ATHENS, Ga. — For the second time in as many days, senior Caroline Seitz hit a grand slam, but the Mississippi State softball team lost to No. 19 Georgia 7-6 on Saturday in Game 2 of their three-game Southeastern Conference weekend series.
Seitz became the first player in school history to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games. On Friday, she hit her slam in the sixth inning. On Saturday, she unloaded in the fourth to push MSU (30-14, 5-9 SEC) into the lead. It was the 34th grand slam in school history and the 32nd homer of Seitz’s career, giving her sole possession of third place on MSU’s all-time list.
Seitz was 3-for-4 with five RBIs and one run scored, marking her 10th multi-hit showing of the year and team-leading eighth multi-RBI game. She has hit safely in six-straight games, tying her career high. For the weekend, Seitz is hitting 5-for-7 (.714) with 11 RBIs, two grand slams, and two runs, while recording a scorching 1.571 slugging percentage and .625 OBP.
Amanda Ivy was 2-for-3 with a double for the Bulldogs. Kat Moore, Reggie Harrison, and Sarai Niu also had hits. Moore drove in a run in the fourth to spark the five-run frame. Bevia Robinson reached base three times Saturday, drawing three walks and scoring two runs. She also stole two bases to move her season total to 26, marking her sixth game this season with multiple stolen bases.
Georgia kicked off the scoring in the second, when a wild pitch with runners on second and third made it 1-0. A fielder’s choice on the same at-bat made it 2-0.
MSU chipped away in the next inning, as Seitz tallied her first of five RBIs with a single to score Robinson. Georgia responded with an RBI double to push its lead to 3-1.
MSU broke it open in the fourth. With two outs, Ivy singled and Robinson walked to set up Moore for a hit to cut it to 3-2. Moore stole second and Harrison walked to load the bases for Seitz, who smacked a 2-2 pitch for her second grand slam in as many games.
Despite giving up the grand slam, Georgia (29-14, 3-11) didn’t go quietly. An RBI single in the fourth cut the lead to two and a two-run homer to right field tied the game at 6 in the fifth. Georgia surged back into the lead in the sixth, using three-straight singles to take a 7-6 advantage.
MSU tried to rally in the seventh, as Ivy doubled to the wall in right center, but she was stranded.
Holly Ward started and went 5 1/3 innings for the Bulldogs. She walked one and struck out five. Alexis Silkwood (12-4) went 2/3 of an inning in relief.
n On Friday, Seitz’s grand slam and a standout day from Moore lifted MSU to a 9-4 victory in Game 1.
Seitz went 2-for-3 with a career-high six RBIs thanks to her first-career grand slam. The home run was the 31st of her career, which moves her into a tie for third with Courtney Bures (2005-08) on MSU’s all-time list.
Moore went 4-for-5 for her first four-hit game. She had three RBIs, scored two runs, and had a triple and a double.
With the game tied at 4, Ivy led off the inning with one of her two hits, followed by a hit by Bevia Robinson. After an error allowed Reggie Harrison to reach and load the bases, Seitz blasted a 3-1 pitch into the trees in left-center field to make it 8-4.
An inning later, Moore put the finishing touches on her day with a single that accounted for the final margin.
Cassady Knudsen threw her fourth complete game of the season to secure MSU’s fourth ranked win of the year. Knudsen struck out three and walked four to pick up her seventh victory.
Robinson, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, has 10 multi-hit games this season, while Ivy (2-for-3, three runs, one double) has three.
Game 3 will be at 1 p.m. today.
n No. 22 Ole Miss sweeps No. 11 LSU: At Oxford, Freshman Alyssa Gonzalez’s walk-off three-run home run lifted the No. 22 Rebels to a 3-2 victory and a sweep of the No. 11 Tigers on Saturday.
The Rebels (30-13, 6-9) entered the weekend having never won a series over the Tigers (32-12, 8-7), but two shutouts later, and another epic walk-off gave Ole Miss its first sweep of LSU, and its first sweep of a ranked SEC team in school history.
In front of the sixth-largest crowd in school history, LSU took an early lead with single runs in the first and third frames. The Tigers went up 1-0 in the first off an RBI single, and again scored in the third after another RBI single.
In the seventh, Grayce Majam, who earned just her second start of the season, singled with one out. Dylinn Stancil then pinch hit and rolled a grounder to third, but the third baseman’s force attempt to second was off line. That’s when Gonzalez crushed a home run inside the left-field pole.
Junior right-hander Kaitlin Lee threw her eighth-consecutive complete game. She allowed eight hits and struck out two.
Gonzalez, Majam, Elantra Cox, Sarah Van Schaik, and Ashton Lampton had hits.
n On Friday, Ole Miss clinched its first series victory against LSU in Oxford thanks to a 1-0 victory in eight innings and another 1-0 victory.
