Bulldogs Ousted From SEC Tournament By No. 12 Auburn, 4-3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Paige Jones' RBI single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning plated Sara Dean with the winning run as fourth-seeded Auburn erased an early one-run deficit with single runs in each of the last two innings to defeat Mississippi State, 4-3, and oust the Bulldogs from the SEC Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Softball Complex.
Two-time SEC Player of the Year Iyhia McMichael drove in a pair of runs on a 2-for-4 hitting line that marked the Maroon and White's only multi-hit showing, while Meagan O'Nan (1-for-2) and Kate Jaspers (1-for-3) both singled and scored once. Rookie Hayle Guess reached on error and scored in the second for the Bulldogs. Jones (3-for-4) doubled and hit a key home run in the sixth inning to pace the Tiger offense.
MSU starter Kelli Miller (11-9) was chased from the circle after the first inning, but returned with a tie score in the sixth and finished out the ballgame. Miller surrendered three runs on five hits and a walk to take the loss for the Bulldogs, with Melissa Massey allowing one run on five hits in four innings of relief ball.
Kristen Keyes (26-10) came on in relief of Auburn starter Holly Currie in the seventh and retired three Bulldogs in order to get the victory. Currie worked the first six innings of the contest and allowed three runs on four hits, but got the no decision.
The loss marked State's second consecutive setback and the first two-game losing streak for the Bulldogs since the first two games of its series at Auburn, April 2-3. McMichael reached base safely for the 38th consecutive game with her performance and upped her NCAA-leading batting average to a season-high .483. The loss snapped a personal six-game winning streak for Miller and marked her first setback since a loss to Alabama on April 9.
"It was a tough ballgame," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "I thought Melissa (Massey) came in and did a great job of shutting them down after we struggled in the first inning, but we just struggled ffensively and couldn't get anything going. We kept hitting the ball in the air and we had a tough time making adjustments at the plate.
"A couple miscues defensively put us in some hot water and that was the ballgame. Little things like that make a difference. It was a good game on both teams' part and it was tough to come out on the wrong end of it."
State used a one-out single and a walk to get runners aboard immediately, then utilized a Blaire Brown groundout to move both runners into position moments later. On a 1-2 count, Lindsay Nelson hit a routine grounder to the second baseman Lalani Alvarez, but her throw was mishandled by Martha Phillips at first base, allowing Nelson to reach and Jaspers to score with the 1-0 advantage. Auburn answered in their half of the first, however, using a trio of hits, as well as a costly fielding error by Callye Williams, to plate a pair of runs and take a 2-1 lead into the second.
Mississippi State put runners at second and third thanks to an O'Nan single and a Tiger fielding error in the second, then retook the lead one batter later on McMichael's 10th triple of the campaign that barely escaped the outstretched glove of Tiger centerfielder Shannon Anderson and careened off the wall. Auburn would attempt to answer again in their half of the second but, with runners at second and third, Massey got out of a huge jam by taking advantage of an Auburn baserunning error and inducing Phillips to fly out to McMichael in centerfield.
Having quieted the Auburn bats the next three innings, Massey was finally victimized in the sixth when her first offering was taken deep over the wall in left-center by Jones that knotted the score at three apiece and chased the junior from the circle.
After a routine inning for the Auburn defense in the seventh, the Tigers put runners at first and second in the bottom of the frame on a single and an error to threaten immediately and set the table for Ashley Griffin. After fouling off a few pitches, Griffin hammered what looked to be a double into the gap in right-center, but McMichael climbed on her horse and tracked the fly ball down for a phenomenal run-saving grab.
"That catch was a little boost for our team," McMichael said. "We had been struggling a little bit defensively with some errors. I thought that catch gave us a little extra by saving the winning run from scoring. I was confident I would make the catch. I had that ball the whole way."
Mississippi State's players and coaches will gather at an undisclosed location Sunday evening to view the NCAA Selection Show live on ESPNews from 7-8 p.m. CDT.
| AUBURN 4, MISSISSIPPI STATE 3 | |||||||
| Mississippi State (38-24) | 120 | 000 | 0 | - | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Auburn (41-15) | 200 | 001 | 1 | - | 4 | 10 | 2 |
Miller (1,6), Massey (2) and Waterman. Currie, Keyes (7) and Dean. W - Keyes (26-10). L - Miller (11-9). Save - None. HR - AU, Jones. 3B - MSU, McMichael. 2B - AU, Jones.
Note: 1 out, 3 runners LOB when the game ended.