Balanced Bulldogs Sweep Second Day In Mobile

Saturday, February 20

Mobile, Ala.

1:30 PM

Mississippi State

7-0

Southern Miss

5-4

Southern Miss

Mississippi State

Balanced Bulldogs Sweep Second Day In Mobile

February 20, 2016 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: hailstate.com

MOBILE, Ala. – Courtesy of a balanced lineup, stingy defense and solid pitching, the Mississippi State softball team continued its hot start to the season by sweeping its two games on Saturday in the Mardi Gras Invitational.

MSU (8-0) opened the day with a 6-0 victory over Southern Miss (5-4) thanks to a one-hit shutout from freshman pitcher Cori Cooper in her first career start. Cooper took a no-hitter into the seventh, but the Golden Eagles spoiled history with a one-out single.

Game two had a similar start as the Bulldogs jumped on SIU-Edwardsville (3-5) early on as they were able to get out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning before claiming a 7-4 victory as the designated road team.

A total of nine Bulldogs recorded a hit on the day and six recorded an RBI. Freshman Emily Heimberger paced State on the day as she went a combined 5-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Junior Caroline Seitz also had a strong day at the plate, going 4-for-6 with three RBI, two runs scored and her first home run of the season.

“I thought we did a great job today scoring early and often for our pitchers,” hitting coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We had a good mix of quality at bats from freshmen and upperclassman with everyone getting more comfortable together and when our lineup is clicking it is fun to watch.”

GAME ONE: MSU 6, Southern Miss
For the second straight day, the Bulldogs jumped out in front early with a run in the first inning. On this occasion a single from Seitz scored senior Kayla Winkfield from second.

The MSU offense would add to its lead in the very next inning as an RBI sacrifice fly from junior Amanda Ivy and an RBI single from junior Katie Anne Bailey brought two more runs across, bringing the score to 3-0.

With a runner in scoring position during her next at bat, Ivy once again delivered with an RBI, this time a single to score senior Loryn Nichols from second. Ivy would come around to score later in the inning courtesy of two steals and a USM fielding error which pushed the lead to five through four.

Heimberger continued her success on defense at second base and proved that her offensive game isn't far behind with a one-run double in the fifth to bring the score to 6-0.

Cooper took a no-hitter into the seventh, but with one out in the frame a single through the left side ended the opportunity. Just as had been the case for the entire game, the Bulldog defense stood tall and kept the shutout intact for the 6-0 victory.

In a winning effort, Cooper (1-0) recorded the one-hit shutout and tallied four strikeouts in her complete-game outing. Suffering the loss for USM was Danielle Block (1-1) who allowed all six Bulldog runs, five earned, on five hits in 4.0 innings of work.

GAME TWO: MSU 7, SIU-Edwardsville 4
The Bulldog coaching staff made some adjustments to the batting order for the night cap and it paid off immediately as the first three hitters reached safely. Three hits, two stolen bases and an error allowed State to bring two across for a 2-0 lead in the first.

Bailey continued to swing her hot bat into the night as she provided a sacrifice fly that allowed freshman Sarai Niu to score from third and make it a 3-0 advantage.

SIUE retired the first two State hitters in the third, but their defensive success would be put on hold as back-to-back singles set the stage for sophomore Morgan Bell as she provided a three-run home run to double the MSU lead to 6-0.

In the home half of the fourth, the Cougars loaded the bases and capitalized by scoring their first run of the game on a sacrifice fly. An immediate answer from the Bulldogs pushed the score to 7-1 after a solo homer to left off the bat of Seitz.

Junior Mackenzie Toler entered in relief of starting pitcher Cassady Knudsen in the sixth and worked out of a jam to keep SIUE off the board.

State struggled to close out the game as it took a trio of relievers to get the final three outs of the game. The Cougars did not go away easily as three runs crossed before sophomore Holly Ward slammed the door shut to secure a 7-4 MSU victory.

Knudsen (2-0) picked up the win by allowing just one run in five innings of work, along with having struck out three. Ward picked up her first save of the season by securing the game's final out by a swinging strikeout with the bases loaded. Ashley Koziol (1-4) took the loss as she allowed all seven runs, five earned, on 11 hits in a complete game effort.

State will close out their stay in Mobile on Sunday against Samford with first pitch set for 12:15 p.m. CT. The game can be heard through HailStatePLUS as the voice of Bulldog softball, Anthony Craven, will have the call.

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.”