting three consecutive two-out singles, but Georgia Tech leftfielder Sara Wissman's collected the latter cleanly and threw out Lindsay Nelson at home plate to end the inning. The Bulldogs, however, cashed in on McMichael's single in the seventh, moving the senior to third on a pair of stolen bases to set the table for Jaspers.
Facing perfection after six, Miller gave up a seeing-eye single to leadoff the seventh, then Georgia Tech put runners at first and second after a hard grounder was misplayed by shortstop Callye Williams with the next at-bat. Calm and serene, Miller induced Georgia Tech's top hitter, Tara Knudsen, to fly out to right, then got Liz Bartle to ground out into a game-ending double play.
"It was a great game for Kelli," Miller said. "When you get that close to a perfect game, you'd like to see them finish it out. But, the more important thing was the shutout. If you throw a shutout, you can never lose. You can throw a perfect game and still lose a ballgame. She got out of a jam in the seventh and made the pitches when she needed to and that shows a lot. She has been dominating people over her last few ball game and that is a good sign not only as we go into postseason, but down the road as well."
Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday when the seventh-seeded Bulldogs open up 2004 SEC Tournament play by taking on second-seeded and SEC Eastern Division champion Tennessee in the opening round. First pitch has been set for 11 a.m. at the Alabama Softball Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Single game and tournament passes can be purchased through the University of Alabama Ticket Office at (205) 348-BAMA or toll free at (877) TIDE-TIX.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 1, GEORGIA TECH 0
Georgia Tech (41-15) 000 000 0 - 0 0 0Mississippi State (37-22) 000 000 0 - 0 0 0Voeltz and Waugh. Miller and Waterman. W ? Miller (10-8). L ? Voeltz (15-8). Save ? None. SF ? MSU, Jaspers.