OXFORD — Cranking out a team-high 14 hits in a Southeastern Conference game, the Mississippi State University softball team completed a three-game series sweep of the University of Mississippi with a 10-3 victory Sunday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The win helped MSU (25-19, 8-14 Southeastern Conference) surpass last year’s win total of 24 in 56 games.
“The team has to feel really good about getting 14 hits in seven innings,” MSU first-year head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “I am glad to see them turn it on in the sixth and seventh and tie our season high for runs scored in an SEC game.”
Redshirt senior Brittany Bell (2-for-4), fellow senior Ka’ili Smith (3-for-4) and sophomore Heidi Shape (2-for-3) each drove in two runs, while senior Brittany Gates went 2-for-4 in the eight spot.
Sophomore Sam Lenahan tied a career high with three hits as MSU won for the seventh time in its last nine tries in Oxford.
Junior left-handed pitcher Stephanie Becker was the winner for the second time in as many games, starting and finishing the contest with one run allowed in four innings. Fellow junior left-hander Kylie Vry threw a scoreless second inning, while senior southpaw Lindsey Dunlap tossed two innings in the middle of the win, recording four strikeouts and giving up two runs (one earned).
Just like Friday, the visitors broke the ice with two runs in the top of the first. Junior left fielder Jessica Cooley was MSU’s first baserunner of the day after a groundball to third was mishandled by the Ole Miss defense. Cooley stole her ninth base of 2012 to put a runner in scoring position for Smith. After falling behind 0-2, Smith battled back to a full count before shooting a hard-hit grounder to first. The first baseman unsuccessfully backhanded it for the error and the ball drifted away from first as Cooley scored all the way from second. That brought up Lenahan, who on a full count of her own doubled to left-center field. With two in scoring position, Shape hit a one-out RBI sacrifice fly to deep left field, allowing Smith to score the second run of the day for the Maroon and White.
The pair of Smith and Lenahan came back up in the third and added an insurance run for Stuedeman’s squad. With two outs, the Hawaiian deposited an 0-2 offering down the left-field line for a standup double. Standing on second, Smith crossed home for the third MSU run when Lenahan drilled a 2-2 pitch on the ground to the Ole Miss third baseman. The ball took a bad hop, went off the fielder’s glove and skipped over to the FOX Sports South camera in foul territory.
After Ole Miss (16-24, 3-14) scored its first run in nine innings with one in the bottom of the third frame, State answered with a run of its own in the fourth. Falling behind 0-2, redshirt sophomore shortstop Erin Nesbit fought back to hit a 3-2 worm burner up the middle for a base hit. That brought Kendall Bruning into the circle for Ole Miss, who threw a wild pitch with her first offering. Nesbit stood on second and advanced to third on a passed ball to Gates, before sprinting 60 feet home on a Gates single that gave the visitors a 4-1 lead.
Rebel catcher Marina Parra began the bottom of the fourth by hitting her first-career home run just over the wall in left. The round-tripper cut the Rebel deficit to 4-2.
Putting it away for good in the sixth stanza, MSU tallied four runs on six hits and an error. The frame started with a leadoff walk to Nesbit, who was then pinch ran for by freshman Ashley Phillips. The first-year player made it to the second bag on an infield single by Gates. With two Mississippi natives on the squares, sophomore center fielder Jessica Offutt blooped a single to shallow left to load the bases. Bell stepped into the box with two grand slams under her belt in 2012, but knocked a Texas Leaguer to right for another RBI single. The Ole Miss right fielder misplayed the ball once she picked it up, allowing Gates to also score. Smith then singled up the middle with one out and runners on the corners to drive in Offutt and put two on for Lenahan, who unloaded with a barrel single through the left side of the infield to fill the bases once again. On the first pitch to Shape, the sophomore second baseman sent a screamer past the pitcher’s right ear for an RBI base knock up the middle.
The final two runs of the game came in the seventh, when Offutt was hit by a pitch for the first time this year. With one gone, the speedy outfielder stole her team-best 16th base of the season, eventually scoring on a double to the gap by Bell. Bell scored the last Bulldog run when Smith singled up the middle on a 1-1 count.
MSU will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Southern Miss. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. Free audio streaming of the game will be available through HailStateTV at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive.
n Alabama 19, South Carolina 4: At Columbia, S.C., The No. 2 University of Alabama softball team powered its way to a series sweep Sunday, blasting five home runs en route to a win against the University of South Carolina in front of 3,250 fans at Rhoads Stadium.
The Crimson Tide improved to a school-record 40-2 and 17-2 in Southeastern Conference play. South Carolina fell to 23-23 and 3-16.
The 19 runs tied a season high, set against the University of Maryland on March 2, and marked the 13th time the Crimson Tide have run-ruled an opponent and the 10th time Alabama has eclipsed 10 runs.
Alabama had 11 hits to help Jackie Traina earn her third win of the series to improve to 26-0. It was Traina’s school-record 28th consecutive winning decision.
An Amanda Locke grand slam was just the beginning of the big first inning for the Crimson Tide. After the Locke grand slam, Traina hit a solo home run to center field and freshman Danae Hays lined the first pitch she saw on the top of the wall and over in left field.
The grand slam was a career first for Locke and the Tide went back-to-back-to-back for the first time since Feb. 26, 2011 in a game against Western Michigan at the USF Tournament.
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