Rally Falls Short For No. 25 State In Knoxville

Saturday, March 26

Knoxville, Tenn.

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-11, 1-4

#17 Tennessee

24-8, 5-3

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Rally Falls Short For No. 25 State In Knoxville

March 26, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – An early scoring flurry was too much for the No. 25 Mississippi State softball team (20-11, 1-4 SEC) to overcome vs. No. 17 Tennessee (23-8, 4-3 SEC) Saturday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

A five-run second inning and a three-run third was enough for the Volunteers to secure the Southeastern Conference series victory by claiming an 8-5 win in game two of the three-game series.

“Toughness Sunday can't get here fast enough,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “The offense was hitting the ball hard and stringing hits together and we are ready to go to battle together tomorrow.”

In the bottom of the second, the Vols loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a fielder's choice with no outs. A Bulldog fielding error on the next batter plated the first run of the game for UT and a pair of base on balls later in the frame walked in two runs. The game's first hit and a hit batter added two more to put the score at 5-0 after two.

UT added to its lead in the very next inning with a one-out solo homer to left, pushing its advantage to 6-0. A two-out single extended the inning and allowed an inside-the-park home run to give the Vols an 8-0 lead through three.

The Bulldogs proved their grit in the top of the fourth by loading the bases with no outs on singles from senior Kayla Winkfield, junior Caroline Seitz and a UT fielding error. Junior Amanda Ivy continued her hot stretch by delivering a bases-clearing double to cut into the deficit. Junior Mackenzie Toler added to the inning with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Ivy and capping a four-run fourth that cut the deficit in half.

After retiring the Vols in order in the bottom of the fourth, State went back to work on offense. A two-out single from junior Katie Anne Bailey scored sophomore Carmen Carter from second and brought the score to 8-5 in the fifth.

State looked to draw closer in the game's final innings but the UT defense would make sure the score remained 8-5 until it went final.

Starter Erin Gabriel (13-3) picked up the win for the Vols after striking out seven over 5.0 innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits.

Sophomore starter Holly Ward (9-3) took the loss after allowing five runs in 1.1 innings on no hits and five runs. Ward also struck out two in her outing. Junior Alexis Silkwood went the longest of all State pitchers on the day as she allowed three runs on six hits and struck out one in 4.0 innings. Freshman Cori Cooper worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth after walking one and allowing no hits in 0.2 innings.

The series will conclude Sunday with first pitch set for 1 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network+, exclusively through WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app. Voice of State softball Anthony Craven will also have the call on HailStatePLUS to provide fans with an additional way to follow the game.

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.”