Mississippi State
6-0
#23 South Alabama
5-1
MSU Rallies For Road Win Over No. 23 South Alabama
February 19, 2016 | Softball
MOBILE, Ala. – For the fourth consecutive game, the Mississippi State softball team (6-0) collected a come-from-behind victory, this time on the road vs. No. 23 South Alabama (5-1) with a 4-2 victory in eight innings.
“I loved how our girls stayed the course tonight and were able to push through in the end,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “South has a great team and that was a great win in a tough road environment. This shows a lot about the resiliency of this team so early in the season. I can't wait to see them continue to grow together”
The Bulldogs were led by their two seniors on the night as Kayla Winkfield went 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and one run scored, while Loryn Nichols went 2-for-2 with two walks and one run scored.
State did not wait long to strike as back-to-back singles and back-to-back hit batters allowed freshman Sarai Niu to plate Winkfield and put the visitors ahead 1-0.
A strong outing from freshman Regan Green kept the Jaguars in check with assistance from her defense, which was highlighted by a second inning play at the plate from Nichols in left field to junior Katie Anne Bailey at the dish.
The Jaguars would even the score in the third on a single to left which was nearly a repeat of the stellar play at the plate from the Bulldogs an inning earlier. In the fifth, USA took its first lead of the game, 2-1, on an MSU fielding error.
An immediate response was what State needed and what they got as Bailey brought across Nichols to bring the score to an even 2-2.
Pitching and defense was the theme for a majority of the night as runs were hard to come by for both teams and extra innings were required to settle the score with the game still tied at two runs apiece.
State immediately attacked in the eighth with a pair of singles over the USA third baseman. MSU continued to make contact even after the Jaguars made a pitching change as a Winkfield single to center scored junior Amanda Ivy from second.
Junior Caroline Seitz would add another run with a single through the left to bring the Bulldog lead to 4-2.
Sophomore Holly Ward took the circle for State in the eighth and made quick work of the Jaguars to seal the valuable early season road win.
Ward (4-0) received the win after tossing 3.0 innings in relief of freshman starter Regan Green and junior middle reliever Mackenzie Toler. The staff combined for 10 strikeouts with just one of the two runs having been earned.
Starter Devin Brown (2-1) suffered the loss as she allowed all four of MSU's runs in seven innings of work in addition to allowing six hits and six walks. Destin Vicknair entered in relief of Brown and allowed two hits in one inning of work.
The Bulldogs will now reset and prepare for a pair games on Saturday against Southern Miss at 1:30 p.m. CT and SIU-Edwardsville at 6 p.m. CT. Both games can be heard through HailStatePLUS as the voice of Bulldog softball, Anthony Craven, will have the call. Live stats for both games can be found at HailState.com.
For more information on the MSU softball program, follow “HailStateSB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for “HailStateSnap.”
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ward, Holly (4-0)
L: Brown, Devin (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Ivy, Amanda 1
RBI: Bailey, Katie Anne 1 ; Winkfield, Kayla 1 ; Seitz, Caroline 1 ; Niu, Sarai 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bailey, Katie Anne 1 ; Winkfield, Kayla 1 ; Nichols, Loryn 1 ; Ivy, Amanda 1
SB: Nichols, Loryn 1
HBP: Toler, Mackenzie 1 ; Niu, Sarai 1
Batting:
RBI: Foster, Kristian 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Todd, Kaleigh 2
SB: Todd, Kaleigh 2
