STARKVILLE — Relentless effort has been a motto for the Mississippi State University softball team this season.
MSU coach Vann Stuedeman felt she didn’t get that type of effort Friday night at the MSU Softball Field.
Postgame, she shared that disappointment with her players.
MSU was run-ruled at home for the first time this season, dropping an 8-0 decision to the No. 12 University of Tennessee in the opening game of a three-game Southeastern Conference series.
“Any time you play a top-10 opponent, the game comes down to one or two plays,” Stuedeman said. “We had runners on third early and if we just put the ball in play we might can make something happen.”
Instead, the Bulldogs were shut out at home for the fourth time in conference play this season. Fresh off a win against the No. 1 University of Alabama on Wednesday night, Tennessee improved to 21-7 and 5-4 in the SEC. MSU dropped its fourth straight league game to fall to 18-13 and 3-8.
“It just didn’t fall our way tonight,” MSU junior outfielder Jessica Cooley said. “That’s something we’ve got to work on, and we hope to come back strong in the next two games. We have to do a better job of getting our base runners in. We are going to come back strong the next couple of games. The good news is the game has no memory.”
In her roughest SEC start, Stephanie Becker (10-6) struggled to the find strike zone. Becker threw 4-2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs, with three walks and three strikeouts.
The Lady Volunteers struck quickly with three runs in the first inning. Madison Shipman had an RBI double. Tennessee also scored on a throwing error and a steal of home.
Leadoff hitter Raven Chavanne set the tone in that inning for that at-bat and for the night. Chavanne had three hits, falling a home run shy of a cycle.
Tennessee added a single score in the third, two in the fourth, and three in the fifth.
“They have good bat control and really went to the plate with a plan,” Stuedeman said. “They came in sitting on Stephanie’s pitches and put the barrel on the ball. When you have eight runs on eight hits, you have had an effective night at the plate.”
The Bulldogs stranded seven runners. MSU had three hits and drew three walks, while Tennessee also made two errors. Still, the Bulldogs couldn’t get a clutch hit with runners in scoring position.
“We will continue to work on getting that timely hit,” Stuedeman said. “We have to do a better job of scoring runs with runners in scoring position.”
The series will resume at 1 p.m. today.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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