STARKVILLE — Behind senior Holly Ward’s complete game, the No. 23 Mississippi State softball team shut out Alcorn State 11-0 Tuesday night at Nusz Park.
Ward (11-4) recorded her fifth shutout of the season. She allowed three hits and struck out six to help the Bulldogs improve to 30-11.
MSU had five clutch hits with runners in scoring position and batted around in the first and second innings. Three Bulldogs turned in multi-hit games. Freshman Mia Davidson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. She hit her 14th home run and scored three runs.
“We want to see if our student-athletes are putting in the time and work in preparation of getting an opportunity to play,” MSU coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We have used a lot of pinch hitters in conference play this season. To see their preparation in a game as a starter is nice to see. They all work really hard. We love the chance to give them an opportunity to start and see how they handle this moment to see how they may perform in a big-time moment.”
With two runners on with one out, senior Reggie Harrison plated the first run of the game with an RBI single to deep short. The Bulldogs scored their second run on an error. Harrison slipped home with help of a wild pitch before freshman Macey Petrey’s single up the middle capped the four-run first.
Davidson hit her home run in the second. Harrison extended the lead to 7-0 with an RBI triple. She scored on a double by senior Calyn Adams. Making the first start of her career, sophomore Lindsey Williams knocked an RBI single to center to round out the scoring in the inning.
Senior Carmen Carter added a sacrifice fly in the third. A single by sophomore Maddie Dorsett plated the final two runs and helped MSU roll to its sixth 30-win season under Stuedeman.
Davidson moved into second place in program history most home runs hit by a freshman. All-American Courtney Bures hit 18 in 2005.
Davidson’s 14 home runs also tied Kellie Wilkerson (2001) for the fourth-most home runs in a season.
MSU will take on Ole Miss this weekend in Oxford. The three-game, Southeastern Conference weekend series will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network+). The final two games — at 6 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2) and at 6 p.m. Monday (SEC Network) — will be broadcast nationally.
Ole Miss uses six-run second inning to beat Central Arkansas
OXFORD — The Ole Miss softball team fell behind by a couple of runs early but rebounded for a 9-3 victory against Central Arkansas on Tuesday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Freshman Ava Tillmann started for Ole Miss (20-16) and allowed three runs on three hits in three innings. Classmate Anna Borgen (3-5) threw four perfect innings to get the win.
Ten Rebels had hits. Kylan Becker and Autumn Gillespie had two hits. Kaylee Horton drove in two runs from the leadoff spot, while Paige McKinney drove in two from the No. 8 spot in the order.
After both teams went scoreless in the opening frame, the two sides were able to break through in the second. Central Arkansas (20-18) snagged a 2-0 lead after Reagan Sperling drove in a pair with a triple down the right-field line.
However, Ole Miss answered in the bottom half as all nine batters made a trip to the plate. Brittany Finney started things out with a walk. After Bry Castro came in to pinch run for Finney, Gillespie and Elantra Cox followed with singles to load the bases with no outs. Amanda Roth drew a walk to drive in the first run and McKinney slapped a fielder’s choice to second, plating Gillespie.
McKinney and Cox teamed up for a double steal, allowing Cox to race home to give Ole Miss the lead at 3-2. Ally Mena then followed with a single up the middle and took second on the throw to put a pair in scoring position for Horton. McKinney came home on a wild pitch and Mena wasn’t far behind as Horton drove an RBI single to left field. After Becker registered a single of her own, the final run came in on a throwing error, putting the Rebels up 6-2.
UCA cut the lead by one with a sacrifice fly in the third, but Ole Miss got the run right back in the sixth as Gillespie sent a single up the middle, bringing in Celeste Wood from second.
The Rebels tacked on a pair more in the fifth.
Ole Miss will play host to Belmont at 6 tonight (SEC Network+).
Southern Mississippi defeats Southern
HATTIESBURG — Freshman Destini Brown went 2-for- 4 with two home runs and three RBIs Tuesday night to lead the Southern Mississippi softball team to an 8-2 victory against Southern.
Karley Nichols was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Ciarra Cherry was 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Golden Eagles (16-29).
The Golden Eagles had 12 hits, the most since a victory against Saint Louis at the Ole Miss Classic earlier this year. Alyssa Davis, Samantha Papp, Sarah Van Schaik, Chase Nelson, and Rebekah DiLavore all had hits.
Freshman Devyn Holt saw action for the first time this year and scored a run after coming in for Nelson in the sixth.
Kim Crowson (8-9) pitched four innings and allowed two runs (both unearned) and had three strikeouts. Left-hander Reagan Watkins pitched two scoreless innings and struck out a career-high five. Jillian Johnson struck out one in the final inning.
Southern Miss will take on No. 15 Alabama at 6 p.m. April 18 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Alabama remains at No. 15 in national polls
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Entering the second half of Southeastern Conference play, the Alabama softball team remains ranked No. 15 for the second-straight week in the USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
It is the Crimson Tide’s third-straight week at No. 15 in the NFCA poll and second-straight week in the USA Softball poll.
The Crimson Tide also moved up two spots in the NCAA RPI rankings to No. 18. Alabama is now 25-11 and 6-6 in SEC play after falling in two out of its three games against No. 6 Florida last weekend.
Twelve SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 or are receiving votes this week. Ranked SEC teams include Georgia (5/5), Florida (6/7), Auburn (8/10), Texas A&M (9/9), Tennessee (10/13), South Carolina (11/12), LSU (14/14), Alabama (15/15), Arkansas (19/20), Kentucky (20/19), and Mississippi State (23/24). Ole Miss is receiving votes in both polls.
Alabama will play No. 19 Arkansas at 6 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of a three-game series. The teams will play at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPNU) and at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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