Ole Miss snapped a six-year losing streak to LSU in games played in Oxford, and snapped a five-year streak overall in the series. Coach Mike Smith earned his 100th career win at Ole Miss. The victories were the program’s sixth and seventh against a top-25 team this season.
In Game 1, Lee and LSU’s Carley Hoover went back-and-forth in an extra-inning pitchers’ duel before Miranda Strother hit a walk-off home run to center field.
Lee allowed only three hits to the nation’s 19th-ranked offense, and struck out five in what was her second-straight complete game shutout, and fourth in her last six starts.
Cox and Van Schaik had Ole Miss’ other hits.
In Game 2, Morgan Bruce (8-4) surrendered three hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings, while Lee entered for the final 1 1/2 frames to earn her first save.
Both teams combined for five 1-2-3 innings, as the only run came in the third off a hit-and-run that forced an error by LSU.
In the third, Paige McKinney and Courtney Syrett singled back up the middle before Cox rolled a grounder to short. Cox was safe on an infield hit and an errant throw trickled past first, which allowed McKinney to score.
Cox, Kylan Becker, McKinney, and Syrett had hits.
The series win is Ole Miss’ second all-time against LSU.
n No. 16 Tennessee edges No. 9 Alabama: At Knoxville, Tennessee, Chelsea Seggern’s line drive was just out of the reach of Claire Jenkins in the bottom of the seventh to lift No. 16 Tennessee to a 3-2 victory against No. 9 Alabama in Game 1 of the SEC series.
Aubrey Leach doubled to start the seventh for Tennessee (38-5, 10-3). Back-to-back walks loaded the bases and Alabama brought in Madi Moore. A force out at home got the lead runner for the first out. and Alabama then turned to Sydney Littlejohn, who recorded the second out. Moore re-entered the game, but Seggern’s hit worked through the right side for the walk-off single.
Alabama (36-8, 10-6) built a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-run triple by Sydney Booker. But Tennessee rallied for its 17th-straight win to snap a three-game winning streak by Alabama in the series.
Alexis Osorio (18-5) threw 146 pitches in six innings. She allowed five hits, while Caylan Arnold (17-4) went the distance in the complete-game win for Tennessee.
Game 2 of the series will be at 6 tonight (SEC Network).
n Southern Mississippi earns series victory against Texas-San Antonio: At Hattiesburg, Arielle Pollock went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Heather Hill had a double and two RBIs Saturday to lead the Southern Mississippi softball team to a 4-2 victory against Texas-San Antonio in the final game of the three-game Conference USA series.
Samantha Robles (7-7) pitched her eighth complete game of the season to help Southern Miss improve to 24-22 and 7-11 in C-USA. Robles only allowed one earned run on seven hits. She struck out two.
Former New Hope High School standout Lauren Holifield was 0-for-3 in the victory.
n On Friday, Southern Miss defeated UTSA 10-4 and lost 7-6 in eight innings to earn a doubleheader split.
Holifield went 1-for-3 with two runs scored in Game 1. She had her third three-hit game of the season in Game 2.
Chase Nelson reached safely in each of the two games to extend her Southern Miss season-best on-base streak to 13 games.
In Game 1, Tori Dew went 3-for-3 with five RBIs and hit her first triple on the season, and Pollock had two RBIs with a triple.
Robles earned the win behind a season-high six strikeout in 6 2/3 innings. Jillian Johnson came in relief in the top of the seventh to close the game out after UTSA loaded the bases with one out.
Southern Miss will play Alabama at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Junior Colleges
n No. 9 ICC splits doubleheader with No. 1 Jones County Junior College: At Fulton, the No. 9 Itawamba Community College softball team edged No. 1 Jones County Junior College 2-1 in Game 2 of a doubleheader Friday.
The victory helped ICC (31-10-1, 18-5 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges) secure a playoff spot and at least a top-four finish in the MACJC, which will enable it to play host to a first-round playoff series.
Caroline Dickens (10-3) earned the victory. Carleigh Mills earned her first save. ICC’s Mary Kansas Sullivan had two hits.
In Game 1, former East Webster High School standout Mamie Hollenhead had three hits for ICC in a 9-2 loss.
Kaitlyn Rhodes had a double for the Lady Indians.
n No. 8 ECCC sweeps EMCC: At Scooba, No. 8 East Central C.C. swept East Mississippi C.C. 8-3 and 9-1 in five innings Friday in a MACJC doubleheader.
ECCC improved to 36-6 and 21-5 in the MACJC to remain in third place in the 15-team league.
Freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Oswalt, a former standout at New Hope High School and Heritage Academy, improved to 19-4 thanks to the victory in Game 1.
In Game 2, Cassie Obman, a former standout at Caledonia High, singled in a run. She added a double in the third.
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